www.emorywheel.com
The first is a blurb about our (SDT's) philanthropy event, SDTwister.
"Twisted sister
College freshman Caitlin Reeves, right, twists herself in knots during Sigma Delta Tau sorority's SDTwister, a fundraiser for the non-profit organization Prevent Child Abuse America. Reeves placed second to College junior DeLa Sweeney, left, who won a $100 prize. About 25 students turned out to play on a giant twister board for an hour on McDonough Field on Friday afternoon. Each player donated at least $2 to participate and the winners received a variety of prizes."
The second is an article about a possible Kappa Sigma expansion. I hope it works out.
Hopes grow for chapter of Kappa Sigma
By Drew Paul
Asst. News Editor
April 19, 2005
With support from the national fraternity, a group of Emory students hopes to found a new chapter of Kappa Sigma on campus.
The group of more than 40 students plans to seek backing from administrators and the Interfraternity Council, according to the group’s president, College sophomore Andrew Foster.
National Kappa Sigma officials recently declared the students a legitimate “colony.” But Emory’s Greek life leaders said the students have violated the normal procedures for founding a chapter.
IFC President Jonathan Rio said Kappa Sigma has sidestepped Emory’s “long and very intricate process” for starting a Greek organization.
“This is not following normal standard operating procedure,” he said. “It’s very odd that a group will start up and then ask the University to accept it.”
Matt Bott, assistant executive director of the national fraternity, said he has been in contact with the University and hopes to coordinate the process with IFC and the Emory administration.
“Our goal is to come on campus and meet the entire Greek community,” he said. “We are looking forward to getting on campus.”
Rio said that the process of founding a new fraternity chapter starts when IFC forms a committee to decide whether Emory can support a new Greek organization. Then, Emory conducts a national search and accepts applications from interested groups. The committee narrows the list to three finalists before selecting a new fraternity.
Interim Director of Greek Life Lauren Kent-Delany said this process is outlined in the IFC bylaws, and she expects Emory to follow these guidelines if it decides to add a new fraternity.
Foster acknowledged that his group is taking a different approach, but he said the strong student support for Kappa Sigma should be taken into account.
“In this case there are 40-plus students who want Kappa Sigma at Emory, so that’s why we formed a group,” he said. “If we followed Emory’s plan, there would be no chance of being considered before we graduate.”
Rio said the earliest IFC would consider adding a new fraternity would be next fall or spring.
“We’re not looking to add any groups to the fraternity system right now,” he said.
Foster said the attempt to create a new fraternity came from a desire for more Greek options.
“We felt kind of discontent with the status quo of the fraternities,” he said.
Foster said he and a friend came up with the idea as a way to fix the perceived problem and began recruiting students to join in February and March.
They contacted the national fraternity to express interest, and on Saturday, 40 members pledged as “founding fathers” of the Emory chapter.
Foster said they see Kappa Sigma as a complement, not a competitor, to other fraternities.
“We do have the utmost respect for the other fraternities on campus,” he said. “We thought Kappa Sigma would be a good addition to campus.”
College junior Hank Dunfee, a member of the group, said he likes the idea of joining a new fraternity.
“I liked the fact that the fraternity hadn’t gotten any kind of image yet,” he said. “It would really be what my friends and I made of it.”
Both Bott and Foster said the group has to take several steps to become a full chapter, including recruiting at least 50 members and fulfilling certain academic and service criteria, which are the next steps in the process.
Foster said the group is hoping to achieve official chapter status in the fall. For now though, they will concentrate on recruiting other potential members and increasing their numbers.
“It’s slowly becoming a tight-knit group,” he said. “We’re really concerned with bettering ourselves at this point.”
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