In 1400, at the University of Bologna, Manuel Chrysoloras and his disciples formed a society for mutual protection against physical attack and robbery by the unscrupulous governor of the city of Bologna, Baldassarre Cossa. These students devised secret signs, words, and forms - a ritual - to protect their ranks from penetration and betrayal and to ensure the members' safety. It was these rites which transformed their association from a protective guise against the ruthless Cossa into something more important. Their ideals, embodied in a ritual, transformed them from a group of men to a true brotherhood - the Fellowship of Kappa Sigma.
Tradition holds that Cossa practiced extortion and robbery against the students, that he levied fees upon foreign students, and that Cossa's agents preyed on those students when given the opportunity. Chrysoloras and his disciples stood against those forces on the strength of their bonds in Kappa Sigma. After Cossa finally left Bologna to usurp the Papacy under the name John XXIII, Kappa Sigma still flourished at the University of Bologna, and later spread to many European universities - effectively becoming one of the world's first fraternities.
North-American
Through the Renaissance, tradition holds that Kappa Sigma existed at the other great universities in Europe. Although, by the middle of the 19th century, the Order was barely active. It was during this time, an American traveler in Europe was told of Kappa Sigma by his noble host. From that meeting, the traveler was convinced that the Order should never die, and that it was his responsibility to bring it to America.
On a cold December evening, December 10, 1869, five friends, George Miles Arnold, John Covert Boyd, William Grigsby McCormick, Frank Courtney Nicodemus, and Edmund Law Rogers, enrolled at the University of Virginia met at 46 East Lawn to draft a constitution and found the Kappa Sigma Fraternity in North America. Adopting the traditions of their renaissance forebearers at Bologna, these five friends bound themselves together by an oath and preserved their union with secret work. This Ritual made them brothers, restoring the ideals of Chrysoloras hundreds of years after his death.
San Diego State University
In 1947, a group of 50 men enrolled at the San Diego State College, known as the H.W.D. Club, became interested in founding a fraternity at the college. After receiving offers from many national fraternities, they ultimately chose Kappa Sigma and became the first pledge class of the Epsilon-Iota chapter of Kappa Sigma. The second fraternity to be established at San Diego State, Kappa Sigma moved into a house at 6195 Montezuma Road and lived there for over 50 years. Eventually, Kappa Sigma became the biggest fraternity at San Diego State.
Unfortunately, Epsilon-Iota was removed from San Diego State and its charter revoked due to violations of the Code of Conduct in 2002. Normally, certain situations call that the fraternity not be able to return to the campus for at least six years. However, Epsilon-Iota worked hard enough to become a colony in fall 2003, and eventually return the charter in fall 2004, restoring the chapter in a record two years. Ever since then, the Epsilon-Iota chapter went from 12 upperclassmen to over 70 brothers, effectively becoming one of the biggest fraternities at San Diego State once again.
The Epsilon-Iota chapter moved out of 6195 Montezuma Road, and is currently established at the Fraternity Row facility provided by San Diego State. After over 50 years at SDSU, Kappa Sigma Epsilon-Iota is still one of the most prevalent fraternities on campus, and continues to be a benchmark of success for Southern California fraternities.
