Recruitment

Why go greek?

Here at Alpha Zeta, we understand how confusing the process of rushing can be on an individual. With the variety of different fraternities in the Oregon State Greek Life community, it may easily cause a headache simply by attempting to figure out where to start. Before this goes into why PiKapps is the house to join we'd like to introduce you to Greek Life and how it will benefit your life in so many ways.

Over and over again you hear the typical "Animal House" stereotype in the media of what a fraternity is. In the movies and television shows you see that stereotypical party with the brothers getting intoxicated, belligerent and irresponsible. Although there will always be individuals who act in such a way, Greek Life is much more than just one big party. Being in a fraternity is a commitment to both yourself as well as your fellow brothers that you will pursue every path that will lead to success.

Each fraternity has a philanthropy (which is a cause of some sorts benefiting the community or external network) and it is the goal of every chapter to do as well as they can for their cause.

As well as the philanthropy aspect, each house is dedicated to maintaining a certain grade point average set by their national organization. This is only one of many ways that a fraternity will help you throughout your college experience: if you do not make grades, you begin to lose your membership within a chapter and will eventually lose your status. In college, many students lose their attention and motivation on grades and focus just on the "new life" that they get to experience since they have left high school; but the fraternity forces them to care just as much about school as they would extracurricular activities.

Many individuals assume that the idea of a fraternity is not for them because they don't fit a certain stereotype that all brothers are supposed to have, this is a common misconception in our culture. A fraternity is the source of brotherhood between a set group of men who are in pursuit of a common goal; it has nothing to do with race, looks, or liquor intake. In fact, a fraternity is the opposite of that, it is the union every sorts of man coming together to make the next better than he was before he joined.

Why become a brother of Pi Kappa Phi?

Those of us in the fraternity like to think of our chapter as "The Gentleman's Fraternity". As stated above earlier, there is a large stereotype of what a fraternity should be like: the "Animal House" stereotype. As much as we would like to believe that these stereotypes are only in the media, we cannot escape the truth. Granted the majority of those in fraternities do not match this stereotype, there will always be individuals who will. As part of our own Rush, we strive to find possible members who will be the opposite of this stereotype and will help maintain a positive name for our organization.

One of the most important reasons for joining any fraternity is the vast amount of brotherhood that you develop with the other members. Sometimes it is hard to explain what brotherhood exactly is however, it is the unique bonding of a group of men who strive together to accomplish a common mission and help one another through every step of the journey.

Another misconception that the media portrays about fraternities is about hazing. It is still thought that all fraternities haze in one way or another. Our National Organization demands that no hazing shall ever be conducted in the name of the fraternity and that doing such does not make a man a better brother, but rather the opposite.

Earlier it was mentioned that philanthropies are a large part of a fraternity, at Pi Kappa Phi, our philanthropy is one of the most important attributes of our organization. We are the only national fraternity to own their own philanthropy (Push America) and we take great pride in the work that we do. What is Push America? Push America is an organization which helps provide handicap-accessibility to more places around the country; all the way from building wheel chair ramps to hanging Christmas lights, PiKapps around the country have helped out disabled individuals in making their lives easier. Our national organization hosts events to raise money for Push America every single year, such as: Journey of Hope, Give-A-Push Weekends, Gear-Up Florida, and so forth. The achievements of PiKapps within our philanthropy are not only national though, even at Oregon State we have made a difference for Push. During the 2008-2009 school year, Alpha Zeta managed to raise thousands of dollars in a single event (a concert focused on artist Nappy Roots). Throughout the next couple of years, we plan on hosting similar events which are both enjoyable for the community as well as beneficial for the philanthropy and chapter.

Also in 2008-2009, we won first place in the all-university musical competition known as "Sing". This was quite the achievement for us because it was our first year after being re-chartered and played a significant role as we are in the process of establishing a name for ourselves around campus.

So, there are only a few of the reasons why you should be interested in joining Pi Kappa Phi: Alpha Zeta Chapter at Oregon State University. If you are interested in finding out more information about the fraternity, please contact the following individuals:

Terry Horstman: horstmat@onid.orst.edu
Eric Larson: larsene@onid.orst.edu

Or contact our entire recrutiment committe contact recruitment.