Sigma Chi Ideals Carved Into Delta Delta Medallion

A stone medallion with the Sigma Chi badge, encircled with the words, “Leadership, Scholarship and Brotherhood”, carved upon it hangs in the Activity Room located in the chapter house’s basement.

Delta Delta medallion of Sigma Chi badge.

Centerpiece for the Activity Room

In creating the medallion the House Corporation and Building Committee wished to display the Sigma Chi badge in a substantial and durable fashion, and as a centerpiece for the room where many social activities were expected to take place.  The character traits of Leadership, Scholarship, and Brotherhood are prominently displayed to exemplify the values at the core of Delta Delta’s operations and of the chapter house renovation project undertaken in 2006/2007.

Medallion Comes with a Rich Heritage

The Sigma Chi badge was hand-carved by a stone sculptor at the Indiana Limestone Company, located in Oolitic (Lawrence County), Indiana.  This company has an incredible history of quarrying and fabricating Indiana limestone for hundreds of historic buildings of note, including the Empire State Building, the US National Cathedral, the Pentagon, the Lincoln Memorial and the Biltmore Estate, along with many state capitol buildings across the United States.

Harold Force ’73, who served on the Board of Directors of Indiana Limestone Company during the time of the chapter house renovation designed and directed the medallion’s fabrication.

Medallion carved from Oolitic limestone.

The stone material is a high-quality, sedimentary calcarenite stone, prized for its durability, versatility, and ability to be carved into very detailed shapes.  The durability of the stone, the image of the Badge, and the message carried by the inscription combine to model the permanence of the Delta Delta Chapter of Sigma Chi and the values which it inculcates in its members.

Sigma Chi Badge design and meaning:

• The White Cross: Represents the fraternity’s true worth and the purity of its motives.
• Crossed keys: Symbolize the duty to unlock the secrets of learning and the access each brother has to another’s heart.
• Eagle’s head: Represents lofty aspirations.
• Scroll: Signifies the fraternity’s literary character.
• Clasped hands: Denotes friendship.
• Seven stars: Indicate the perpetuity of the union and the equality and brotherhood of the chapters.
• Black enamel in the center: Reminds members of the secrecy that guards the fraternity’s mottoes.
• Chains: Connect the arms of the cross and signify the double obligation members have to their local chapter and the fraternity at large.