Pi Delta Psi

Pi Delta Psi
ΠΔΨ
Founded	February 20, 1994 (1994-02-20) Binghamton University
Type	Cultural interest
Affiliation	NAPA
Emphasis	Asian American cultural awareness
Scope	National
Motto	"Excellence Through Brotherhood"
Colors	Red   White   Black
Publication	The Dragon
Philanthropy	Asia Foundation
Chapters	18 Active, 12 Inactive, 1 Alumni
Colonies	4
Members	3,000 lifetime
Headquarters	176-25 Union Turnpike Fresh Meadows, Queens, NY 11366-1515 U.S.
Website	www.pideltapsi.com

Pi Delta Psi (ΠΔΨ) is an Asian American-interest cultural fraternity founded at Binghamton University on February 20, 1994. As of 2020, the organization listed over 3,000-lifetime members spanning 30 undergraduate chapters and 1 alumni chapter.

This organization is a member of the National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA).

History

Pi Delta Psi fraternity was founded at Binghamton University (SUNY) on February 20, 1994. The fraternity's founding members were:

David Lee Philip Hunt Sammy Wong

Spencer Seto Ronny Chow Damien Lee

Thuan Luong Chester Huang Christopher Murata

Tracy B. Tabije Michael Son

Pi Delta Psi's founding fathers, Binghamton University, winter 1996

A year after its founding, Pi Delta Psi was officially incorporated in the State of New York on April 19, 1995. After five years, the fraternity had grown too large for the informal Pi Delta Psi National Council to maintain. Thus in 1999, it was decided by the National Council to restructure itself in an effort to grow in proportion to the fraternity's expansion rate, standardize chapters nationwide, and increase inter-chapter cohesion. The National Council was also renamed the "National Executive Board" during that period.

After 25 years, Pi Delta Psi expanded to 31 campuses spanning fourteen states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Mission statement

Pi Delta Psi and its members seek to bring about Asian-American unity by breaking down cultural barriers amongst Asian communities by upholding and/or instilling the fraternity's pillars: academic achievement, cultural awareness, righteousness, friendship, and loyalty. Pi Delta Psi's mission statement also advocates an increase in education and awareness of Asian cultures as a means of overcoming racism.

National events

National Convention

Convention 3 at Rutgers University, Spring 2005.

Pi Delta Psi holds an annual National Convention in the August of each year. The National Convention is a formal 2-day meeting of members where the National Executive Board meets and discusses relevant fraternity issues with active members from all chapters. Discussed issues involve an overview of the fraternity, creating general goals, and national expansion. Cultural, professional, and/or leadership workshops are also held. The location of each year's National Convention is usually determined at the previous convention and changes annually.

National Winter Conference

Pi Delta Psi holds an annual National Winter Conference in January. The Winter Conference is a daylong leadership retreat where the National Executive Board meets and discusses relevant fraternity issues with representatives from each undergraduate chapter. The event is typically held in the New York metropolitan area.

National Summer Weekend

Pi Delta Psi holds an annual National Summer Weekend during the month of July each year. The National Summer Weekend is a 2-3 day series of events that includes the National Summer BBQ, National Summer Conference, and National Summer Banquet.

The National Summer BBQ is normally held at Alley Pond Park in Queens, New York, and includes sporting events and chapter fundraising activities. The National Summer Conference is a private half-day event where the National Executive Board meets and discusses relevant fraternity issues with active chapter members. Elections for the following year's National Executive Board also take place during this event. The Conference is normally held in the New York metropolitan area.The National Summer Banquet is a formal dinner event for Pi Delta Psi members which is normally held near the location of the National Summer Conference. National announcements such as awards and scholarships are presented during this event.

Cultural awareness

Tau chapter performing their annual lion dance on campus.

At the chapter level, each chapter is required to host a set number of cultural events on campus each year depending on the chapter's size; failure to achieve this annual criterion will result in the chapter losing its chapter status.

Philanthropy

Brothers posing with California's then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during a philanthropy event.

The March of Dimes was named as the national philanthropy of Pi Delta Psi for 2009; the fraternity remains an official team youth partner. Formerly, Pi Delta Psi's national philanthropy was the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. All chapters were expected to work closely with the Big Brothers program in their own campus community. At the Chapter level, each chapter was required to participate in a set number of philanthropy events each year depending on the chapter's size; failure to achieve this annual criteria results in the chapter having its status revoked.

Local chapter or member misconduct

Death of Michael Deng

In December 2013, prospective member Chun Hsien "Michael" Deng died from brain trauma due to hazing during a pledge event at the Baruch College chapter. Deng, 18 was a recent graduate of The Bronx High School of Science. Deng and three other pledges wore 30 lb. backpacks filled with sand while members of the fraternity tackled them during a ritual known as "The Glass Ceiling," which represented Asian American struggle in the United States. Despite Deng becoming immediately unconscious, his fraternity brothers failed to call for emergency help, instead attempting to cover up the incident. Baruch College responded by permanently banning the fraternity from their campus.

Andy Meng, the former National Executive President for Pi Delta Psi said in a statement the incident happened during "an unsanctioned event that was strictly prohibited by our organization." After investigating the incident, the fraternity revoked its affiliation with the Baruch chapter. Baruch also banned the fraternity from ever returning. In February 2014, the death was ruled a homicide, and the Monroe County district attorney expects to file charges after the investigation. Deng's parent's had filed a lawsuit against the fraternity, including Mr. Meng, who is the younger brother of U.S. representative Grace Meng. When Deng lost consciousness his fraternity brothers called Andy Meng who allegedly told them to conceal any evidence of the fraternity before calling the authorities. On September 14, 2015, charges were filed against 37 members, including five for third-degree murder. Andrew Meng is facing charges of hazing, conspiracy and hindering apprehension.

On January 8, 2018, four men were sentenced to jail time as a result of the hazing incident subsequent to guilty pleas to charges of voluntary manslaughter, hindering apprehension and other charges. Additionally, a Pennsylvania state judge imposed a $112,500 fine, banned the national fraternity from operating in the state for ten years, with an additional 10 years’ probation. The Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld the fine and probation, but ruled that the lower court did not have the authority to bar the fraternity from Pennsylvania.

Chapters

These are the chapters of Pi Delta Psi. Active chapters and colonies are noted in bold, and inactive chapters are noted in italics.

Chapter	Chartered/Range	Institution	City	State	Status	Reference
Alpha	February 20, 1994	Binghamton University	Vestal	New York	Active
Beta	December 3, 1994	SUNY Buffalo	Buffalo	New York	Active
Gamma	December 7, 1996 – 20xx ?	Hofstra University	Hempstead (village)	New York	Inactive
Delta	May 17, 1997	Stony Brook University	Stony Brook	New York	Active
Epsilon		unassigned			Inactive
Zeta	May 17, 1997	New York University	New York	New York	Active
Eta	December 13, 1997	SUNY Albany	Albany	New York	Active
Theta	December 13, 1997	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	Troy	New York	Active
Iota	November 24, 1997 – 20xx ?	University of Rochester	Rochester	New York	Inactive
Kappa	April 25, 1998	Cornell University	Ithaca	New York	Active
Lambda	November 21, 1998 – 20xx ?	Rutgers University	New Brunswick	New Jersey	Inactive
Mu	April 22, 2000	Ohio State University	Columbus	Ohio	Active
Nu	December 8, 2001 – 20xx ?	Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	Inactive
Xi	November 24, 1999 – 20xx ?	University of Massachusetts Amherst	Amherst	Massachusetts	Inactive
Omicron	November 15, 2003	The George Washington University	Washington	District of Columbia	Active
Pi	November 13, 2004 – 20xx ?	University of Maryland at College Park	College Park	Maryland	Inactive
Rho	March 30, 2002 – 20xx ?	University of California, Riverside	Riverside	California	Inactive
Sigma	November 13, 2004	University of Florida	Gainesville	Florida	Active
Tau	April 19, 2003	Pennsylvania State University	University Park	Pennsylvania	Active
Upsilon	November 18, 2006 – 20xx ?	Rochester Institute of Technology	Henrietta	New York	Inactive
Phi	April 7, 2008	University of Central Florida	Orlando	Florida	Active
Chi	November 9, 2008	University of South Florida	Tampa	Florida	Active
Psi	November 8, 2008 – 201x ?	St. John's University	Queens	New York	Inactive
Omega	April 12, 2008	University of Connecticut	Storrs	Connecticut	Active
Alpha Alpha	November 19, 2005	Northeastern University	Boston	Massachusetts	Active
Alpha Beta	April 23, 2005 – 20xx ?	Columbia University	New York	New York	Inactive
Alpha Gamma	November 17, 2012	George Mason University	Fairfax	Virginia	Active
Alpha Delta	April 16, 2011	University of Minnesota	Minneapolis	Minnesota	Active
UCB Associate	December 6, 2009	University of Colorado at Boulder	Boulder	Colorado	Active
Baruch Colony	December 5, 2010	CUNY Baruch	New York	New York	Permanently Revoked
Berkeley Colony	December 4, 2011 – 201x ?	University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley	California	Inactive
Georgia State Colony	March 11, 2017	Georgia State University	Atlanta	Georgia	Active