Since its 2001 shutdown due to the instatement of substance-free housing, UW-Madison's Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity may soon be a part of the Greek system after five years of waiting for existing members to graduate, if they achieve student organization status today.
Founded at UW-Madison in 1901, Phi Kappa Sigma was forced to shut down a hundred years later due to a loss of members, which may be attributed to Phi Kap's effort to stay substance-free within their residence.
The fraternity helped pioneer substance-free housing,\ and when the process was finalized in late 2000, it was a ""hard transition for some of [the] chapters,"" said Jason Keath, Phi Kap's expansion consultant.
In February, Phi Kap received the majority vote of approval from the Intrafraternity Council after submitting its letter of intent, followed by a presentation in conjunction with the criteria set forth by the IFC Constitution.
Right now, the fraternity is currently participating in a ""continuous open bidding process,"" and will be able to partake in formal fraternity recruitment once it has enough members to colonize and then enough members to charter, said Interim Fraternity and Sorority Coordinator Barb Kautz.
According to the IFC Constitution, fraternities must have a minimum of 20 to 30 members in order to start a colony. However, ""we want to build a larger group than that to be more competitive in the UW Greek system,"" Keath said.
Phi Kap is using a ""broad range marketing campaign"" to recruit members, including mailers, e-mails, Facebook and newspaper ads and interest meetings, he said.
With their motto being ""men of honor,"" they hope to attract members from a broad range of backgrounds and those who want to emphasize community service, Keath said.
""Even though we are a substance-free house nationally and we find a lot of quality in that, we're not a substance-free organization,"" Keath said. ""We allow our groups to have alcoholic events if it's through the right channels, and if they go through the right legal options,"" such as renting out a bar or hotel.
Though specific locations have not been determined, Phi Kap alumni are searching for short-term housing. Keath said the new chapter is unable to be in a house until they have successfully achieved chapter status, which is predicted to take at least a semester.
""I think it's really exciting that they are an alcohol-free housing facility. [This] exemplifies the values of a fraternity,"" Kautz said.
\
