founding a fraternity
 

Greetings. My name is David Francis. I come here in friendship, I am not someone interested in causing any sort of a fuss in the Greek community.

I am a student of Intelligence, a senior at American Military University. Myself and a handful of other National Defense and Intelligence students intend to found a 'local' fraternity. Now is a good time to mention that AMU is a cyber university, not a brick and mortar institution. However, it is a serious program.

The students at AMU are all professionals, many of whom, like myself and the other founding members (of our intended fraternity), are in intelligence and defense positions, either with the Government of the United States, or with a defense contractor firm. That being understood, I can promise you that there's nothing easy about earning a degree from AMU. The work I do is extremely technical and tedious and I know hard work when I see it.

So, do we intend to have ritual? Absolutely. Do we have a vision statement? Yes, it's a work in progress - and needs a name. Are we serious? Consider it done - it is a done deal.

There are two things we want from the greater Greek community.

The first, of course, is to be accepted. We will do this, if we have to do it like Masons, we will, we'll simply incorporate, trademark, and anyone who doesn't like it doesn't need to recognize us as a viable and legitimate organization - but, that is exactly what we will be.

The second, and the primary reason I'm here today is to inquire about available letter combinations. We were all set to use Kappa Psi Kappa, however that seems to be in use.

We don't know the traditions in this regard. There seems to be both sororities and fraternities with exactly the same name, but otherwise unrelated. We need information, and a way to check possible combinations to see if they are in use.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that we may someday post here as a recognized fraternity. You can not find a more excellent, or productive body of men, or one that will eventually reflect any greater credit on the Greek community as a whole. That is our promise to you all.

Well, after reading your post I must say I am very impressed with your dedication, and it sounds like you have thought things through quite well.

As far as using letters already in use by another fraternity, that can be a touchy subject in "the greek world". It has been known to happen among local groups (after all, there are only so many letters in the alphabet!), but if this is a national group, they probably will not permit you to share in their letters. However, if this is a local group, and you are very set on these letters, your best bet is to contact the group, explain your reasoning, and ask if they object to you using the letters as well.

To be honest with you, I don't know whether a fraternity based out of an internet-college will be widely accepted. Personally, I don't see why there should be a problem...like I said, it sounds as though you have given this some serious thought and have all of the enthusiasm and dedication the founders of all of our groups had.

I think the most common question you need to prepare yourselves for, is why do you want to be a fraternity? The founders of all of our organizations have had a distinct purpose in forming our groups... whether (for some of the older sororities in particular) it be to give women an opportunity to band together in a time when women in college were a rare thing... or other groups, like mine, to provide a connection for people with an interest in the same thing (in the case of DO, music). Now bear in mind, I am not questioning your motivation, I'm just telling you the possible questions I can imagine people asking.

I wish you the best of luck in this. Please, let us all know how everything works out for you!

Thank you very much for your kind reply. I can speak for all of those involved, because we've asked ourselves that very question, and keep the answer right out in front of us going forward.

Our objective is pretty simple. While we laude and fully support the traditional precepts which led individually to the founding of all the recognized Greek organizations, our position is, as you pointed out, sui generis, we'd be the only distance based and therefore instantly global fraternity in existence. And that is purpose.

Distance learning doesn't offer that, nor should it in our opinion, when it isn't genuine. We believe that sharing a house isn't what makes a fraternity genuine - fraternity, solidarity, mutual support, and a common interest in the pursuit of excellence is what makes the both the experience, and the organization substantial.

Of course, we want the fraternity to gain prestige. It goes without saying that is earned through the contributions the individual members make, both in our professional field, and as members of society. The Freemasons do a good job of that - but the mutual interest and background they share (I am one) is entirely different than that which inspires men from a particular academic niche to found a fraternity.

We're all at AMU because we're professionals, and because we all operate on schedules that do not allow us to engage in a traditional educational experience. Does that mean that we should likewise never be Greek? I think not.

Again, we will not be the model for boys club, puerile, wanna-be's who think it would be swell to wear a ring with Greek letters, or to call each other 'brother' and have no idea what that word means between non-familial men. We believe in the traditional inculcation and investment of fraternity as it relates to the individual member, and to the continuum of highest precepts of the institution itself as a core belief, a philosophy, and as a way of life. A true commitment: each and every member the embodiment of a vow fulfilled.

That is what we have in mind.

Congratulations on founding your fraternity, I wish you the best of luck!! In regards to your question concerning Greek letter combinations already in existance, one of the users here on GC has her own web page devoted to different aspects of Greek life. You can do a search for ariesrising to learn more, but this is her website:

http://www.geocities.com/ariesrising3/greek/index.html

Hope it helps...

Thank you for your support! I am a Virginian. My family has been in Virginia since Jamestown. AMU is headquartered in Manassas. I am a "Titan" TC Williams, class of 73.

Wow, Dfran! Talk about focus! It sounds like you all have clarity of purpose and a strong desire to move forward in a thoughtful manner. I am sure that you will be successful in all of your endeavours.

Finding a combination of Greek letters which has not already been taken can be tricky. I would do keyword searches on engines like yahoo and google and see what comes up.

Alternatively, you can visit one GreekChat user's website. Her user name is localsororities and her website is at:

http://www.geocities.com/localsororities/

She has quite a comprehensive list of local groups. You might be able to look there and see how "popular" certain names are based on what combinations of letters you are considering.

Other than that, welcome to the Greek community! If you have any other questions, feel free to post them. I'm sure someone on here will have an answer for you.

Best Regards,

.....Kelly :)