Re-founding a frat

ankh · #1 09-02-2006, 11:22 PM

Hey there guys. As u can see i am new here, plus i am new to all greek life.
I need some advice. Instead of joing an existing frat, i ended up joing a group of guys who are supposed to re-establish a chapter that was gone for several years now i think.

I have been reading upon some fraternity building material and one of the main points was to have a strong group of guys with good leadership skills etc etc.

Now this group of guys does not really have that... they are average kids if u can say so, good kids though. Now i need some tips on how to start this thing going. We dont have a house on campus but we do have one outside the school border which is not far away. I imagine throwing parties every day would not really work with a new frat that has only 13 members... What else would gain everyone's attention?

ps. we are planning on recruiting more people. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

AlphaSigOU · #2 09-03-2006, 12:15 PM

Best thing I can say is to take a look at the national websites for fraternities and begin the process by carefully looking at their principles to see if the group and fraternity are a good match. Once all of you have agreed on which fraternities to explore further, contact their director of expansion and express your interest.

For example, my fraternity (Alpha Sigma Phi) will create an 'interest group' first; and when they meet the minimum requirements for colonization, they become a colony and pledged to Alpha Sigma Phi. When the colony has met the requirements for chartering and is approved by the Grand Council, only then will they become a chapter. It takes anywhere from 1-2 years to go through the process, and not every interest group follows through to chartering for various reasons.

Good luck in your endeavours.

ankh · #3 09-03-2006, 04:10 PM

well from what i have been told we will be able to become a colony rather soon. Dont ask me why... i guess someone wants us to come back to campus.

I was more concerned about the social aspect of this fraternity... The political side of it is covered by other people. I was wandering on how do i make it popular among students. What would be the first steps?

JMFratsHard · #4 09-04-2006, 01:42 PM

Actually, I'm somewhat in the same conundrum with a fraternity I'm trying to found. How do you get it to the point where it really becomes a big presence on campus. We have a Beta Theta Pi chapter that is in the middle of chartering, and I was reading about them and they're a huge fraternity nationally but in the previous rush week they got no one. I don't want to end up like that

adpiucf · #5 09-04-2006, 02:04 PM

* Wear letter shirts as much as possible to garner a presence. If you're not yet formally initiated, wear shirts with the name of the fraternity spelled out. People will get used to the name and the association on campus.
* Get a list of phone numbers of the fraternity and sorority social chairs from the Office of Greek Life. Set up some social events.
* Register your colony with the Intramural Athletics group and start playing flag football, basketball, volleyball, etc. It will get your name out and increase your membership reach. When you play against non-Greek men, take this as an opportunity to invite some of the guys out with you so you can rush them and extend bids.
* Plan a philanthropy event/fundraiser to call attention to your colony and a charitable cause. You can do a sorority beauty pageant, a dance-off, lip sync, basketball game, etc. Promote it in the school newspaper, put up signs on campus and announce it at the IFC, Panhellenic meetings, and arrange with the sorority and fraternity presidents to talk at their meetings or chapter dinner to promote your event. Get t-shirts.
* Serenade the sororities. Bring flowers. Girls like that stuff.
* Get involved with Homecoming and Greek Week. Get involved with other GLO's philanthropy events.
* Make sure your members are involved with outside clubs and activities. This is a good place to recruit men. Wear letter shirts to club meetings.
* Get support from your nationals. They'll have lots of good ideas. If there is a nearby chapter of the fraternity, team up for a brotherhood weekend so they can show you the ropes and teach you some traditions.

Good luck!

Tom Earp · #6 09-04-2006, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankh

Hey there guys. As u can see i am new here, plus i am new to all greek life.
I need some advice. Instead of joing an existing frat, i ended up joing a group of guys who are supposed to re-establish a chapter that was gone for several years now i think.

I have been reading upon some fraternity building material and one of the main points was to have a strong group of guys with good leadership skills etc etc.

Now this group of guys does not really have that... they are average kids if u can say so, good kids though. Now i need some tips on how to start this thing going. We dont have a house on campus but we do have one outside the school border which is not far away. I imagine throwing parties every day would not really work with a new frat that has only 13 members... What else would gain everyone's attention?

ps. we are planning on recruiting more people. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

First off, not to be redundent from other posts, Frat is not a proper word for Fraternitys. (Frats or for boys, Franternity or for Men).

I am unsure of several things:

1. You dont like the guys as they are average and dont have it.
2. They are still average kids but are going to recruite.

Are You with them or not?

If you are going to join them, You will have to make a commentment.

If it was a National who was there, you have to know if you as a local have a chance to affiliate or not. Are they helping you? Are they worth affiliating with? Are you dedicated enough to be part of it?

If you are, then heed the advice of the above posters.

It will be hard work, but if it comes to fruitation, it will be well worth if for all involved!

ankh · #7 09-04-2006, 09:24 PM

That list helps a lot adpiucf, thanks.
I did not wanna sound like i am reluctunt about being in this faternity. I am actually very excited but scared at the same time. There is A LOT of things that have to get done. but we will do our best

tallgreekalum · #8 09-05-2006, 03:51 PM

This ADPhi couldn't have said it better than ADPiUCF. Are you guys sponsored by the inter/national, or are you independently formed and hoping to get recognition? I you are being sponsored by them, they should be giving you more mentoring support.

EE-BO · #9 09-05-2006, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tallgreekalum

This ADPhi couldn't have said it better than ADPiUCF. Are you guys sponsored by the inter/national, or are you independently formed and hoping to get recognition? I you are being sponsored by them, they should be giving you more mentoring support.

I agree.

A colony, or group at the pre-colony stage, is entirely different from an established chapter in terms of what new members need to know and do.

Pledges to an existing chapter learn as they progress towards initiation. But they already know some basic things- like, for example, the name of the fraternity they have pledged. And they are learning within an established framework.

But you, as the member of a group of men seeking to colonize, need to know everything and where it stands before you make a decision to join.

13 guys is more than enough to start a colony. 3-4 is actually not uncommon. With 13- you have all the manpower you need.

Right now is not the time to be worried about rush and parties. Right now is the time to be getting the group aligned with a GLO.

With 13 men taking on this effort, you should have 3 things going on,

1. You should have one guy in charge of a committee to be in direct and frequent contact with the GLO with which you want to colonize (or re-colonize if as you are saying this turns out to be a school where the GLO used to have a chapter.)

2. You should have one guy in charge of a committee to be in direct and frequent contact with your college and the local IFC to secure your status as a registered student organization once a colonization is approved by the GLO.

3. You should have one guy in charge of a committee to be in direct and frequent contact with any and all local or former chapter alumni groups of the GLO with which you intend to colonize so you can secure their sponsorship and support for colonization.

All 3 of these committee heads need to be tapping into those resources to find advisors for the colony. 4-5 is ideal, 3 is a minimum. You will need advisors for colony, financial and alumni relations at the very least.

And EVERY other one of the 10 guys in the group needs to be working on at least one of those committees.

For this to happen, you as a new member of this group of men need to be told everything up front- the name of the GLO, and the status of each of the 3 efforts I have outlined above.

Otherwise, this is probably not a serious colonization effort.

That does not mean this a bad bunch of guys, nor does it mean you should not join up with them.

But before you make a decision, I am just letting you know that in a circumstance like this you need to ask all these questions and you should be getting direct answers to them.

Colonization is a lot of work. I have not done it myself- I joined a long established chapter. But I have observed it in process.

The reality is that if you are a freshman joining 13 guys in a colonization effort, you will likely be a junior or senior before you have a formal colony that has grown to a size where your primary concern is rush, social events and securing a permanent house. And this assumes the group you are joining has already made strides towards colonization and is getting a positive response.

Someday you will hopefully look back and take pride in having built something here, but be assured your fraternity life as colonizer will be more work than party-based. The long term reward of brotherhood is just as great, perhaps greater in some senses for having created something, but you are not going to have the typical fraternity experience.

JMFratsHard · #10 09-06-2006, 12:07 AM

[QUOTE=EE-BO]
The reality is that if you are a freshman joining 13 guys in a colonization effort, you will likely be a junior or senior before you have a formal colony that has grown to a size where your primary concern is rush, social events and securing a permanent house. And this assumes the group you are joining has already made strides towards colonization and is getting a positive response.
[QUOTE]

I'm in the same process myself but I disagree with that statement. Going from colony to chapter is dependent on your GLOs requirements and the school you attend. If you go to small school or a school were greek life isnt big it might be a little longer to get to that point, but if your go to a big school where greek life is very big it won't be hard to do that. Right now, we are looking at moving from colony to chapter in 1 yr. Our GLO says we can take no longer than 18 months.

EE-BO · #11 09-06-2006, 12:17 AM

Hi JM,

I think your situation is consistent with my statement. The original poster's question suggested that colonization had not even been formally started yet. If it has, he has been left woefully out of the loop.

What you are saying, if I read correctly, is that you are already a colony. And so now it is just a matter of whatever game plan your GLO has- which also indicates you are receiving guidance and support from HQ and advisors (something the OP does not seem to have at present.)

In any event, best of luck to you and your colony. I hope you guys do well.

FWIW, I have observed both fast and slow colonization efforts with my GLO. But the latest trend seems to be for HQ to drop in to help a core group of guys recruit heavily during rush under our own "balanced man" initiative (which is required of new chapters, but optional for existing chapters.)

I have to say it appears to have been wildly successful. By taking this more aggressive approach with more immediate HQ and advisor involvement (and with a more impressive presentation to rushees about what a fraternity can be beyond the parties), there have been many instances where a single rush yielded 40+ guys and then they just took off from there.

Compared to what I saw 10 years ago, this seems to be a new approach- at least for my GLO. But again, I am not sure even this is is in the works with the OP since he is reporting that he has been given vague notions at best as to plans to re-colonize.

Makes me think of the old rush adage- There are 2 kinds of fraternities during rush. The ones with massive houses and the ones who tell rushees there are plans "in the works" to build a massive house in the near future.

Kevin · #12 09-06-2006, 12:56 AM

EE:

I've seen both approaches on my campus. We came in in '99 using the more traditional colony model. An HQ advisor came to campus, recruited us, put us through the Sigma Nu LEAD program, (similarly required for colonies), then he left.

It took us 3 years to hit campus average in terms of membership, and we finally chartered in '02.

PKA on the other hand came in in '01 with a core of guys. As I recall, they had several paid HQ consultants available for that first semester. They hit campus average with their first rush. They also transferred in strong leaders from other schools. They chartered in (I think) 2 semesters.

We were founded during a hiatus in new colonization activity. In fact, we were the first new chapter Sigma Nu founded in 3 years when we received our charter in '02. Since then, we've founded quite a few chapters comparatively. I'm not privy as to whether or not they've changed methods, but I would be surprised to hear that's not the case.

EE-BO · #13 09-06-2006, 10:40 AM

Do you think this might be why some GLOs have been closing more chapters than opening lately?

I have a theory that GLOs are moving in this direction to bring in a new kind of rushee- specifically someone who is just as into good grades, philanthropy and gentlemanly behavior as they are into having a good time. Granted many of us were already like that- I like to think I was- but certainly rush as I have observed it among many houses was not geared that way in the past.

If a GLO can sweep in with an aggressive campaign and practically overnight build a chapter more in line with the ideals and balance expected by HQ and alumni, then I don't see the incentive for a GLO to take the long route with an existing chapter that is resisting change, or to allow a colony to take off on its own without much guidance- and risk unwanted patterns setting in early.

Tom Earp · #14 09-06-2006, 06:22 PM

One of the best coverages among the many.

ktsnake and I were in the same boat but different eras.

Granted, times have changed when I started a local. There was very little expansion among Frateritys then. The two who were expanding were LXA and TKE of which TKE was on campus at the time.

The main thing is to have a cohesive group of members and set a goal of who you want to try to affiliate with. Sometimes, there is actually more than one Fraternity so leave your options open as it were. Be sure to have an understanding of what you want to do and where you want to be.

You mentioned BTPi and not getting any pnms. How many Fraternitys are there on your campus? Just them? How about locals? What is the feelings of the College?

Many times as was stated, a GLO will want to come in and start from scratch to find the pnmers thay feel best reflects their dogma.

But, there may be some who you have been in contact with who will send a representative to check you out and vice versa.

Todays ideas of many Fraternitys have changed about expansion. They are working on a two pronged front. Expansion to new areas and rechartering closed chapters where they were a factor at one time.

A lot does depend on the atmosphere of the campus and the College to have a GLO to come to any campus.

I can only say the very best of luck to you. It will take a lot of hard work and many heart breaks to accomplish what you have set out to do.

But as one said, if and when it gets done, it will be the greatest experience of your life.

rbwrath · #15 09-07-2006, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktsnake

EE:

I've seen both approaches on my campus. We came in in '99 using the more traditional colony model. An HQ advisor came to campus, recruited us, put us through the Sigma Nu LEAD program, (similarly required for colonies), then he left.

It took us 3 years to hit campus average in terms of membership, and we finally chartered in '02.

PKA on the other hand came in in '01 with a core of guys. As I recall, they had several paid HQ consultants available for that first semester. They hit campus average with their first rush. They also transferred in strong leaders from other schools. They chartered in (I think) 2 semesters.

We were founded during a hiatus in new colonization activity. In fact, we were the first new chapter Sigma Nu founded in 3 years when we received our charter in '02. Since then, we've founded quite a few chapters comparatively. I'm not privy as to whether or not they've changed methods, but I would be surprised to hear that's not the case.

wow. sounds like what you and i have gone through are pretty similar. it took us 5 years to get our charter back. very rough. the crazy turnover of directors of expansion didn't help at all. colonized in october of 2000, and chartered in may 2005.

colonizing and rechartering is not easy, no matter what situation you're going into. but it is much harder if you're going it alone or with little alumni support. if your chapter has a long history at your school, you need to tap into that support base asap. if they are really interested in helping out, the entire process is 1000x easier. but in either case, recolonizing and rechartering is definitely one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences you will have.