Creighton’s Greek community is opening itself to the option of expansion once more. The Interfraternity Council recently passed a unanimous vote to invite another fraternity onto campus.
Arts & Sciences senior Michael Thomson, president of the IFC, said that the main reason behind the effort is to reduce chapter numbers which, in turn, should help increase the sense of brotherhood that is supposed to come with being a member of Greek life.
“Our Jesuit identity is something IFC takes very seriously,” Thompson said. “Care for each individual member, cura personalis, is important in creating better men. Large chapter sizes make it challenging to educate members and retain a consistent brotherhood throughout the organizations.”
Thompson said the average size of the three largest chapters is at 110 members, which is higher than ideal. He said most fraternity members agree that a chapter should range from 60 to 70 members.
“Right now leadership is limited and there are not enough learning opportunities for the members,” Thomson said. “A big reason why fraternities exist is to provide good opportunities, and if nine guys are running for the same position, it isn’t doing so.”
Thomson also said he considers the Greek community at Creighton to be inclusive, rather than exclusive, and with chapter numbers getting so high, it has become harder to extend bids to most of the men who go through recruitment.
“At the end of the 2010 Men’s Spring Recruitment, 58 individuals were not invited to join one of the five existing Creighton fraternities,” Thomson said. “With 174 going through the process, this represented one-third of interested men. This number is too large per IFC standards, as we constantly advocate for an inclusive Greek system. Opportunities for growth should be available to all interested individuals.”
Thomson also said there are already several men who are hoping to be a part of the new group. He said he expects interest on campus to increase once men know it is happening – much like it did with the new sorority, Delta Delta Delta.
Eric Immel, assistant director for Greek Life, said bringing a new fraternity onto campus would help the Greek community.
“I think bringing on a new organization is always a positive invigoration of what we are trying to do as a Greek community,” Immel said. “At the end of the day there are too many men that are interested in becoming part of fraternity life that aren’t being given an opportunity to join for us not to consider a sixth organization.”
Thomson said every IFC fraternity recognized the need to bring a new group to campus. The process of bringing a new group to campus is underway, and Thompson said he hoped to have it on campus by spring.
An expansion committee was formed to evaluate the need and examine how a new fraternity would impact both Greek life on campus and the CU community as a whole, Thomson said. The committee is made of representatives from each fraternity on the IFC, sorority representatives, non-affiliated students and faculty members. The committee voted to open the campus up to expansion, as did the IFC shortly thereafter.
“At this point, we’re still seeking approval from the vice president for Student Services, but the process is one step further along,” Immel said.
As of late Wednesday night, the committee had not heard back from Michael Cernech.
Thomson said he hopes expanding the fraternity community will rejuvenate it.
“There is a sense of stagnation right now, but hopefully this will re-energize us,” Thomson said. “I also hope that it will increase the over-all sense of brotherhood and help make sure everyone experiences the brotherhood that fraternities are supposed to provide.”