How to Join a Fraternity – 2020 START Info Session

Hello everyone welcome to our virtual START session on how to join a fraternity. My name is Bennett and I’m the Vice President of Recruitment Programming for the Interfraternity Council. This session will explain the different joining processes for OSU fraternities.

So there’s another video entitled “Go Beavs, Go Greek” that gives an overview of the OSU fraternity and sorority life community and you’ll want to watch that video as well. There’s also lots of info on our website so go to oregonstate.edu/cfsl to view frequently asked questions, recruitment information, and to see chapter profiles.

Hello, my name is Cheke and I’m the Director of Internal Affairs of the MGC or the Multicultural Greek Council. Fraternity and sorority life has a rich legacy at OSU; the community was established 138 years ago.

There are 3,000 greek members at Oregon State and we have 45 chapters on campus and our community grows more each year. We have 8 chapters with cultural/ multicultural interest, 4 chapters with academic interest, 28 chapters that are housed and 2 chapters that are unique and founded at OSU.

Our community is diverse and thriving and we really believe that it is a place for everyone to belong. What’s up everyone my name is Devan and I’m the representative the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Fraternity and sorority life community has six core values that guide our programs.

These values are scholarship; chapters to have GPA requirements to join the Greek community. And the Greek community GPA is historically higher than the all-university GPA. Philanthropy; the OSU Greek community raised over 360,000 dollars last year support nonprofit organizations. Community service; members complete volunteer hours within the Corvallis community and support campus events.

Leadership; students can develop leadership skills by holding positions both in their chapters and within the FSL community. Friendship; joining a fraternity or sorority provides with the tight-knit community to support you in your college journey.

Inclusivity; perhaps our most important value. We achieved this by working to create opportunities for students of all backgrounds and identities to join our community. Check out the CFSL and Council websites for more info on how we live out these values.

Now to the main event how to join our chapters and find your place to belong. We will now that deeper into learning more about the councils that have fraternities and what their joining process looks like.

Keep in mind some of the dates that we will share our subject to change due to COVID 19 response. We have 26 fraternities at Oregon State which are broken up into three different councils. You can learn more about each individual fraternity on the chapter profile tabs on the CFSL website.

The Multicultural Greek Council served members of multicultural fraternities and sororities. Including LatinX, Asian interest, and Native American based chapters. While each of our groups have an identity that is connected to their founding, each are also strongly connected to a multicultural identity.

We currently have one Latino founded fraternity and one South Asian interest fraternity and coming up to campus Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian interest fraternity. If you’re interested in becoming a founding member just look at their contact information in the CFSL publication.

MGC chapter sizes are typically smaller but our groups are always looking to grow. None of our groups have a chapter house but often meet at the cultural centers on campus.

Our council has a strong connection to social justice principles and you don’t have to identify as a member of certain cultural group to join any of our chapters. MGC is having a meet and greet event on Wednesday, September 23rd. We cannot wait to see you all there!

The National Pan-Hellenic Council or Divine Nine encompasses the historically African American fraternities and sororities. There are two NPHC fraternities that are active at OSU. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. We have two additional fraternities at OSU but they don’t currently have undergraduate members.

There are still opportunities to join these inactive chapters, see the CFSL website for more info. None of the NPHC chapters have houses but often meet in the Lonnie B Harris Black Cultural Center here on campus. NPHC chapters are typically smaller but chapters are eager to grow and still very active on campus.

Like MGC, you don’t have to be African American to join NPHC, our chapters are inclusive and welcoming to people of all backgrounds. We’re hosting a informational on Tuesday September 29th that we would love for you to attend if you are interested.

The joining process for MGC and NPHC are slightly different and it’s called a membership intake. If you are interested in MGC or NPHC fraternity, try to attend as many council-sponsored programs as you can to learn more about the community.

Individual organizations also host various programs and activities on campus. By attending these events you can introduce yourself to the of the fraternity that you’re interested in and let them know that you would like to learn more about their organization.

Each chapter will hold their own membership intake process. As a general rule several MGC and all NPHC organizations do not except students who do not have an established GPA at OSU. It is always best to check with with an individual chapter about their own intake process.

IFC is a fraternity only governing body. We have 22 chapters and 18 are housed so there are unhoused options for students as well. You can join an IFC chapter through a few methods, number one – summer recruitment.

Many chapters will have recruitment events throughout the summer and may contact you to get to know you better.

Men can accept a bid from a chapter at any time it is not uncommon to be offered a bid over the summer. It is up to you if you want to accept the bid or wait until Fall.

Check your email throughout the summer you may hear about scholarships fraternities are offering and I urge you to check them out. The other option is the IFC fall recruitment process that will occur September 23rd through October 2nd.

This process is free and you must register to participate, please visit our website to register and learn more about the process. Outside of fall recruitment, IFC chapters continue to hold informal recruitment events throughout the year so you can always join at another time.

Thanks for joining us today and I hope you know we are excited to meet you! Please check out our website to see more in-depth videos about each council and be sure to follow OSU Greeks on Instagram. Go Beavs! Go Greek!

source