A new student interest group on campus will remain a student interest group until it fulfills specific requirements to become a fraternity.
Currently, nine men have an interest in forming an Otterbein chapter of the national fraternity Phi Delta Theta.
Jake Ramirez, president of the Interfraternal Council, said he’s trying to remain neutral and that there are pros and cons to a national fraternity taking its place at Otterbein.
“It all depends on how things pan out. Some fraternities are meant for certain campuses and some aren’t,” Ramirez said.
While some students are concerned of the impact that bringing another national fraternity to campus would have, Ramirez doesn’t think its national status should be the main qualm.
Ramirez wouldn’t elaborate further on his concerns.
Colleen Grant, president of Epsilon Kappa Tau, said her chapter supports the addition of a new fraternity.
“This new interest group can provide another option for men to look into, possibly increasing the amount of men interested in Greek Life as a whole, or even just Otterbein in general,” Grant said.
Otterbein President Kathy Krendl said, “At this point, my sense is that we respect the right for students to organize and join associations to promote their common interest.”
“Each of these groups will discuss at great length the advantages and disadvantages of adding another fraternity at Otterbein, and there will be ample opportunity for students to participate in this process,” she said.
The Assistant director of the Center for Student Involvement and director of Greek Life Mike Stumpf said it’s important to remember that a new fraternity will still have a set of rules it must follow.
“(A new fraternity) is expected to follow the same rules that all other groups follow.”
While Stumpf was a member of Phi Delta Theta during his time at Iowa Wesleyan College, he said that was not the reason the students are interested in bringing this particular fraternity to campus.
“A group of students came last school year, and the leader of the group has family who are Phi Delts,” Stumpf said.
Currently, none of the prospective members have gone through any pledging process, Stumpf said.
While Otterbein’s Interfraternal Council bylaws say 10 men are required to form a fraternity, the new interest group won’t go through an official education period until they have acquired 25 members, required by Phi Delta Theta’s national headquarters.
After the group obtains 40 men, they will leave “colony status” and become a full-fledged chapter, according to Stumpf.
He said students aren’t limited when it comes to forming these groups.
“We’re not about limiting students’ choice of freedom of association,” he said.
In a recruitment attempt, members of the interest group asked sororities for the names of men who may be interested in joining.
Stumpf said this attempt does not violate fraternity recruitment policies, but sororities are encouraged to follow a more structured process.
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