Zeta Beta Tau is coming back to campus, and they're starting from scratch. But the fraternity says the start-up effort is going strong.
The fraternity is working to enlist a new crop of members, who will be "founding fathers" of the new chapter at Penn, said ZBT national director for expansion Matt Tobe.
Tobe held an informational meeting Monday night for students interested in joining the soon-to-be recolonized frat, which is returning to Penn after a two-and-a-half year hiatus.
Seven freshman and sophomore men attended the meeting, but Tobe said he now has a group of seven upperclassmen who will likely be founders and expects to have a group of 10 by next week.
Wharton sophomore Ben Molever intends to join the recolonized ZBT and said he's excited to "see it go from nothing to something in the next few years."
But where are these potential ZBT members coming from?
Tobe and Molever both said they attended rush parties as freshmen for several frats, but were not interested in pledging. But when they heard about ZBT coming back to campus, the prospect of a new frat appealed to them.
Though freshmen cannot officially rush and join fraternities until spring semester, some freshmen are already interested in being ZBT founding fathers.
College freshman Neil Fanaroff attended the informational meeting and is thinking about joining the frat next semester. His father is a ZBT brother, which spurred his interest in the frat.
ZBT is also working with Hillel to find potential members. ZBT is the nation's oldest historically Jewish fraternity, though it is now non-sectarian.
ZBT was featured in the Hillel brochure and had a table at the Hillel barbecue on Sunday. ZBT also sent out information on itself over the Hillel listserv.
Jonathan Yulish, executive director of national ZBT, called Jewish students a "strong target" community, though not its only target.
The brothers who join this year will sign the fraternity's charter when ZBT is officially rechartered, which will likely happen next year.
"This is a different opportunity," said College sophomore Eric Sable, who expects to join ZBT. "You're not going into something that's established already."
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