Freshmen interested in rushing a fraternity next semester may be able to do more than get their name etched onto another paddle.
When Sigma Pi comes back to campus next month, they could end up as a founding father.
Sigma Pi, which was first established at Penn in 1909, will have two expansion consultants on campus from Oct. 8 to Oct. 28.
The consultants will be recruiting men interested in recolonizing the fraternity, which was most recently on campus from 2002 until 2005.
In 2002, a student interest group rechartered the fraternity after it had been off Penn's campus for over 60 years.
That group closed due to dwindling membership.
"When I first joined, we were one of the largest fraternities," said 2005 College graduate Alexzander Pullen, a member of Sigma Pi. "By the time I was going out, we dwindled to maybe 10 to 15" members.
Pullen, who has a Sigma Pi tattoo near his chest, said the fraternity was "the strongest brotherhood ever," and that he still talks with fellow members daily.
But he said a lack of leadership led to the abandonment of the fraternity.
"We were a bit vain and didn't set up the new [members] with the leadership" they'd need, Pullen said.
Recolonizing the fraternity will depend entirely on whether enough students are interested in joining.
Jim DiVita, the director of expansion for Sigma Pi, said that the national fraternity hopes 20 to 25 interested students will become "founding fathers."
"They'll have the chance to hold leadership positions right away," DiVita said, noting that interested students will be responsible for meeting University and Sigma Pi standards for obtaining a charter for the fraternity.
If Sigma Pi recruiters fail to gather a group large enough to form a colony, they will instead create an interest group and return in the spring.
Wharton senior Austin Pena, president of the InterFraternity Council, did not know the details of Sigma Pi's recolonization, but he said he expects to speak with the expansion consultants when they are on campus.
Pena said that a colony must apply for IFC membership before they can apply for a charter, and that he could not think of any reason why membership would be denied.
"I think it's great," Pena said. "We could always use another chapter here."
After receiving official recognition from the school, Penn would still ask the fraternity to wait a year or two before moving into a property, according to Scott Reikofski, the director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs.
After that, Sigma Pi members can look forward to visits from former brothers.
"I can't wait to come see how they're doing," said Pullen, who added that he wishes potential members the best.
