Anyone know of any other current Kappa Sigma expansionary activity?

[stufield]

How is the ODU colony faring? Is your petition for chartering likely to be submitted in the reasonably foreseeable future, such as before the end of the current academic year?

[x2silver]

We are doing good. Honestly we have every check list finished and done with. Attempting to find recruits in a campus with not even a 5% greek life is difficult. Average fraternity size here at ODU is small. Only two fraternitys here have over 40 members. We are one of the larger fraternities on campus yet still growing. We are aiming to get our charter by next semester.

[stufield]

"doing good" ???
"fraternitys" ???

[x2silver]

I apologize for the grammar. The Odu kappa sigma colony has reached all of our goals except the numbers we would like to have. We have another rush planned for this coming semester, which should get us to where we need to be.

[applesofgold]

At the risk of sounding crass, I have to wonder if Kappa Sigma's approach to expansion is sound. While I applaud our big numbers since WGMs Kaplan and McClamroch, I think we have the reputation for being the fraternity at all the universities no one has ever heard of. And I'm not sure that haphazardly blanket-colonizing and trying to be everywhere all at once is the smartest use of our resources. Perhaps we should be taking an account management style approach and really focusing on the colleges and universities that will yield the most 'productive' alumni (i.e., successful, willing to volunteer, eager to donate, model example for future members) for Kappa Sigma.

In my mind, this means going all-in on the very best and most prestigious universities FIRST AND FOREMOST, many of which we have zero presence currently such as Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Northwestern, Berkeley, UChicago, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and pretty much all the Ivies and U of California schools. These schools should be our tier one and hence, our highest priority. It also includes colonies or faltering chapters at top schools where we are currently (like our chapters at Cornell, Michigan, Duke, UCLA, etc.) and assisting them with DGM and endowment support + recognition. Brothers at these chapters are tomorrow's clear leaders in business, science, politics, academia, and media. And they will have much deeper pockets from which to give back to Kappa Sigma. And their successes will only make our fraternity look better.

In the second tier, we should establish colonies and build solid chapters at large universities with powerhouse athletics programs. The top NCAA Division I BCS schools would be a good start. We currently do a pretty good job in this area, but there are still major schools - big, big programs like Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, Oregon, Arizona, Auburn, Miami, VA Tech, Syracuse, Penn State, and Memphis where Kappa Sig is totally absent. It's no secret that big schools with prominent athletic programs have the best athletes - many who go pro (some which may be Kappa Sigmas) - and the strongest Greek Systems. And alumni from these colleges who love their college teams, love their fraternity experience, and have deep emotional bonds to both are much more likely to give money and donate time to us. And again, we should provide support and resources for struggling chapters in this tier because it will absolutely payoff in the future.

Case in point: it's a real pity that the UC Santa Cruz colony mentioned earlier in this thread did not work out. That's a very strong school, full of really smart kids who will move on to lucrative careers up the road in technology (Silicon Valley) or Finance (SF). We should, or should have, been doing everything possible to concert that colony into a Kappa Sig chapter.

Moving on. In the third tier, I suppose, is 'everyone else'. Colonizing in this tier is gravy. Don't get me wrong; it's great to see solid 25 man chapters at Southestern Wyoming State, but if Kappa Sigma is going to be run like a business, then we should treat our expansion (and expansion investments) like a business. And university fundraising studies over the years show consistently that the bigger, more prestigious schools - in terms of academics or athletics - receive have larger giving rates per alumni. The bottom line is that alums from tier 1 + 2 above payout more.

My point is, we can't go chasing after every opportunity to colonize like a chicken with its head cut off. We have to prioritize where Kappa Sigma should be and then organize an expansion strategy around it. Incidentally, I did share this tactic with my DGM and with nationals recently and am waiting to hear back, as I would be very glad to volunteer my time and money into implementing a plan such as this.


AEKDB

[Ithakappasig]

"We have zero presence currently such as Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Northwestern, Berkeley, Chicago, Georgetown, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, and pretty much all the Ivies..."

Add Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, Brown, Rice, Northwestern, ND, Dartmouth, Michigan, BC, NYU, ND, RIT, etc. We aren't at the two biggest UC schools, UCLA and Berkeley.

Williams, Swarthmore, Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Carleton, Davidson, Wesleyan, Bates, Hamilton, Trinity, Colby, the Pomona schools, Macalester, Lafayette, Skidmore, Gettysburg, Whitman, DePauw, Lawrence, Colgate, Willimette, etc. Also I saw there was talk in this thread about a bunch of colonies that were trying but obviously didn't make it. The Kappa Sigma curse.

I just don't think it will happen. Usually when there is something that is obviously desirable but doesn't happen there is something internally amiss or dysfunctional. Seldom does it just not occur to anyone. If you look at the politics of Kappa Sigma in the past you see where the fraternity simply does not want to have more competitive universities, schools in certain regions, etc. Those successful and wealthy or connected students and alumni you envision would also want to have a say in the fraternity.

And also Catholic and other parochial institutions. Holy Cross, Boston College, Villanova, ND, Fordham, G'town, DePauw, Seton Hall, Providence, Canisius, Manhattan, Marist, St. Josephs, Fairfield, etc. (there is at least 30 more in the Northeast) as well as a number of Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc.

Many like Baylor, SMU, TCU are already in the fold but schools like Pepperdine, Wheaton, Calvin, Biola, Wittenburg, Bethany and a bunch of others come to mind but there are tons that are overlooked that are strong regional schools. Many of these schools used to not have fraternities and would frown on unrecognized fraternities but now they usually at least have a few unrecognized chapters. It is the biggest area for growth among quality colleges.

It would also be a good idea to have a program to bring in guys who went to our military academies, WP, Annapolis, USCGA, AFA, VMI, Citadel, etc.

But when we talk about the Northeast we don't even see the Tier 2 schools, or even the better Tier 3 as you were putting it. Look where we are not in terms of medium sized schools in the area: Hood, Wagner, Rowan, TCNJ, Rider, Rowan, Ramapo, Manhattanville, Suffolk, Farleigh Dickinson, Millersville, St. Joseph (NY), Kean, Westfield, William Paterson, many of the big state schools, (even their flagships) SUNY Albany, UVermont, URI, Southern Conn, Central Conn, UMass, tCNJ, UNew Hampshire, Buffalo St., SUNY Buffalo, Montclair and others.

"Tier 1" schools in the big cities in the Northeast? Pu-lease!

New York City area? No NYU and NYU Poly, no Columbia, no Princeton, no Yale, not even Cooper Union and Fordham. 0/6
Boston? No Harvard, no BC. MIT is there. 1/3
DC? No Georgetown. 0/1. (There is one at GW but none at Catholic, American)

Our New York City area may be the worst of any fraternity.
SAE, Deke and other fraternities are in residence at the Harvard Club or something. There is no NYC alumni network, or a network DC or Boston so there isn't any meeting much less a being in residence.

They can't fix this by going for 50 members or fail. They have to look at the individual college. And there has to be a big change whoever is doing things locally or change what we are doing drastically.

As you noted the fraternity also has to invest- not just money but in getting parents involved, helping find housing, helping with mentoring and graduate school information, helping with getting the students more involved as leaders and active members on their campuses. The recruiting has to be focused at people who have something in common- people who are involved in certain majors and career aims, sports, student government, etc. It is better to have a handful of guys that everyone on campus would aspire to be like and would want to be around than a lot of people with no social skills, or personality and nothing going on. In the long run quality will produce stability and sufficient quantity. Quantity will only produce instability and problems and probably never get you quality.

I was just talking to a couple of SAEs at Cornell. I don't want to give it all away but purely as independents (nothing to do with SAE national) they wanted to go as virtual local for a while and hope that later they could come back informally or merge if they behaved well, so that the multi year ban would not kill SAE at Cornell. I asked why it was so important considering the time element; why not just call it quits and just involve himself in alumni affairs? They said that it is an important point of pride and of membership quality to have chapters on all of the Ivies if possible (as well as most of the little Ivies which in many case requires going it independent and without IFC or university recognition) and at other competitive schools. They also said that they have less behavioral problems when they are not recognized because people are not always trying to duck rules and they know their fraternity's main office is the first point of discipline and that they are likely to be more harsh if they have to take measures. Again though, this has not happened and this is something they were considering independently. Anyway, my point is that if Sigma Chi, SAE , Phi Delt, Deke or even Sig Ep and other fraternities care about getting at and staying at top colleges while Kappa Sig seems like they rather not be at top colleges. It's either political, poor leadership or more likely both.

Instead Kappa Sigma should be targeting many of these schools where it has missed out, putting aside the obstacles like the huge numbers they require to open (bigger than any fraternity) and the big installment fees and get to selling the actual fraternity by doing things like strengthening active as well as alumni gatherings and networking online, assisting with the quality and availability of chapter Kappa Sig websites and social media (gotta show the flag if you want people to rally behind it) and start emphasizing things like higher ed attainment, career and entrepreneurial achievement, mentoring, sharing opportunities, etc. Want to start a new chapter? Find the natural group of guys like sports teams, campus leaders, etc. and ask them if they want to come together under Kappa Sigma. Build that and they will come.

I'm glad I enjoyed my undergrad years and I have great college and chapter networking. And I would always continue to help out in any way I can if they weren't constantly telling alumni who volunteer or submit advice to butt out. I'm not psyched about what is going on at Kappa Sigma in the North East. Maybe it will change.

PS, One thing to correct you on brother- those big schools in the Southeast and Southwest mainly you mentioned mostly have chapters: Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon, Auburn, Miami, VA Tech, Syracuse, Penn State, but not Memphis, Georgia and Syracuse. I think Arizona was in trouble for some bad behavior but is coming back, not sure though. Georgia had some issues as well but needs to be back sooner than later. Kappa Sig is still a big fraternity.

[Hockeynut]

Well, Cornell is getting Kappa Sig back again... I've looked at some past articles and my own firsthand experience this year to kind of acquaint myself with things. I hope I can do my best to help get this chapter back up to where it should be.

[AXOmom]

Originally Posted by applesofgold

In the second tier, we should establish colonies and build solid chapters at large universities with powerhouse athletics programs. The top NCAA Division I BCS schools would be a good start. We currently do a pretty good job in this area, but there are still major schools - big, big programs like Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, Oregon, Arizona, Auburn, Miami, VA Tech, Syracuse, Penn State, and Memphis where Kappa Sig is totally absent. It's no secret that big schools with prominent athletic programs have the best athletes - many who go pro (some which may be Kappa Sigmas) - and the strongest Greek Systems. And alumni from these colleges who love their college teams, love their fraternity experience, and have deep emotional bonds to both are much more likely to give money and donate time to us. And again, we should provide support and resources for struggling chapters in this tier because it will absolutely payoff in the future.



AEKDB

Ummm...You aren't absent at Oregon. You have a chapter at there....or daughter's sorority has had two or three socials with guys claiming to be Kappa Sig's (LOL). Either way...she thought they were nice guys, and they represented your fraternity well.

[stufield]

Both applesofgold's and ithakappasig's most recent e-mails contain a number of factual errors regarding where the Fraternity does and does not have chapters, and the strength or lack thereof of certain chapters. As soon as I can find the time from my busy law practice to compose a substantive follow-up to those e-mails, I will correct those errors. Meanwhile, yes, Gamma-Alpha Chapter is active at the University of Oregon and is thriving.

The foregoing does not detract from the sentiment expressed in applesofgold's and ithakappasig's most recent e-mails, with which I and many other Kappa Sigs agree wholeheartedly.

[phoenixconn]

i actually go to one of the Tier 1 Universities mentioned by above and we got into contact with Kappa Sigma, which is why i even look into this page. The problem with why Kappa Sigma has no recent Chapters at Tier 1 institutions is the amount of work it would mean for nationals. Cornell is getting back. yes. But they already have a house. Tier 1 fraternities that do exist have existed for a very long time and are very established within the community. If you want to bring in a new chapter or an old chapter back without a house, it is very hard. Kappa Sigma Area recruitment manager visited us like once every 6 weeks, and that even though we already had a number of people that was already half a fraternity at our college. Empty promises everywhere. No help for going through rush. A box of 6 t-shirts and some pens. And that with a fee of 45 dollars a month... All in all, it did not seem that Kappa Sigma wanted to put in the effort or money to support a new/rechartering in such a difficult environment, when there are houndreds of "Tier 3" colleges out there where it is so much easier. There this kind of support is maybe enough. People at "Tier 1" institutions tend to be very critical and our ARM was bad. Empty promises from him. All the time.

[phoenixconn]

fyi, i feel uncomfortable using a terminology as "Tier 1" and "Tier 3" as it creates a rank. i used it purely for clearification in the groups that were mentioned above. I do not support any kind of discrimination or classification of people/institutions into things that are "better" and "worse"

[tallgreekalum]

I sent you a PM

[Ithakappasig]

First, I'm going to hold off for a moment on the "Tier" discussion.

I'm with you for the most part and will thus paste:

Kappa Sigma Area recruitment manager visited us like once every 6 weeks, and that even though we already had a number of people that was already half a fraternity at our college. Empty promises everywhere. No help for going through rush. A box of 6 t-shirts and some pens. And that with a fee of 45 dollars a month... All in all, it did not seem that Kappa Sigma wanted to put in the effort or money to support a new/rechartering...

BINGO! That isn't to say that I don't recognize that you should be able to do it yourself but as I pointed out above, most people won't know how to do this. And from what I keep hearing, the selection tends to get some of the last people you really want for ARMs. I'm going to be flat out about that because I think that eventually someone will say, "aha, there's may be a problem there and some people are offering possible solutions." It will happen.

I'm not going to write and essay to agree with what you and others are saying. But I will say that there are many guys who have some experience in challenging situations and would love to help out. Some really good suggestions have also been put up on this thread. Most of what makes chapters work and grow is informal and doesn't come across well in the PC world where anything that has to do with selectivity, ambition, achievement, cooperation, independence, masculinity, commonality, belief systems and codes or even just having fun is scary and off putting to so many. Many of these things are exactly why people join fraternities and stay committed but sometimes this is exactly what people don't know how to implement and how to sell. And every principle of marketing goes out the window with this bowing to PC too.

Where you are off at IMHO, is that you are claiming that fraternities that don't have a house that try to come in or reestablish can't at Tier 1 schools. Nope. Virtually every fraternity around at these schools, including those who didn't have houses came back Yale comes to mind where only one fraternity had a house to come back to but really the case is that organizations that are at these schools more often than not come without housing and work together to get a formal or informal house, and this is something (as I posted earlier) that the ARM or national should consider helping guys set up. In fact, it's these technical details on recruiting and setting up and maintaining housing, etc. that I think is the most important thing that you can do for guys as a fraternity.

Something you said though (and this is only speculation!) sort of point to why things may have been bound to fail with our group. If you have a bunch of negative, hyper-critical guys who don't believe in things like classification or anything remotely associated with that sort of thinking they are pretty damned from the get go. If it was me I would immediately have gotten rid of any guys like that from the jump because they are just going to kill things or be a dead weight in my experience. Competitive schools are also full of mediocre folks who may have done well on a test but are emotionally unintelligent and just not good at very many things; and some of them hide their inadequacy behind negativity. (This is probably much more common in "competitive" schools more than other places.) And you have to be upfront with guys how that works, i.e., without buy-in as a group and as individuals you are pretty much fucked. That translates to a lot of life by the way. Instead of spending time reading all the stupid, sophomoric criticisms of fraternity life, really prospective fraternity men should spend more time looking at these things through a social science lens and understanding just what the dynamics are of successful groups and why they work when they work. Too many prospective members fail to do that and too many fraternities fail to outline such education.

I appreciate far left idealism that frees us of any distinction, difference of attainment, etc. though I don't share it. I'm not here to argue this and will spare you a subsequent back and forth because there is no argument to be made. Not only are there ubiquitous rankings, some more popular than others, and a widely understood hierarchy in institutions, this plays itself out in important ways, such as graduate school admission, hiring, social relations and status, and universal recognition of education. In fact I was just talking to someone who has a PhD whose education was not recognized in Germany and that sort of "bias" formally and informally regarding U.S. schools is more common than one might imagine. The hiring in "better" law firms (though I suppose the Vault rankings and lawyer rankings also means nothing to you) and upper level management track for many financial firms are heavily predicated towards those school rankings. The same goes for certain areas of upper level government hiring. As to what seems to bother you- I'm not defending (or condemning) elitism and class reproduction as an element of American or international higher education but it doesn't disappear by our pretending it is not there. Universities love to talk shi# but look at how quickly they point to their rankings when they are favorable. The past 40 years only one POTUS elected wasn't an Ivy Leaguer or military academy grad. Check the SCOTUS, ditto with only the top schools. Again though, there are teams of people from Ivy League and other competitive schools destined for never achieving much and others in less competitive or ranked schools that will achieve more so I'm not implying this always is the way of things.

I could go on regarding the "tiers" and so forth, I just think that the whole conversation is sort of without purpose. How can we deny the undeniable just because may not like it? If anyone is being honest they will admit that a large piece of what drives campus fraternity life is determining values and codes and attainment and then trying to be the best at them.

Best of luck if you guys are trying again. Hit me up and I'll help as I can if you'd like. I think if you are part of the group I think you are we may have some connection. TTYS.

[Ithakappasig]

PS To make my own PC plug for myself, the list of schools I mentioned at least were much more inclusive though I do think it is important to be present at top schools like Kappa Sigma's main competitors.

[Hockeynut]

I am happy to say Alpha Kappa is a fully established chapter again. Gee willikers, I haven't posted on this site in a while have I?