Lethbridge Colony?
 

I noticed a reference to a University of Lethbridge (Alberta) colony on Chi Gamma's pages (http://www.ucalgary.ca/~zetapsi/join.html), and noticed they even had a photo album of going to visit this colony (though that page is down now; you can only see it in Google Cache)... yet I don't recall hearing anything about it at the most recent Convention '05; just the new U Ontario Tau Theta chapter...

Did a Lethbridge colony fail? Did it ever exist?

There was indeed a colony at Lethbridge. I met several of the colony members at the 2004 Toronto Convention. A motion to grant a charter to the colony was not presented to the Grand Chapter at that Convention, because the colony had not met the required minimum number of members.

Though I don't know too much about the details, I am told that the colony has subsequently failed.

TKPhi,
TK

Lethbridge? How about recolonizing a great chapter like Lehigh?

No need for Lethbridge-trashing. I liked the men of Lethbridge. I came late to the process, as I didn't become ED until January. So I can't say much about why they failed, or even much about the school. But I did like the guys.
And I would love to recolonize Lehigh, Harvard, Bloomsburg, and a bunch of other chapters. We don't have a team to go into a school to recolonize, but if a group is there (we have groups at U of GA and ASU now) we will spend time & money helping them become a chapter. Often, these groups are formed by an interested alumnus.
Do you know of someone that is interested in recolonizing Lehigh?
TKPhi,
TK

I was fortunate to meet a few of the members from the Lethbridge colony at the 2004 Convention in Toronto where they presented. They managed to get about 20 members in thier colony but not enough to be granted a charter. They were really thrilled about Zeta Psi and wanted to become a chapter. The Chi Gamma boys put alot of work into things, and one of the colony members Uncle was a Zete. Being from a University that had no fraternities and is relatively small in scale it was hard for them to get a large group of men together. As many of us Canadian Zetes know it is difficult to get many members all accross the country even in big cities. The colony the members became frustrated with waiting and with the amount of members they needed, knowing that it was a lost cause trying to get the 40 members they required. With the closest chapter a few hours away and no real assistance from anybody they started losing interest in us. Chi Gamma only had a few members itself and was undergoing a bit of trouble, and IHQ was not helping them as much as they needed. Another fraternity jumped at the oppertunity to move in(Kappa Sigma), flew some people up to the school and set up shop. From what I've heard most members jumped ship and went with what they knew was going to be for sure. That was the end of the that colony.

The University is not well known and is in Southern Alberta. It is growing REALLY quickly and with the large amount of money from oil in Alberta will be a great school very quickly. It is currently ranked 13th by Macleans Primarily undergraduate universities Canadian list, higher then that of Brock which was another attempted colonization in Ontario a few years back.

How are the groups at t U of GA and ASU doing??
TKPhi, Matthew Lofgren

Brock was actually granted a charter in 2000 as Zeta Chi, but has been inactive since at least 2004.
We were approached by a group at ASU in fall of 2004. I flew down to help start the Arizona Zeta Psi Alumni Club in Phoenix, and met a half-dozen of the group. At one time, they reported 35 members. They were granted colony status by the Executive Board at the Boston convention. Since then, their main motivator has left school, and I have heard very little from them. I recently heard from Andy O'Brien that there was a different group at ASU but I know no particulars.
The GA group is reported near 20 and is assisted by a Beta Tau transfer to GA and an Atlanta-based Alpha Mu Zete. I know nothing personally of the group members.
Midwinter Board meetings are January 27&28 in San Diego. I hope to hear a lot more about these groups there.

TKPhi, TK

Thanks for the Info
 

Thanks for all the info; it's really too bad we couldn't go the final yard in Lethbridge, letting someone else swoop in on a potentially good group of guys and a new school--though I do agree that recolonizing some now defunct chapters is also high on the priority list.

Look forward as well to hearing about the ASU and UGa colonies come the end of January. I visited ASU over the summer and found myself thinking it was a great frat school; and as someone originally from the southwest, I always appreciate Zete expanding farther down here.

If anyone hears anything about the colonies, I'd love it if you could drop a post on here.

TKPhi,

Jared

Just me, but I didn't go to Lehigh. I know one Zet Psi member from Lehigh. He doesn't think they will recolonize. The chapter isn't on very good terms with the university and the university owns the house so the chapter would have an uphill battle.

I thought I read something in the Circle about potential expansion at Pitt and Drexel. What happened? I always thought Drexel would be a good fit. Penn and Drexel are right next to each other. Zeta Psi(Penn) has a million dollar house which is about a block from the Drexel campus. If a new chapter did start a Drexel the members could probably even live at the Penn house until they found a house of their own. The last time I was at Zeta Psi(Penn) house there were about 20 empty beds.

Greg Plezia was talking about Bucknell a few years ago. What happened there?

All those places are news to me, but sound good. I'll ask Andy whether he can give me any info on them.
TKPhi,
TK

Hey, did you hear anything about the new groups at the board meeting?
Matt

The Board granted Colony status to the UGa group, which continues to grow. You can find Austin Carson, the colony president, on Facebook.

There may be a Charter vote in August at the convention. It appears there is some life left in the ASU group, as the main guy has returned to school after a really bad thing happened to him, not his fault.

Zeta Psi has turned away several other groups at schools not deemed suitable for Zete charters.

TK

Its good to hear that we have a couple of colonies. I wish we could get some of our inactive groups reactivated though. Or some chapters closer to us hear in Halifax. With UNB gone currently, Montreal is the closest and it is at least 8-10 hours away.

So go fire up the Delta Kappa again!

The men are still there in school, it wasn't a problem with the brothers, it was just a money thing. Now that the chapter fee has been reduced by over half, it makes a small chapter viable again.

And if you're driving to Montreal, you might as well keep going and visit Minnesota & Wisconsin to see our renovated houses. It's just a few hours more...
TK

Is there a new chapter fee? We have not been informed of that! If that is the case the guys here would start up UNB in a heartbeat. They still have approx 10 guys around who are still in university and would immediatley be active. Not to mention that it would save us as well, finances are really the only thing holding us back currently from growing.

The Fraternity Board approved a new finance arrangement to begin next fall, IF it is approved by the Grand Chapter at the the Convention.
Chapter fee of $1850, initiation fee of $350, pledge pin & book charge of $10. The initiation fee is paid directly to the Grand Chapter, and nobody get initiated without it being paid in advance. The fee pays for the badge & certificate.
That should substantally solve our collection and our database problem, and the active chapters will be able to budget without knowing how many pledges they will have, since the pledges are a wash.
TK

What is the criteria?

We seem to have a bunch of standards that have been promulgated over the years. Generally, a school is required to be ranked "extremely competitive" in the college rankings. But some of our chapters aren't at such schools for a number of reasons.

A long time ago (10 years?), the board set a policy that the premier public school in each state would automatically be eligible. That would allow the University of North Dakota, but not the South Dakota School of Mines to have a chapter. Actually, UND would be a good place!

TK

Could you be a little more specific with the criteria? Is Lethbridge considered one of the premier schools in that area?

If Zeta Psi requires 40 members to grant a charter then why does Zeta Psi spend so much time trying to expand in Canada where very few chapters come close to 40 members?

Geez, I just tried to post & ended up flushing a very, very long reply. Ask me at the Wisc. LTI tomorrow if you're there. Otherwise maybe I'll have the temper to retype it later.

TKPhi
TK

Lethbridge is not a premier school, its not the top in Canada or even close. But, it is the only University within a 2-3 hour drive of the area. It is expanding rapidly, and with Alberta's growing oil wealth I wouldn;t be surprised for the school to raise in stature. I personally would never go there, but doubt that it is a bad university.

Another thing ot consider is that almost all universities in Canada are not that much different from one another, they all have similar programming. Some have thier strengths and weakness, but they are all funded by the government. They are not private schools, and are thus very similar in quality to one another.

Yes, the chapters in Canada are smaller. Fraternities in general are not as well known here, and schools are organized very much different. I think the question about why so much time is being focused up here should be redirected to an American, and the question should be, 'why are you not trying harder to expand to more schools in the USA?' The reason time is spent in Canada trying to grow the chapter count is because we all want to see the fraternity grow. The more presence we have, the easier it is to recruit and make our other chapters stronger.

There is a focus up here, not only to get to the best institutions but also to be the 1st fraternity at schools. We are braving the way where many other fraternities can not.

OK, I don't have to leave for Madison until the afternoon, so I'll weigh in again.

We COULD expand in the US. This and past Boards have chosen a path that limits our opportunity in 2 ways. We restrict the set of schools at which we will accept chapters, and we put little time & money into expansion.

We don't go looking for chapters in the US, we wait for them to come to us. In the past year, we were approached by groups from at least 6 schools. I was the Foundation ED, so there may have been more that I don't know of. Half of these were dismissed quickly as unsuitable schools.

We then expect the colonies to operate without help and largely without direction from the IHQ. Why? Because we spend our limited staff time and money elsewhere. Because so many chapters, especially in Canada, don't pay their IHQ fees, the problem is made much worse. We can't use Foundation money for expansion efforts.

It's my impression that the Board feels that this course reflects the wishes of the majority of the membership. If you think that Zeta Psi should either accept "lesser" schools, or redirect money from chapter visits, publications, etc. to colonizing efforts, the convention is the place to make it known.

It seems that we have this debate constantly, but how else can we define the path we choose between a) our claim to be one of the intellectually elite fraternities and our wish to expand our networking opportunities, and b) our desire to expand and our demand for chapter services from IHQ?

This turned out to be a very different post that the one I messed up yesterday. So, as to your direct questions:
-30 is the minimum for a new chapter. Oshawa just made it, Lethbridge fell short.
-A school should be ranked in the top 100 schools in the US to be eligible. (USNews generally accepted as the leading scholastic ranking organization: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/col...udoc_brief.php) But other factors, like a hostile administration, could also cause Zete to shy away.
-Canadian alumni are doing the expansion work up North, not IHQ staff. They are not the only ones up there recruiting, though. Zete used to be #1 in Canada. Now we're #3.

TKPhi
TK

Sorry to intrude on your forum. I just wanted to let you guys know that Kappa Sigma's colony in Lethbridge hit 50 members after two semesters and will receive its charter on December 2nd (Omicron-Xi chapter). None of the Kappa Sigma members in Lethbridge were members of the Zeta Psi interest group.

Alpha Gamma Delta sorority is apparently considering starting an interest group, pending an invitation from the university. We believe that there is room for more fraternities on campus and would welcome another colonization attempt by Zeta Psi, as another greek group can only be a positive thing.

Anyone wanting more information on what we do know about the Zeta Psi group can contact me through PM.

I saw that Kappa Sig was on campus. Too bad, Zete could have been first frat there if we had had a more expansion-minded administration. We still do not, but the Canadian Zetes now have begun a new initiative themselves, which I hope will lead to better things across Canada.

I saw Lethbridge play the U of Minnesota a couple weeks ago. The U's talent was too much for Lethbridge, but they played well as a team. U 6 Leth. 2.

TKPhi

I am not Zeta Psi; an Acacia alum; but I believe in the Greek system and support Zeta Psi's effort to expand. Zeta Psi, like Acacia is a small house, with about 50 chapters, similar to Acacia with 44. So, we face the same challenges - building a house with alumni support. With a small number of houses, there's not enough dues money to support a paid staff.

As an alum of Acacia, here's my life story. I went to a top school (RPI - which also had Zeta Psi) and spent a career in technology and retired well from the dot com boom. I gave up the 80 hour weeks for a comfortable retirement job, and have a 14 year old son, who just won the National Spelling Bee. One of his prizes was a scholarship from Sig Ep, which included a trip to their conclave.

For an old alum like me, it was an eye opener. I, personally, got a lot out of Greek life, but I thought those days were over, As I've moved around the country, I saw many houses fold, and pledges die, at my house and others. My eyes were opened at Sig Ep. They hafe a mentoring/coaching program called Balanced Man, and have been very successful, in changing the image of Greek life. Most of the other giant (190+ chapter) houses have adopted similar programs, as well as many smaller (100 chapter) nationals. Although Sig Ep has a paid staff of three dozen, replicating a mentoring program could be done by volunteers.

Here's my view. Demographics matters. Zeta Psi tends to focus on the top 100 colleges, which is a philosophy with a lot of merit. Britain has a strong distinction between "University" and "College", but America has more a gradual scale, as you go down the scale of selectivity, "universities" tend to morph into "colleges". However (I spent much of my career in demographics and org behavior), the difference between the top hundred, the second hundred and the third is not that great. Kiplingers publishes the top 366 colleges, and this is the key breakpoint.

Here's two reasons. One is the new ivies. Lately, there are more qualified students than ever. Millennials are better prepared than Gen-X. The quality of student has pushed up the quality of the schools. And the kids are smarter about picking out a college. They know about majors and the individual fine points of each college, not everybody wants to go to Harvard; students want the specialized network of a particular profession, not the generalized networking that comes out of the top ten. The students know their personalities, they'll pick a small relational school over a giant state campus. The world got flatter, at least the top 366 colleges have gotten flatter.

The second reason is alums. Alumni are like artillery. They are powerful, economical, and they win wars. But they have limited range. Acacia's only west coast house is within an hour of six million jobs. If an alum is going to help, he probably won't drive farther than an hour, on a regular basis. But for us (Acacia) one of every six new grads, that will take a new job within an hour of a chapter, will be near our Berkeley house.

I am like many alums of the sixties. I don't want to sit around and do nothing in retirement, I have the health and resources to give back to what got me here. Mitch Anthony wrote a book - The New Retirementality - and that fits us perfectly. Greek life has resurfaced just as we checked out of our 80 hour a week gigs, and the talent is there for the asking.

Our (Acacia) challenge is to expand where there are lots of alums, to enhance the alum chapters located where there are lots of jobs, and to augment our version of Balanced Man at the local chapters. As much as the millennials are smart students, there is a lot they will learn in the five years after graduation. We want our alumni presence to help them network, and find good jobs, plus give them career tips to help them succeed.

If an alum sees his chapter as undergraduate-only, he will rarely connect his earning ability to his undergraduate experience. But if he sees brother alums helping him get jobs (and raises), he will associate income to his Greek letters. And give back. I saw SIg Ep raise 16 million bucks in half an hour, their alums believe, and their undergrads are grateful (and will come back to Conclave with their own successes).

Zeta Psi has a number of huge strengths (I often comment that you have 50 chapters, but that's in "degrees celsius" - Zeta Psi acts like a house with 90 chapters). Your headquarters is close to NYC, which is an advantage over being located in the midwest (away from jobs and alums). The Washington and Wall Street programs are remarkable - perhaps you can do some weekend intensive coaching (ala Balanced Man) along with them?

You should consider merging with another fraternity? Having chapters in Texas and the south and the rockies will help you. Plus it will give you the strength to have paid field staff, to help you grow and implement programs, and to motivate the alums, who, right now, are too far from a chapter to help. Zeta Psi is the "biggest of the small houses", and could easily merge with a medium (60 to 90 chapter) national and still keep much of the identity and heritage.

Fraternities are changing, and, during any "sea change", some will survive. The best nationals will have two elements. One is a good mentoring program (Balanced Man). The other is an excellent alum program, that continues to mentor the new grads, during the important five years after graduation.

Holy isht.

If someone came into my sorority's forum and told me we should merge so we could have programs as good as Chi Omega's, I can't even think of the language that would come out of my mouth/keyboard.

Maybe Sig Ep has this great program and all that, but they have other issues, for sure - just take a look at their forum on here. I'm not dissing Sig Ep, just saying they aren't as perfect as you seem to think they are.

Thanks for the advise.....
I seriously doubt Zeta Psi would consider merging with another fraternity. We are happy to be small, and select. We are growing at our own pace and will most likely have a chapter at Oxford University by the Spring. Not exactly signs of a fraternity that needs to be merged.

It's nice to be wanted. And our headquarters is certainly below par. And our expansion policy is not consistently applied. But we survive that, because out in our chapters, we have good elders doing what needs to be done, with help from IHQ or without it.
What fraternity wouldn't want that?

Hi :)

My name is *****, and I am currently studying at the University of Lethbridge!

Greek life here has been booming the past two years, now with over 200 students apart of greek life! In the beginning of 2013, the greek organizations on campus were successful at establishing a Greek Council with the University and Students Union.

University of Lethbridge currently has 3 greek organizations:
1 - Kappa Pi Chi Women's Fraternity (2011) - Local seeking colonization
2 - Delta Eta Iota Sorority (2008) - Local
3 - Kappa Sigma Fraternity (2006) - International

If you have any other questions, I can answer them or direct you in the right direction :)

Probably should look at the age of the posts - 7-9 years old. Good chance people who posted don't check GC anymore.

This thread is worth the bump however for the ballsiness (and I'm not using that term positively) of someone trying to tell one of the healthiest fraternities out there that they need to merge.