Need Help

[Mentos]

I am a freshman at a large public school that is predominantly Greek. I was recently given the opportunity to re-colonize a national fraternity that was once here for over 100 years and then closed about 5 years ago. The fraternity is giving us a great amount of national and alumni support, but I am worried that myself, as well as my 4 other friends who are in the same position, do not have enough time to take on this kind of a challenge. Please tell me what you think of this opportunity and help me decide what to do. All suggestions will be helpful.

[PenguinTrax]

The national organization and alumni will assist you in recruiting other members to start the colony, so you won't be alone except maybe in the first couple of weeks while you recruit qualified members.

I say, talk more with the national and get a better idea on what type of colonization schedule you will need to follow and what kinds of responsibilities you will need to assume. It sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity - I would go for it.

Barbara

[shadokat]

Good national organizations would never ask you to sacrifice your academics or other parts of your life to recolonize this fraternity. No doubt it will be a lot of work, but they will provide you with resources and support throughout the entire process.

I agree with Penguin...a once in a lifetime that I know I wouldn't pass up!

------------------
Delta Phi Epsilon, Celebrating nearly 84 years of Dedication, Pride and Excellence!

[Lil_G]

Mentos,

I'm currently under going a similar situation and thought maybe I could offer you some advice. Unfourtunately, my school does not have a well-established greek system, we've had difficulties in getting more guys interested in founding with us. Because of this we've decided to start a local to use as a stepping stone before we colonize our respective fraternity. This allows us to establish by laws, a brotherhood, and it also gives us a presence on campus. This is just an option you might want to consider, once the local has taken off with success the transition to a colony is much more smoother.

The points brought up by PnguinTrax and shadokat are very valid. The national fraternity has the most to lose if the colony fails. In one of my talks with the director of expansion for a NAIC fraternity, he told me it costs approximately $6000 to setup a colony. Also, if you look at the program, it has a defined scheldule for completing the goals: e.g. XX amount of dollars raised by XX amount of days.

I hope this was of some use to you. Please keep me posted about the progress of your group, lates.