New frat promises selective brotherhood

What do some Wharton students, members of the rugby and crew teams and a sportswriter from The Daily Pennsylvanian have in common? They are part of a group of 16 close-knit friends who are the founding members of Pi Kappa Phi. After a bid-signing ceremony on Monday night, Pi Kapp officially became a member of the Interfraternity Council. Wharton sophomore Morris Beyda, the new fraternity's president, said Pi Kapp needs approximately 35 people before they can form a charter but the founding members are in no hurry to get there. "We want to charter as soon as possible, but were looking for quality, not quantity," Beyda said. Pi Kapp plans to be very selective when looking for other new members. The fraternity placed an ad in the DP last week with the message, "We will find you." Vice President Craig Wellen said the fraternity will not hold open rush events for now, but members of the fraternity sought to dispel the notion that they are elitist. Elliot Sambol, Pi Kapp's rush chairperson, said the fraternity wants to be taken seriously at the University. The founding members did not want to give the impression that Pi Kapp would take anyone just to get a chapter started, he added. Wellen said the group of 16 members are already "very bonded and very close," as they were friends before the fraternity arrived at the University. "We want to create a tight-knit brotherhood," said Sambol, a College sophomore. David Gallo, treasurer of Pi Kapp, said he was "almost beyond the point where [he'd] even want to be in a fraternity at all." Gallo, a Wharton junior, said the main reason he decided to join the fraternity was because he was friends with the other 15 members. Most of the members are sophomores who went through IFC rush last year. "I went through rush as a freshman and basically decided that what was out there wasn't for me," Beyda said. When they heard about Pi Kappa Phi, though, they decided to look into the idea of starting a chapter at the University. Beyda said the group met with Pi Kappa Phi's director of expansion, Joel Borellis, in mid-October. The group told Borellis they all wanted to be involved in the new fraternity, Sambol said. And the founding members also wanted to have total control over who would be allowed into the fraternity once the chapter was officially recognized, Gallo said. Borellis agreed that everyone in the group should be accepted and that the students should decide who gets in, Beyda said. Because of this, the group decided to join Pi Kappa Phi. Wellen said the fraternity hopes to do some fundraisers on Locust Walk and throw some parties soon. Pi Kapp wants to be "very visible." But for now, the fraternity's main goal is new member recruitment. "We should have no problem finding about 15 more good guys," said Gallo. "They're out there." Wellen said Pi Kapp will be trying to find people who are active on campus both socially and academically. "We're looking for guys that know how to go out and have a good time but can put everything else in perspective," Wellen said.