The Phi Delta Theta fraternity at the U is on the rebound after a hazing complaint forced the chapter off of campus nearly two years ago.
The national Phi Delta Theta organization revoked the chapter’s charter when a pledge accused a fraternity member of kicking him in the teeth during initiation.
Some Phi Delta Theta alumni and local students are doing all they can to reopen its doors.
On April 26, 2006, the same day the national branch revoked the house’s charter, plans were already in motion to revitalize the fallen fraternity. Ryan Lufkin, a Phi Delta Theta alumnus and chair of the fraternity’s advisory board, led the effort.
A local alumnus was chosen to live in the fraternity’s house and maintain it until students moved in this fall.
Members who were active in the chapter when it was suspended have not been allowed to return.
Students such as sophomore psychology major Justin Cotton and junior biomedical engineering major Jake Moore have answered the call for new members.
By September of this year, Cotton and Moore had moved into the house and started spreading the word about the returning fraternity, coaxing friends and classmates to help restore the chapter.
“We’re basically starting a brand-new fraternity,” Moore said.
People who join are “on the same level as anybody else,” he said. “It’s not like you’re someone’s b****. You join (another) fraternity, and you’re a b**** for four or five months.”
The first step for the chapter to regain its charter is to become a colony, which requires the fraternity to have 25 members. The chapter has 22.
To be recognized by the national branch as a chapter, the would-be house needs at least 35 members.
“We’re almost there, I think we’ll have (25 members) pretty soon,” Cotton said.
He said the 22 members they have now are not waiting for the official stamp of recognition to start volunteering in the community.
Prospective Phi Delta Theta members volunteer their time at U events, such as Crimson Nights, a monthly party put on by student groups, Cotton said.
The house also wants to help local orphanages. Members said they are still deciding which orphanage to aid.
Ian Huntsberger, who joined Phi Delta Theta on Nov. 14, said he is glad to join an up-and-coming fraternity during his freshman year. He already has several friends in the house and said joining was an easy decision to make.
“Hopefully we can set a great example this year,” he said.
Every Wednesday at 7 p.m., the chapter holds an information meet-and-greet for prospective members at their house at 85 S. Wolcott Street.
Tyler CobbRyan Lufkin speaks with potential Phi Delta Theta recruits at the house in August. The fraternity is looking to rebuild after its charter was revoked two years ago for a hazing complaint.