The path to becoming an on-campus greek organization demands a test of the organization’s relevance to the campus and to the community, said Chase Montgomery, president of the Beta Kappa chapter of Delta Sigma Phi and a senior majoring in finance.
Delta Sigma Phi held its chartering ceremony Saturday at the University Club on Queens City Avenue.
The organization has been on campus twice before, but due to diminishing recruitment and other factors, the organization has had to move off campus in the past, Montgomery said.
Delta Sigma Phi hopes to establish a lasting presence among the on-campus greek community by proving its relevance to the University.
“We have to give back to the University in which we live,” Montgomery said. “You have to host big events and prove that you’re giving back to the University and making yourself relevant.”
Montgomery said Delta Sigma Phi hosted the Miss Sorority Row pageant this fall to proclaim its relevancy in the eyes of the University.
Christopher Edmonds, president of the national organization of Delta Sigma Phi, said large campuses present difficulties to off-campus fraternities who wish to move on campus. The more students enrolled, the more greek organizations on campus and therefore less room for off-campus fraternities to move into that on-campus community.
Kevin Benscoter, a 2008 UA alumnus, said he started the Beta Kappa chapter of the organization in his living room and is known as its ‘godfather’.
He said he walked to what he thought was the Delta Sigma Phi house to find that Lambda Sigma Phi had taken the house and rubbed off the Delta from the name adorning the building.
The steps to moving on-campus can be difficult because new recruits into the organization often do not know where the organization is headed, he added.
“Every step of it is very difficult,” he said. “They often don’t know what they’re getting themselves into.”
David Rosser, the first president of the chapter and an alumni who graduated in past May in finance, said the chapter challenges each member to excel.
“We’re challenging our members to be above the average,” he said.
Edmonds said the move to on-campus is part of a larger process, according to a plan he called the ‘Vision 2025,’ which sets objectives for where the organization would like to see itself in 2025.
He said the Beta Kappa chapter had to coordinate a number of resources to make the move to on-campus possible, such as taking a leadership role, locating people with institutional knowledge of the University and putting various building blocks in place.
“To fulfill the relevancy factor, you’re going to have to be there doing the work,” he said.
