Members of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity were officially welcomed into the SIUC Greek system Saturday night after changing the mind of an alumnus who threatened to turn in his pin if Lambda Chi Alpha was brought to SIU.

Kevin O’Neill, associate director of Lambda Chi Alpha chapter services, presented the members with their official charter at a banquet at the Marion Holiday Inn.

These guys have shown a lot of initiative and overcame many hurdles to get their charter, O’Neill said. Dr. Brewer even threatened to turn in his (fraternity) pin if Lambda Chi Alpha was brought to Southern Illinois University.

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Mike Haithcoat, vice president of Lambda Chi Alpha, said David Brewer, Lambda Chi Alpha alumnus and professor at the SIU School of Medicine, was less than thrilled when he found out that Lambda Chi Alpha was considering a chapter at SIU. However, Haithcoat said Brewer changed his mind and became the advisor for the SIU colony.

Haithcoat quoted Brewer as saying I will rot in hell before Lambda Chi Alpha is at SIU.

Haithcoat said Brewer went to a couple of meetings and found out that the hopeful Lambda Chi Alpha members were on top of things.

He found out that there were men in this fraternity that he could call his brothers, Haithcoat said. We are what changed his mind.

Tom Wheeler, brother of Lambda Chi Alpha, said receiving a charter is similar to receiving an award.

It is the last step in developing your relationship with the international Lambda Chi Alpha and solidifies our relationship with them, Wheeler said.

Lambda Chi Alpha’s life at SIUC began in April of 1993 when it became a local fraternity called Lambda Chi Delta.

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Wheeler said the international Lambda Chi Alpha did not want anything to do with SIU because of its party image. He said the dedication of the fraternity members is what got them their colony status in April of 1994.

They (international Lambda Chi Alpha) did not want to tarnish the reputation of Lambda Chi Alpha by placing a charter on SIU’s campus, Wheeler said. It took an incredible amount of convincing, but we did it.

Lambda Chi Alpha was founded in 1909 by a Boston College student named Warren Albert Coal. It is the third-largest fraternity in the world, with more than 200 chapters across the United States and Canada.

Wheeler said the SIU Lambda Chi Alpha chapter currently has 63 members, making it the third-largest fraternity on the SIUC campus.

The Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity stands for patriotism, education, brotherhood and Christianity, Wheeler said.