After a year spent recruiting new members, Duke’s chapter of Chi Psi has reestablished itself and looks to increase its name recognition on campus.
The fraternity, which was established at Duke in 1986, underwent a re-founding process spearheaded by the national organization during Spring and Fall 2014. When the re-founding began, there were approximately 25 active members of the fraternity, said Chi Psi’s current president Rahul Swaminathan, a junior. All but seven of the original fraternity members were dismissed by the end of the process.
“Nationals thought that we needed a change in order for us to be successful in the future, and this was the best way to ensure that,” Swaminathan said.
During this period, national representatives on campus arranged interviews with and offered bids to prospective members. Currently, Chi Psi has 44 members and an incoming pledge class of 12.
Justin Froeber, assistant executive director of the Chi Psi national organization, noted that the national association felt the need to offer a bit of additional assistance to Duke’s chapter in order to ensure its members were receiving “a well-rounded, values-based experience.”
Current members of Chi Psi declined to comment more specifically about what necessitated the re-founding process.
Many members of the current pledge class learned about Chi Psi through word of mouth and informal recruitment.
“People join people, not organizations,” Froeber said. “We encourage our men to deeply develop those relationships.”
He noted that Chi Psi prides itself on being a different fraternity experience by emphasizing personal and professional development in addition to social activities. Some of these activities include faculty desert night in section and bringing in a variety of speakers.
“These guys are truly about building brotherhood bonds and gentlemen for the future,” said freshman Harry Guo, a member of Chi Psi.
Swaminathan hopes to sponsor more events on campus to increase Chi Psi’s name recognition.
“Not that many people know us on campus, so our goal over the next year is to get more well-known,” he said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.