This fall the Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) community at the University of Wyoming will have a new member once the local Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity chapter expands to a full chapter, by national standards.
Nicknamed Alpha Sig, the group began its expansion at the beginning of the semester with 35 men joining as founding fathers for the fraternity. Through this process many men have been able to connect in this brotherhood and build a strong chapter on the UW campus, said Alpha Sig President and freshman Ted Loeschner.
“Our brotherhood and the bond that we have is what really sets us apart,” Loeschner said. “You get to meet so many great people and we set our standards very high in everything that we do.”
From various social events with other members of the community to hosting fundraisers around Laramie for the growth and development of their chapter, these students have taken charge in becoming active members within the Greek community on campus.
“I joined Alpha Sigma Phi because I think it’s such a nice group of people,” said Loeschner. “I chose it because it was a founding father opportunity and you get to meet so many great people. I instantly had 40 best friends.”
The Iota Tau chapter at UW recently became a provisional chapter this semester, and hopes to become a full chapter in the fall of 2019.
In order to meet the standards to be classified as a provisional chapter by the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity Nationals, the chapter must meet four benchmarks: furthering recruitment efforts, brotherhood development with at least 75 percent of their members in attendance, financial stability within the chapter and office development with a fraternity liaison.
“Within the FSL community I feel like we are a very ambitious group of guys and we are really trying to be involved within the FSL community,” Loeschner said. “I feel like we are just very hands on and want to get involved and get stuff done within the FSL community.”
Alpha Sig was founded at Yale University in 1845, making it the 10th oldest collegiate fraternity in the nation. Its founding values are silence, charity, purity, honor and patriotism, with the motto “to better the man.”
Since its founding Alpha Sig has partnered with various charities to further its philanthropic efforts. Today, the fraternity is partnered with five organizations, each correlating to one of their respective values: Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) for silence, Humane Society for charity, Aware Awake Alive for purity, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America for honor and Homes for our Troops for patriotism.
Future plans to help with the growth of the local chapter include year round recruitment, which Loeschner said is unique to Alpha Sig since many fraternities only recruit seasonally.
For more information on the national fraternity see AlphaSigmaPhi.org. For more information on Alpha Sigma Phi’s chapter on campus students can email alphasigmaphi.iotatau@gmail.com.
