Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) and Phi Gamma Delta (FiJi) are the final two competitors in Samford University’s 2024 search for the campus’ next fraternity.
On March 18, Dr. Spencer Long, chief operating officer for the SAE, gave a presentation in Reid Chapel advertising the fraternity to a group of sorority and fraternity presidents, Interfraternity Council (IFC) delegates, Panhellenic Council delegates and students.
SAE is based upon four pillars – friendship, scholarship, leadership and service – and strives for each member to live by the “True Gentleman” creed. It was founded in 1856 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Three national representatives from FiJi gave a campus-wide presentation on March 26 in Brock Forum. This fraternity prides itself on its core values: friendship, knowledge, service, morality and excellence. It was founded in 1848 in Canonsburg, Pa.
This was FiJi’s follow-up attempt at interviewing for a spot in Samford’s IFC circle – their last attempt was in the fall of 2021, against Beta Theta Pi (Beta).
Beta was selected over FiJi to be the IFC’s most recent addition to campus. During Beta’s first semester, a total of 23 men were recruited and initiated. During their first venture into the formal recruitment process in the fall of 2023, a total of six men were initiated. After taking spring recruitments into account, Beta has 34 members total.
Ethan Smiga, Beta’s vice president of recruitment for fall of 2023 and the fraternity’s current vice president of brotherhood, says that the Alpha Mu chapter of Beta will be an available resource at hand for the next fraternity, whether that be SAE or FiJi.
“It’s really chaotic in the beginning, going from no Greek Life to actually being in Greek Life,” said Smiga. “IFC and all the other fraternities are here to help you all.”
According to Clint Coulter, Samford’s director of Greek Life, male student interest in fraternity life has greatly increased over the past few years, which is why another fraternity has been invited to campus so soon after Beta’s establishment. 80 men who went through IFC formal recruitment during the fall of 2023 were not extended a bid from any of the six fraternities present on campus.
“That’s the make-up of one fraternity,” said Coulter.
235 male students went through the formal recruitment process in fall of 2023. According to the IFC’s Vice President of Recruitment Max Adams, the estimate for fall of 2024’s recruitment will be upwards of 250 men.
“Just like everything else, like how we [Samford] need more parking, we need more fraternities to house more guys who are coming, because we’re getting more guys than ever before,” said Adams.
Coulter and the rest of the IFC considered these numbers and decided to pursue a formal expansion process. Eight fraternities submitted applications – Samford IFC narrowed it down to these two.
Neither SAE nor FiJi have traditional pledgeship processes. For both fraternities, 96 hours (four days) after a man receives a bid, national bylaws require that he is to be a fully initiated member.
According to representatives from FiJi and SAE, and Coulter himself, many fraternities are moving to this model nationally.
“In the next five years, I think the most common [pledgeship processes] will be 72 hours to four weeks,” said Coulter.
Existing fraternity members are concerned about the viability of this model. Noah Doyle, vice archon of Pi Kappa Phi, credits the closeness he has with brothers in his pledge class to the Alpha Eta chapter’s pledgeship process.
“It was cool that it was something that people had done in years past – tradition matters a lot,” said Doyle.
Graham Hess, FiJi’s director of fraternity growth, shared that, according to research, “35% of men who would join fraternity choose not to because they don’t want to be pledges.”
Coulter expanded on this point, citing the hazing that primarily happens during the pledgeship process in many Greek organizations.
“We hear about hazing, we hear about forced consumption of things that shouldn’t be forced… and I think this generation today is like, ‘Why am I going to put myself through something like that just to earn membership of an organization?’” Coulter said.
Both fraternities have had chapters at Samford University when it was formerly known as Howard College. The Alabama Beta-Beta chapter of SAE was active at Howard between the years of 1870 to 1876; the Mu Prime chapter of FiJi was active between 1856 and 1861.
The deadline for the IFC to determine which of the two fraternities will call Samford’s campus home is April 12. According to Coulter, if all goes to plan, one of the two fraternities will be tabling for membership interest near the end of the spring 2024 semester.
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