New frat hopes to break stereotypes
Sigma Phi Epsilon is raising the bar for fraternities across the nation, and the Utah State University chapter is gearing up to do the same for Greek organizations in Logan.
With the fraternity in its beginning stages at USU, SigEp members commit to living by higher standards.
“SigEp is different,” said Josh Cook, the fraternity’s vice president over public relations and communication.
One of the ways in which the organization differs from other fraternities is its zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy, making it a “substance-free fraternity,” Cook said.
“Basically what we’re striving for is to be balanced men,” Cook said. “Our motto is sound mind, sound body.”
Cook said striving for a sound mind and a sound body leads to having a sound spirit, and consequently leads to a well-rounded life. When recruiting new members, Cook said, the fraternity looks for those who do well in school, are involved as leaders on campus and in the community and are willing to work to be physically fit.
The members of the USU chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon have the highest average GPA of any fraternity in the nation at 3.6, Cook said. Although the fraternity does require its members to keep a minimum GPA of 3.0, Zach Takos, USU chapter president, said they are looking for people who are involved in leadership, community and school activities, rather than those who are only worried about grades. As a result, many members of the group are on USU’s sports teams, are involved in Associated Students of USU leadership or carry out other leadership roles on campus.
SigEp was actually the first fraternity on campus and had a chapter at USU until the late 1990s, when it was dissolved because the chapter was not meeting the required national standards, Cook said. He said the members are excited to create their own standards and bylaws above and beyond the national standards.
“We want to change the ideal of the stereotypical fraternity,” Takos said. “We would like to shed the frat-boy image.”
Another way SigEp varies from other fraternities is in the way it recruits its members. Cook said they don’t participate in “Rush Week,” instead they recruit on a one-to-one basis by identifying people who live by the standards of the organization, interviewing them and asking them if they’d like to join. Anyone who would like to join can also request an application, Cook said. He said there are no pledges or class rank, as are often found in other fraternities.
“We seek out our members instead of members seeking out us,” Takos said.
Brandon Lang, vice president over programming, said he didn’t think of himself as the type of guy who would join a fraternity until he learned about SigEp.
“The caliber of individuals is astonishing,” Lang said. “The desire to do good in our community, university and our own personal development drives [us] to accomplish more in life.
“SigEp through the balanced-man program brings students with a plan and purpose to the next level as a community leader.”
The group currently does not have a house like the other fraternities at USU do. Cook said the fraternity is considering either getting the traditional frat house or renting a floor in a dorm. He said they don’t want people to join just for the “brick and mortar,” but that they want to have a place where members can just go and relax.
Sigma Phi Epsilon is the largest fraternity in the world, with a current national membership of more than 14,000 undergraduates. It was founded in 1901 and now has 240 chartered chapters. The USU chapter is not yet formally chartered, because it does not have enough members. Takos said one of the fraternity’s goals is to become chartered by the end of this year. Another one of his goals for the organization is to increase the number of service hours.
One service project the group has planned, Cook said, is to help at local elementary and junior high schools’ parent-teacher conferences by interpreting for students and parents who are not fluent in English. SigEp is also arranging to help Habitat for Humanity in Mexico this summer, Cook said.
Not only do they do service together, but members of SigEp also attend basketball games together and get together for weekly meetings, which are open to the public, Lang said.
Students who have any questions about SigEp or who would like an application for membership can contact Josh Cook at joshcook@cc.usu.edu.
-anihan@cc.usu.edu