Beta Upsilon Chi: Difference between revisions

Beta Upsilon Chi
Beta Upsilon Chi
ΒΥΧ
	The official crest of Beta Upsilon Chi.The official crest of Beta Upsilon Chi.
Founded	Spring, 1985; University of Texas
Type	Religious/social
Scope	National
Motto	Behold how good and how pleasing it is well brothers dwell together in unity! --Psalm 133:1
Colors	Purple and White
Mascot	Buck Deer
Chapters	18 in the United States
Purpose	Beta Upsilon Chi exists for the purpose of establishing brotherhood and unity among college men based on the common bond of Jesus Christ.
Headquarters	7321 Weatherwood; Fort Worth, Texas; USA
Website	http://www.brothersunderchrist.org

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Revision as of 17:46, 1 June 2006

Beta Upsilon Chi (Brothers Under Christ or ΒΥΧ) is a Christian social fraternity whose purpose is "to establish brotherhood and unity among college men based on the common bond of Jesus Christ."

Since its founding in 1985, ΒΥΧ has spread to eighteen campuses across the United States. It is the largest Christian social fraternity in the United States.

History

Founding Fathers

ΒΥΧ was founded at the University of Texas in 1985 by the National Founding Fathers:

Craig Albert	David Cortright	John Edson	David Givens
Scott Love	Tim Miller	Steve Patrick	Brian Rynne
Clayton Walther	Greg Young	Erik Bradford	David Daniels
Richard Foster, Jr.	Stever Hoehner	Mark McGee	Stuart Nolley
Roger Poupart	Kenneth Sapp	Wendel Weaver	Tse-Horng Yu
Micheal Brown	John Douglas	Jeff Garrett	Clayton Jewett
Jeff Miller	Keith Onishi	Don Reid	John Wilson

This pioneering group of men saw the lasting bonds of deep friendship that Greek life fostered and felt that such an Order, dedicated to Christ and the edification of one another, could lead to a powerful social witness on their campus.

Thus, as an alternative to what was seen as the "normal" fraternity scene, the Founding Fathers of Beta Upsilon Chi established their Fraternity as Brothers Under Christ, and took the Greek letters Beta, Upsilon, and Chi to identify themselves to the world.

They chose to make public their true name, Brothers Under Christ, so that they might always wear the name of Christ and demonstrate that one could remain true to one's faith and yet enjoy life in fellowship with others.

Island Party

To announce the founding of their Fraternity, the Founding Fathers organized the first Island Party on the campus of the University of Texas. The event, now the signature event of BYX chapters around the country, is held annually as a free concert-festival that features top artists from the Christian contemporary music scene.

Going national

The process of growing from one chapter in Austin, Texas to a national organization across the country was slow at first. Initially, the brothers under Christ rejected requests from Christian men at other schools to be initiated into the Fraternity or to start new chapters.

Eventually, the leadership in Austin decided that this success of Beta Upsilon Chi should be shared with other campuses, and the Founding Fathers of Beta Chapter were initiated at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.

Today, the national fraternity is headquartered in Fort Worth, and an expansion program oversees the establishment of new chapters.

BYX Today: Continued growth and new chapters

As a Christian social fraternity, BYX seeks both to edify college men through Bible study, worship, and outreach and to promote brotherhood and friendship among its members. With eighteen chapters across the country, BYX is the largest Christian social fraternity in the United States, and it looks to continue to grow, as Christian men at other campuses continue to learn about the organization and petition to start new chapters.

Organization

National Board of Directors

At the national level, ΒΥΧ is headed by a Board of Directors. This board is the ultimate authority and is responsible for the guidance of the fraternity. They appoint the National Executive Director to run the daily business of the Fraternity. In conjunction with this Executive Director, they approve any charter changes.

National Executive Director

The BYX Executive Director is the national administator of the Fraternity. Through his staff, he coordinates the activities of the Fraternity from its headquarters in Forth Worth, Texas. The Executive Director's staff is equally responsible for the day to day operation of the national fraternity, and staff from National Headquarters frequently visit the chapters.

Chapter Governance

Chapters are authorized by a Charter from the National Board of Directors and denominated by a letter of the Greek alphabet that corresponds with their order of admission into the Fraternity (for example, the University of Texas is Alpha Chapter.

The Charter authorizes each chapter to work under a Chapter Constitution that provides for the election of chapter officers: president, vice-president, chaplain, treasurer, secretary, and pledge trainer.

These officers are responsible for the administration of the Chapter for a calendar year, conducting ritual, overseeing meetings, organizing trips, implementing the pledging program, organizing parties, etc. The officers serve one year terms, and only may be re-elected once to a different office.

Membership

There are three kinds of membership in the Fraternity: pledges, active members, and alumni members. Each local chaper is composed of its active members and pledges.

Active members form the backbone of the Fraternity, participating in ritual, leading worship, Bible study, and other chapter activities. Active members have voting rights within the chapter and become alumni members upon their graduation. Pledges become members by finishing the pledging process, a process that differs from chapter to chapter.

Symbols

Founding Scripture: "Behold, how good and how pleasing it is when Brothers to dwell together in Unity!" --Psalm 133:1
Colors: Purple and white.
Signature event: Island Party

Trivia

BYX is the largest Christian social fraternity in the United States
BYX was the first national Christian social fraternity in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Missouri
BYX chapters continue to do well despite declines in other areas of Greek life: at Vanderbilt University, Nu Chapter led all fraternities in pledges for the second year in Spring 2006.^[1]
The founding President of BYX was Wendel Weaver, from Texas Alpha Chapter.

Chapters

Notes

^ "Fraternity recruitment decreases slightly." The Vanderbilt Hustler, Vol. 123, May 7, 2006, p. 1, col. 1.

External links

[1] "Fraternity recruitment decreases slightly." The Vanderbilt Hustler, Vol. 123, May 7, 2006, p. 1, col. 1.

[1]

@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 This pioneering group of men saw the lasting bonds of deep friendship that [[fraternities and sororities|Greek life]] fostered and felt that such an Order, dedicated to [[Christ]] and the edification of one another, could lead to a powerful social witness on their campus.
-Thus, as an alternative to what was seen as the "normal" [[fraternities and sororities|fraternity]] scene, the Founding Fathers of Beta Upsilon Chi established their Fraternity as Brothers Under Christ, and took the [[Greek]] letters [[Beta]], [[Upsilon]], and [[Chi]] to identify themselves to the world.
+Thus, as an alternative to what was seen as the "normal" [[fraternities and sororities|fraternity]] scene, the Founding Fathers of Beta Upsilon Chi established their Fraternity as Brothers Under Christ, and took the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] letters [[Beta]], [[Upsilon]], and [[Chi]] to identify themselves to the world.
 They chose to make public their true name, Brothers Under Christ, so that they might always wear the name of [[Christ]] and demonstrate that one could remain true to one's faith and yet enjoy life in fellowship with others.