Spring 2016 semester brought new changes including a possible strike, Associated Students elections and a new fraternity on campus. In the Fall, Interfraternity Council said how they wanted to extend its greek system by adding another organization to Sonoma State University. After discussing the option of three different fraternities, Sonoma State decided on Pi Kappa Phi to be welcomed as the new organization.

Pi Kappa Phi has an extreme passion for wanting to create leaders on campus and they have a focus to promote diversity. The fraternity wants to see a change at Sonoma State as they want to improve the issue of diversity and strengthen IFC.

 “The values we believe Pi Kappa Phi will bring to our campus as a whole as well as to fraternity and sorority life,” said Heather Martin, director of CSLIS. “Their expansion process, resources and way in which they cultivate and support their newest chapters to insure success was very promising and exciting.”

Once Spring break ended, three Pi Kappa Phi leadership representatives came to Sonoma State to start their recruitment process. They explained they don’t want the men to feel interviewed or pressured, instead they want to have conversations about what this opportunity can bring them. The representatives will be here until the week of finals to continue this process. Pi Kappa Phi will then be able to recruit at the same time as the other fraternities in the Fall 2016 semester. 

Representatives have been tabeling for the past two weeks as well as getting to know the posible new members over pizza, a BBQ and playing basketball. Pi Kappa Phi allows its men to wear their fraternity letters before initiation, which most fraternities do not. This is because Pi Kappa Phi believes their recruits are as much brothers as active members and think it’s only fair to allow them to promote their name as well. 

“We want men who show great leadership skills and who are open minded,” said James Maloney, director of expansion for Pi Kappa Phi. “We also start off with academics as our priority making our GPA requirement 2.7, to set the bar for scholarly men.”

After two weeks, the representatives have extended 16 bids to men they find promising leaders to carry on the chapter after they leave. If these men choose to initiate, they will be founding fathers of Pi Kappa Phi at Sonoma State. Once they finish extending bids, they will send the two best men they feel have the greatest leadership skills to Austin, Tex. to the associate chapter institution. There they will learn what it means to lead a fraternity and will become the executive board of their chapter. 

“We really like the men we’ve met so far, they’re all very promising leaders in my opinion,” said Pi Kappa Phi representative Jimmy Hua. “I don’t feel nervous leaving them next semester to start this chapter because they have shown me they are ready for their future with this great opportunity.”

IFC is excited to expand and get to know the new organization. They believe having more leaders sitting in on their meetings and making big decisions will help make the changes more diverse. They want the newly Pi Kappa Phi members to express what they want to see changed in the IFC and greek life system. 

“I think this is a great opportunity for more people to get involved in our greek life system and to make our campus stronger,” said sophomore and Alpha Delta Pi member Brittany Jepson.