Frat vies for club standing
Mark Rodenhizer
Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: News
An emerging fraternity on campus, Theta Delta Chi seeks to gain official status from the Student Government association and the Greek Council.
Tyler Johnson, one of the founding members of the Marist chapter, says that this new fraternity is forming to do new things that other fraternities have not done.
"A lot of the same fraternities do the same community service" he said. "We're trying to do things no one has ever done. We're trying to do things outside of the box."
The idea of forming the fraternity came from friends at Binghamton, said Stephen Stafutti, one of the founding members.
"Its got a lot of strong points, a lot of history" Stafutti said. "We strive socially, academically, and morally."
Theta Delta Chi was founded in 1847 at Union College in Schenectady, NY. It is the eleventh oldest fraternity in America, and one of the first fraternities to have a flag bearing the fraternity's letters. It is also one of the first fraternities to have a patron saint,
stone, or flower. Dan Kinlan, a member of Theta Delta Chi, says that these items have important meanings between other fraternities and sororities.
In order to be recognized by the school as a fraternity, they have to be approved by the school as well as the national fraternity.
"We have to put a proposal and bylaws together and propose it to SGA as well as the Greek Council" Stafutti said. "Hopefully by spring it will be chartered by the actual fraternity as well as the school."
Until the group is recognized as a fraternity by the school and national fraternity, Theta Delta Chi serves as a colony.
"As a colony we don't pay dues until we are accepted" Johnson said. "There are some things as a colony we are not accepted into."
While Theta Delta Chi waits for recognition, the group has remained active in community service. Theta Delta Chi has raised over $1200 for Relay for Life and has participated in a Hudson River and Route 9 clean-up.
"We want to do community service acts," Kinlan said. "It's not animal house."
"The upcoming event is going to the dorms and collecting food for the homeless," Stafutti said.
Theta Delta Chi has received a large amount of interest and continues to prosper.
"Right now there are 26 of us which is a high amount," Kinlan said. "Not a lot of fraternities have high numbers. The Greek life is 4%."
The majority of the fraternity is composed of freshmen, but anyone is welcome to join.
"It's open to anyone," Johnson said.
Tyler Johnson, one of the founding members of the Marist chapter, says that this new fraternity is forming to do new things that other fraternities have not done.
"A lot of the same fraternities do the same community service" he said. "We're trying to do things no one has ever done. We're trying to do things outside of the box."
The idea of forming the fraternity came from friends at Binghamton, said Stephen Stafutti, one of the founding members.
"Its got a lot of strong points, a lot of history" Stafutti said. "We strive socially, academically, and morally."
Theta Delta Chi was founded in 1847 at Union College in Schenectady, NY. It is the eleventh oldest fraternity in America, and one of the first fraternities to have a flag bearing the fraternity's letters. It is also one of the first fraternities to have a patron saint,
stone, or flower. Dan Kinlan, a member of Theta Delta Chi, says that these items have important meanings between other fraternities and sororities.
In order to be recognized by the school as a fraternity, they have to be approved by the school as well as the national fraternity.
"We have to put a proposal and bylaws together and propose it to SGA as well as the Greek Council" Stafutti said. "Hopefully by spring it will be chartered by the actual fraternity as well as the school."
Until the group is recognized as a fraternity by the school and national fraternity, Theta Delta Chi serves as a colony.
"As a colony we don't pay dues until we are accepted" Johnson said. "There are some things as a colony we are not accepted into."
While Theta Delta Chi waits for recognition, the group has remained active in community service. Theta Delta Chi has raised over $1200 for Relay for Life and has participated in a Hudson River and Route 9 clean-up.
"We want to do community service acts," Kinlan said. "It's not animal house."
"The upcoming event is going to the dorms and collecting food for the homeless," Stafutti said.
Theta Delta Chi has received a large amount of interest and continues to prosper.
"Right now there are 26 of us which is a high amount," Kinlan said. "Not a lot of fraternities have high numbers. The Greek life is 4%."
The majority of the fraternity is composed of freshmen, but anyone is welcome to join.
"It's open to anyone," Johnson said.
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