Trying to Start a New Chapter
 

Hello Everyone,

My university in Chicago, Il has no fraternities or sororities on campus at this time. I, along with others, really want greek life on our campus. Where should I start? I have been researching different frats, Sig Ep and Delta Upsilon but really don't know where to begin. Any and all help is welcome, Thanks!

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=93174

Most of the threads are about sororities, but the advice and suggestions given can be used for either a fraternity or sorority.

This really depends on what school you are at:

I am going to guess wildly and say North Park [though you could be at Roosevelt (or St. Xavier but i'm pretty sure they have NPHC fraternities)]

Since your school has no greek life, you need to talk with student activities and see if the school wants greek life. Without backing from the school, you'll get no backing from any prospective greek groups. But if you are at North Park, the kids that go there aren't exactly ecstatic about any aspects of greek life.

Now if you were at Roosevelt, you'd have to explain to student activities why your potential colony wouldn't fall apart like TKE's did down there.I know AGD just colonized last year and their sorority seems to be working out well from what I hear.

Your course of action really depends on the school (I go to LUC)

Not always true. Some NIC fraternities don't require university recognition. I don't all of them, but AEPi and Sigma Phi Epsilon both exist at Georgetown, which doesn't recognize Greek life. I personally feel like each of them fills a specific niche on campus and a whole system wouldn't exactly thrive there.

But I absolutely agree that you need to talk to student activities FIRST. It's a lot easier to go about it with the support of the school.

Talk to student activities
 

Your first step is to talk to your Student Activities office. I'd start with the relatively neutral question as to what the University policy is on Fraternities and Sororities. Here are a few possibilities on policy and were I *might* go from there...

1) We don't think the school is large enough for Fraternities and Sororities. Unlikely given that you identify it as a University, but possible. At that point do some research on some schools of similar size in the midwest, especially those in the sports conference for your University and those run by the same overall organization (religion or the state) and see if you can find some schools of the same size and control with greeks.

2) We don't allow any single sex organizations on campus. More difficult, but possible areas of research include some of the co-ed professional fraternities like Kappa Kappa Psi or the service fraternities like Alpha Phi Omega.

3) We don't allow National Organizations on campus because we want complete control over all of our student groups. Unlikely for Chicago (tends to be more true in fundamentalist protestant religious campuses), but some schools actually prefer locals.

4) Omega Nu Omega fraternity killed a pledge X years ago. With that, you *might* be able to get a national representative of a fraternity or sorority to talk about Risk Management with the Student Activities office or even a representative of the Student Activities office at a nearby school.

Please let us know what school you are from, we might be able to find the answers to some of these question on the web...

[QUOTE=lucgreek;1759801]This really depends on what school you are at:

I am going to guess wildly and say North Park

LOL Great guess! I have 27 other friends who are interested in starting a colony... and most of the people I have talked to are excited about the prospect of greek life on campus... but I am currently discussing greek life with administration, this week classes start and I have a meeting with campus life director, hope all goes well.

OK, after looking over North Park's information...

First of all. Size. According to a press release, the school enrollment for the 2008-2009 school year is 1882 with traditional student numbers growing and non-trads/Seminary enrollment going down. This is both large enough for a small greek system and indicates that the school is becoming more like a "traditionally" greek school with a focus at "dormed" undergraduates, the ideal recruitment population.

For other schools in your sports conference (CCIW): Augustana has local greeks, Carthage has local and national greeks, Elmhurst has a few national greeks, Ill Wesleyan has national greeks, Millikan has national greeks, North Central does *not* have social greeks (and only one greek lettered honorary) and Wheaton also does *not* have social greeks. You would know better than I whether this helps or not.

Student Handbook: Standard comments about discrimination categories include gender, but no where near the area on student groups. Doesn't look like the school is likely to require only co-ed fraternities.

The Campus Life director sounds like the appropriate person to talk to, and if he can't make a final decision, at least he will know very well who can and will be an excellent person to have in your corner if you can convince him but he has to bump the decision up the line.

I know someone who transferred from NP to Loyola and when I brought up greek life and rush she commented how greek life wouldn't work at NP, again thats just her.

27 people is really great. Definitely talk to the student activities people. If they are completely against it, you are sort of at a wall. Definitely get support from students who would support greek life at NP and get faculty to also support you. Explain to them the benefits of greek life and how it creates more campus involvement. Also look to schools like Loyola, DePaul, and UIC and see if one of their greek life directors could talk to your administration about the benefits of greek life.

If Roosevelt can have AGD colonizing their and a former TKE colony, NP definitely can have a group.

Keep us posted.

Hey whats up, im a Delta Upsilon at Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island and I was in the same boat as you and was the person who initallaly did the things to get a chapter of DU out here. You first need to get in contact with your Student Activities office and see if there even open to the possiblity of having Greek Life on campus, because if there not then there is nothing you can really do. I suggest doing what I did, go to them with as many interested guys as you can get. This way its just not one person going to ask, if you show them you have considerable interest from alot of people they will be more adapt to listening. Make sure you can first even get greek life onto campus then go and talk to a nationals because no nationals is going to even entertain the thought of expansion until the school is interested in starting greek life...and deffenitly consider bringing Delta Upsilon there haha

Like Senusret said, Sigep and AEPi opened a chapter in a campus that did not recognized greek life. I believe there are also chapters in Harvard, which also does not recognize greeklife. Yes, it's easier to have the campus blessing to open one, but if the national feel like it's possible to have a thriving campus without the support of the campus, they'll open one.

I suggest contacting the national organizations too.