house::phi.delta.theta

Turtle Derby is Phi Delta Theta's biggest philanthropy of the year, and the biggest on campus, raising on average, $1,500 for local charities. Turtle Derby isn't your average derby race, it's a fast-paced, high stakes competition. One turtle is adopted by each sorority and women's hall on campus, and trained to be the fastest and the greatest. Don't worry, the turtles aren't harmed in anyway during the entire derby.
The first Turtle Derby was in 1958. The Turtle Derby Race Track is two concentric circles called the Ooh Pah Pah Dow. The Turtle Derby Turtle is called, Theotis. A sign hung near the track which read, Turtle Downs. Early Turtle Derbies took place in the Campus Christian Center parking lot. The Turtle Derby Queen is selected during the week prior to the Derby and becomes the Phi Delt Sweet Heart. Proceeds from early Turtle Derbies went to the Lewiston Orphanage. The Phi Shellback was the newspaper that was printed prior to the Turtle Derby in an effort to hype the event. However, this tradition has slowly been backed out of the big picture.
Traditionally, the Fiji's, Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Nu joined in the festivities by bringing animals to race against the turtle. The Fiji's bring a rabbit, the Beta's bring a rat, and the Sigma Nu's brought a snake to challenge the Phi Delt Turtle (commonly known as Killer). The Sigma Nu's are now excluded from this exhibition due to an incident when the snake ate the rabbit.