The Sigma Nu fraternity celebrated receiving its campus charter back by pinning the statue of John “Button” Salmon outside of McKale Center on Saturday.
“Button Salmon was the most famous Sigma Nu on campus,” said Sigma Nu alumnus Bob Shaff who graduated in 1962. “This is a great way to honor him and his ties to (the fraternity).”
Salmon, the man who coined the phrase “bear down,” was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity before he died from injuries he received in a car accident in 1926.
A new plaque was unveiled at the ceremony, showcasing the fraternity’s crest and a snake, the fraternity’s symbol.
The original Sigma Nu plaque on Salmon’s bust was stolen, said Vice President Chris Wiley, and Saturday’s ceremony was meant to unveil the new plaque to about 40 brothers, alumni and other members of the community.
“It’s a great honor to be in the same fraternity as Button Salmon,” said Joey Joyce, a pre-business freshman. “He set a good base for our fraternity and what we stand for: love, truth and honor.”
The fraternity received its campus charter in May, after having their chapter dissolved in 1997, said Sigma Nu President Paul Chung.
Chung said he didn’t know what the circumstances were for having the chapter dissolved because it happened before he joined the fraternity.
The Interfraternity Council did not return messages about the dissolved chapter by press time.
The fraternity held the ceremony during Homecoming because it wanted to invite as many alumni as possible, said Chung, a pre-computer science senior.
Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Cade Bernsen and Interfraternity Council Executive Vice President Robert Medler spoke at the ceremony and Medler announced he would help the fraternity get a chapter house within the next 10 years.
After all of the speakers, the men stood in front of the statue and took pictures while singing their fraternity’s song.