The newest fraternity to establish a presence on campus, Pi Kappa Alpha, has seen success in recruiting new brothers for mid-semester expansion, consultants Doug Cowan and Eric Carr said Tuesday.
The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, or PIKE, started recruiting after the absence of the University of Wisconsin chapter from campus for the last decade, and Cowan said national headquarters thought it was time to restart Madison’s chapter.
“It’s going awesome,” Carr said of this year’s recruitment efforts, where 20 young men have signed on to become “founding fathers” of the PIKE colony. Although some may argue recruiting actively after the traditional rush week may prove to be difficult, Cowen said starting an entirely new fraternity attracts many viable candidates.
One of the new founding fathers, UW junior Robert Wargolet III, said the deciding factor to join the PIKE fraternity was that he had a friend and cousin in other PIKE chapters, but many other aspects attracted him to joining.
“It’s cool to start and create something great at the university,” Wargolet said. He added founding fathers of a chapter get to use their own ideas in forming the fraternity.
“When you join a fraternity, you take part of a tradition. But [when you start a chapter], instead of being a part of a tradition, you start the tradition,” Wargolet said.
Cowan said Carr and he received about 200 recommendations for membership applications and that PIKE prides itself on recruitment. Cowan said that for the most part, he tries to meet with candidates on a one-on-one basis to discuss concerns with joining a fraternity.
Cowan said that PIKE receives recommendations from different administrators who provide the names of “quality guys” and that he and Carr have talked to more than 50 UW administrators, faculty and staff. Cowan also said support from the Greek system has been enormously healthy.
“The support from sorority women [has been] great,” Cowan said. He explained that he and Carr visit sororities, whose members tell them names of men who would make good PIKE members. Cowan and Carr also said they visit leading student groups on campus to try to recruit new members. Cowan also said alumni and brothers at different campuses like UW-Whitewater make recommendations, which is how Wargolet first got contacted by the expansion consultants.
Cowan and Carr will be hosting several events around Madison for those interested in joining, and founding fathers have a unique opportunity to take part in a regional leadership conference in Chicago the first week of March.
Barb Kautz, a fraternity and sorority advisor at UW, said each different fraternity coming to campus has a unique way to recruit new members. Kautz, who said the Greek undergraduate population normally hovers around 10 percent, between 2400 and 2500 members, noted national interest in sororities is down slightly, but feels UW Greek support is strong. Kautz also said people who are thinking about joining the Greek system should investigate the options fraternities or sororities can offer to students.
“If you want to experience leadership skills, [fraternities are an attractive option],” said Kautz, a UW-Whitewater sorority alumna. Kautz also said joining a fraternity gives men an “instant bond” to a network of thousands of fraternity brothers across the country.
