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Description

Phil Riggio was an active member of the Arm of Honor Fraternity from 1968 until 1975, coming to EMU from Detroit, MI, where he sold produce from the back of a wagon before helping with the family produce business. Riggio's sons have followsed him into the business as well. Riggio details his father's journey to America from Sicily, and learning the tgricks of the produce trade from his father. There were expectations for Phil to attend college, he became interested in attending EMU after his team, University of Detroit, played them several times during the basketball season. Riggio details the bonds between Arm brothers, social movements on campus, and the "tight-lipped and tight knit" nature of the frat. Riggio describes initiation rituals, mandatory rides, and what happened when a pledge wanted out. Riggio, a reknown basketball player at EMU, also talk abotu playing at Bowen Fieldhouse, running in intramural cross country events, and the process of evicting the Arms from the fraternity house in 2015. President of the Arm of Honor Alumni Chapter in 2015, Riggio spearheaded the effort to clean up the image of the Arms.

Interview Date

4-12-2022

Keywords

Ypsilanti, Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Arm of Honor, Ann Arbor, fraternities, sororities, Greek Life, Track and Field, college athletics, intramural athletics, baseball, wrestling, coaching, initiation, hazing, drinking, Larry Mathewson, John Norman Collins, Motown Records, Brown Hall, McKenny Union, Roverts Rules of Order, dating, 1960s, racism, radicalism

Permission to Use

Permission to quote from this oral history should be requested from the University Archives (lib_archives@emich.edu).

Streaming Media

Phil Riggio, Oral History Interview, 2022

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