Recruiters from the largest fraternity in the nation, Sigma Phi Epsilon, moved on campus last week to begin a new chapter of an organization that distinguishes itself from other frats by not having a "pledge" status for its members.
Unlike other frats, all new members have the same status as returning members, one of many aspects recruiters say make the fraternity attractive to AU students.
"The purpose of pledging is to create a process to indoctrinate new members," said Gregory Barra, director of recruitment for the frat. "It is our opinion that you can do that without having a two-tiered membership."
The frat recruits constantly, unlike all other campus Greek organizations, which recruit at the beginning of each semester. Sig Ep seeks recruits through recommendations from campus organization leaders and administration, and accepts members based on an application and formal interview.
"We've got a special kind of mission here," said Richie Proud, a regional director of the frat. "We want to impact the lives of people who are already great."
The frat's arrival could impact the recruiting of all other frats, according to Tim Walbrun, president of AU's Interfraternity Council.
"I think in the long run it's going to raise the standards for everybody," he said. "Adding new groups always creates more competition."
The IFC decided in 2003 to allow two new frats on campus after two established frats lost official recognition when they violated University and fraternity policies in 2001 and 2002. The IFC determined that AU could still sustain a total of nine frats, so it selected Pi Kappa Phi and Sig Ep.
Pi Kapp was established in February 2004 and now has more than 40 members. Walbrun said the frat fit in well with AU's greek scene, achieving an average GPA and member size similar to other campus frats.
"Sig Ep is basically in the same position as we were last year," said Zach Copeland, a sophomore in the School of Communication and member of Pi Kapp. "I wish them the best of luck at AU, and I have faith that they will do well."
Total bids for all fraternities were 109 last year, and 102 were approved by the Office of Greek Life. This year, there were 130 total bids for frats, 108 of which were approved. Greek Life can reject bids if a candidate is taking less than 12 credit hours or has a GPA lower than 2.25, according to Walbrun.
The IFC selected Sig Ep out of about eight national fraternities interested in beginning a chapter at a small, private school like AU. Walbrun said the IFC picks frats based on a variety of factors, including present national size, number of chapters, number of alumni, financial stability and its pledge system. One thing that appealed to the IFC was Sig Ep's development program.
While many frats have development programs for pledges, Sig Ep's program continues with four different "challenges" aimed at building character over four years.
The recruiters, who will live in CentennialHall until early April, said they chose AU because students here show qualities that Sig Ep values, like a high GPA and involvement in other campus organizations. Sig Ep has the highest average GPA of any fraternity in the nation at 2.93.
"We look for people with an entrepreneurial spirit," Barra said. "We all have the feeling this particular site is a good one. ... We've been pretty impressed."
Once accepted, members begin the four-year Balanced Man program to learn the frat's values: virtue, diligence and brotherly love. New members can complete the first part of the program within six to eight weeks at their own pace.
"We don't want to detract from their college experience," by tying up new members' time in too many frat activities, said Jason Wortham, another regional director. "We want to enhance it."
The Balanced Man program begins with help with time management, academics and networking for new members. Members can then attend leadership institutes or travel to Greece to learn first-hand how greek life evolved.
The program was adopted in the early '90s and is in place at about 70 percent of Sig Ep chapters. The others still use the pledging system. Balanced Man was developed to eradicate the negative image associated with frats in the '60s, '70s and '80s.
"Frats were doing a lot of things wrong," Barra said. Frat members got reputations as heavy drinkers and womanizers. "It just got indelibly marked on what frats were."
"Leadership in our frat said, 'Something's going wrong here, what are we going to do?'" he said.
The frat then created a committee to design the Balanced Man program.
Sig Ep has more than 260 chapters nationwide. Chapters in the D.C. area include those at the University of Maryland, George Washington University and Georgetown University. There are 5,000 Sig Ep alumni in the area, Barra said. The organization's headquarters are in Richmond,Va.
The chapter at Georgetown began at the beginning of this semester and has 40 members currently. The chapter's average GPA is 3.5, Barra said.
