Starting a Local
 

Hey everyone,

I'm new to the whole greek thing, but i've always wanted to be a part of it. I'm not too thrilled with the greek life at my school and since i'm already a sophomore I wanted to get involved soon. My roommates all go to a school where there is no greek life so a discussion came up about the four of us starting our own. Only problem is, I have no idea what I have to do to get this up and running. If anyone knows what my options are please let me know.

Thanks!
Christine
Omega Phi Sigma

thanks... but do you know anything about how to become recognized so that we can begin the process. and is there any place i can find information on forming this coed frat so that i'm following guidelines, etc

So your roommates go to a different school than you? Most campuses will require that your members be students of the university, unless you're creating some kind of city-wide chapter or an organization that's not affiliated with the school.

Also, you ended your post with "Omega Phi Sigma." Is this the organization you've created?

If you read the linked pages that preciousjeni provided, you should be able to find all the information you need. If you're creating your own organization, you'll be the one creating guidelines, so we can't help you there.

Talk to your school administration and READ the link that you were directed to. Starting an organization is not easy, so you need to make sure you and your friends do your research on your own.

correct, my roommates don't go to the school i go to but i'm not looking to start one at my school. i' looking to start one for my town for people who dont get the opportunities to participate in this type of organization.

yes Omega Phi Sigma is the name of the coed frat we'd like to start.

i'd like to try to get information from my schools administration but i'm not sure how helpful they're gonna be. i read through the link preciousjeni provided but is there any other supplemental site that can give me more information on how these organizations are run. I understand it's a lot of work but i've already started an organization for the fire department- it's just a completely different environment with different types of rules and regs.

also is there any particular group i need to register with to make our frat official. we dont really want to have the same name as another organization.

There is no "official registration" to make your organization legit. Google your organization's name to see if it's already taken. Hopefully, there's some significance in the letters you've chosen (ie. you didn't just randomly pick 3 letters from a hat).

Also, if this is not an organization affiliated with a school, is there a reason you've insisted on using Greek letters? Why not create a social club? What is it about your group that makes it different from the hundreds of fraternities and sororities already out there?

ETA:

You're probably not going to find anything that gives details on the inner-workings of a GLO. Again, this is your organization, so you'd be the one determining how it's run. What's the point of creating something new if you're going to use someone else's style?

We want to create this organization using greek letters so that people who may not be enrolled in college or have been turned down at the ones at their schools have the opportunity to experience a sorority or fraternity type organization. i am already in charge of organizations that are community based for specific things. like i said already it's so that these people may get an opportunity to experience what a frat or sorority is all about. we want to run like any other fraternity or sorority out there. i dont see why it would be unfair to use greek letters to represent us. our organization will give these people the opportunity to experience what others are experiencing at their schools

It sounds like you want to create a GLO just for the sake of creating it. You haven't identified any values or ideals that you want to base your organization on, aside from being a place for those who couldn't experience "traditional" Greek life. You say your main targets are those who haven't pursued college and those who were rejects (for lack of a better term) of other GLOs. Many people who pass up college do so because of other priorities (ex. work, family, money, etc), so that leaves you with an organization full of "rejects." I'm sure that's not what you're after. Your organization needs to have more focus if you're wanting to equate it to a GLO.

You also say you want to run like any other fraternity or sorority already in existence. Look at this from an interests view point: What is different about this organization that would make me choose it from an existing organization? How would you answer that question? And again I'll pose this question to you: Why would you go out of your way to create something unique if you're intending to duplicate something that's already out there?

Forgot to mention:

You stated that you're in charge of several community organizations already. Are you sure you're going to be able to balance school, work (if you're employed), those organizations, AND founding/maintaining a GLO?

Community-based GLOs often have a different focus than that of social GLOs on school campuses. How can you give these people this "experience" if you've never been through it yourself? You say that you're not too thrilled with the Greeks at your school. Have you at least given them a shot?

You cannot transmit what you have not yet received.

...and everything knight_shadow said. If you're just duplicating what's already out there, what makes you think that you'll be able to stand out from the rest?

and what makes any other sorority or fraternity that's just starting out any different than what i'm trying to do.

and yeah i've been through the whole ordeal and didnt get into the one i wanted to

Because fraternities and/or sororities are not usually started by those who have a "sour grapes" mentality.

This is a terrible reason to create any organization and especially a Greek one.

Please stop. Give your time to the groups you're already involved in where it will be appreciated - don't waste it on trying to found a Greek group.

It might not be just a case of sour grapes. They're just doing it on their own because they couldn't do it with others. No big.

Maybe start one with a particular theme, though...like for non-students. Or people who enjoy music or art or something else. Then it's less likely people will assume it's a case of the bitters.

PS-No one's going to tell you how their organization works, but you could start with basics that almost any club uses. Robert's Rules, a constitution, some sort of purpose/motto/vision. Core values. That sort of thing.

I was wondering if you cared to share what Omega Phi Sigma stood for, if it is public knowledge.