Sigma Rho
| The Sigma Rho Fraternity | |
|---|---|
| ΣΡ | |
 |
|
| Founded | 1938 University of the Philippines College of Law |
| Type | University |
| Scope | University of the Philippines Diliman |
| Motto | Seekers of the Right |
| Colors | Maroon, Green, White, Gold |
| Symbol | Fraternity seal |
| Chapters | None |
| Headquarters |
University of the Philippines Diliman Quezon City, NCR Philippines |
| Homepage | http://www.upsigmarho.com/ |
The Sigma Rho Fraternity is a College of Law-based fraternity of the University of the Philippines Diliman and reputed to be the pioneer in law-student fraternities in Asia. It maintains its singular existence with resident and alumni brods. The two letters of the Greek alphabet are its emblems for the stature of the brods as "Seekers of the Right".
The Sigma Rho Fraternity is a Law-based fraternity in the University of the Philippines College of Law and has been in continuous existence for more than 75 years. The Greek initials ΣP of Sigma Rho stand for the initials of Sanchez Roman, a Spanish jurist whose scholarly commentaries on the Civil Code of Spain were authoritative references used by the students of the UP College of Law.
The Sigma Rho Fraternity was formally organized during the pre-war era in 1938 at the University of the Philippines College of Law through the initiative of some twelve idealistic junior law students Padre Faura St., Manila. Attracted by the Fraternity's laudable objectives especially in the field of scholarship, the cream of the UP Law studentry joined and were initiated into the Sigma Rho. Among them were law freshmen students like Jovito R. Salonga, Pedro L. Yap and Manuel Montecillo who later topped the 1944, 1946, and 1949 bar examinations, respectively.
The fraternity’s presiding officer is known as the Grand Archon, which means Chief Magistrate in ancient Greece. The first person to ever have served as the fraternity's Grand Archon was George V. McLure, an American Law student from the UP College of Law.
On December 8, 1994, Dennis Venturina, a Sigma Rhoan, was murdered by members of the Scintilla Juris Fraternity. The Philippine Supreme Court has recently upheld in 2014 the convictions of 5 Scintilla Juris members for murder (Daniel Feliciano Jr., Julius Victor Medalla, Christopher Soliva, Warren Zingapan and Robert Michael Beltran Alvir).
On February 10, 2000, Den Daniel Reyes, a member of the rival Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity, was killed in a riot with members of the Sigma Rho Fraternity. Den Daniel Reyes suffered multiple stab wounds and died not long after. Several eyewitnesses have testified that the members of the Sigma Rho Fraternity were attacked by armed and hooded men near the UP Law Center, which resulted in the tragic death of the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity member.
Cris Mendez, a 20-year-old graduating UP student allegedly died during an initiation rite with the fraternity on August 27, 2007. Mendez was rushed to Veterans Memorial Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Quezon City police investigators found out that Mendez was a victim of hazing due to “bruises all over his body, particularly on the back of his arms and thighs.”
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Wikipedia