National fraternity Pi Kappa Phi will be joining the ranks of Geneseo Greek life this February, giving current male students an opportunity to shape the chartering chapter. It will become the 28th Greek organization a part of Inter Greek Council and the fourth fraternity with a national standing.
Alongside Assistant Dean of Students for Fraternal Life and Off-Campus Services Wendi Kinney, the college spent months reviewing various national Greek organizations before determining Pi Kappa Phi the best fit for campus culture. According to Kinney, the project has been a work in progress since last February.
“The college was extremely proactive in selecting the right fraternity,” Kinney said. “We did not want a duplicate of the other fraternities and Pi Kappa Phi provides something different.”
Originating at the College of Charleston in 1904, Pi Kappa Phi’s stated mission is to “create an uncommon and lifelong brotherhood that develops leaders and encourages service to others for the betterment of our communities.”
Pi Kappa Phi encourages this service specifically by operating their own national philanthropy, the only national fraternity to do so.
Beginning mid-February, staff members from the Pi Kappa Phi national headquarters will visit Geneseo to recruit the men that will charter the new fraternity chapter. Kinney noted the chapter will be up and running by this March.
“I have been contacted by students looking to start an organization,” she said. “Pi Kappa Phi gives them that opportunity and I believe there is a lot of excitement surrounding its arrival.”
IGC president junior Murphy Smyth and Inter Fraternity Council president junior Brandon Gimpelman noted the differing views heard from the student population.
“What I’ve been hearing from both Greeks and non-Greeks at Geneseo is that there is no need for another fraternity,” Gimpelman said. “Although Greek life is getting more popular, there seems to be enough opportunities for students to join.”
Smyth said that she believes students are not yet aware about the emergence of this fraternity, which may be reason behind any lack of enthusiasm towards chartering Pi Kappa Phi.
Both presidents noted the extremely short amount of time between the appearance of Kappa Sigma on campus and this new fraternity.
“There are concerns about how this fraternity will differentiate itself from Kappa Sigma,” Smyth said. “Kappa Sig are still considered the new guys and this fraternity will be experiencing that too.”
These issues leave the IGC representatives apprehensive towards the arrival of another Greek organization. Regardless, both Kinney and Smyth said that they have similar ideas of where interest may spark for this fraternity.
“Students who have observed and rushed but have not found exactly what they were looking for will probably jump on this opportunity,” Kinney said
Smyth added that she presumes people who never thought they would be involved in Greek life will take interest in being involved in starting this organization.
“It gives those who are reconsidering Greek life a chance to start something new,” she said.