On Tuesday night, the Interfraternity Council voted on to bring Delta Sigma Phi back to Penn.
The vote was unanimous, and according to IFC President and College senior Andrew Turell, the fraternity will arrive at Penn next fall to begin holding information sessions and reaching out to potential members. The colony will apply for official status in the IFC within 12 to 15 months of establishing a group of founding fathers.
Delta Sigma Phi was first colonized at Penn in the early 1900s and was shut down during World War II due to a reduced student body.
“We’ve never had an issue with expanding a community,” Turell said.
Related: The ‘perfect’ fraternity man?
Despite the current colonization efforts of Alpha Sigma Phi and Phi Sigma Kappa, Turell said that that there was no doubt that there are many students who can be reached.
“There are students that register for rush every year, and we don’t believe we’ve reached our capacity at all and we’re looking forward to adding another fraternity to our community,” he said.
Many national fraternities have had a history at Penn at some point in time. Over the past 15 years, Director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life Scott Reikofski said, the University has often been approached by fraternities looking to return and recolonize at Penn.
“Penn supports freedom of assembly, and the national interfraternity council supports it as well,” Reikofski added.
Related: Alpha Sigma Phi focuses on recruitment
However, there are rare times when Reikofski or the IFC may hold off on a decision to bring another fraternity into the fold right away. This decision may come after an analysis of the health of the various fraternities, such as their size and their current abilities to recruit pledges.
A prospective fraternity may be turned away if it has a reputation for undermining the fraternity system or standards for recruitment that do not seem to hold up to those of the other IFC fraternities and Penn standards in general.
Related: Skulls settles wrongful death suit for $3 million
Typically, according to Reikofski, OFSL will try to bring on one fraternity at a time. He explained that bringing in and housing recruiters was costly and that it was important to ensure that their recruitment attempts at Penn would be successful.
The closing of Alpha Epsilon Pi and Phi Kappa Sigma made now an opportune time to slate two new fraternities — Alpha Sigma Phi and Phi Sigma Kappa — to colonize this academic year.
The IFC is now looking to the 2014-2015 academic year prospects, and Delta Sigma Phi has their foot in the door.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
