16 new members ran out to Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity during bid day, doubling the size of their chapter on Jan. 19 at Byrne Memorial Hall.

Prior to this recruitment season, TKE had 17 active members, making them the smallest fraternity on campus. If membership did not increase, TKE would have faced increasing challenges to maintain a strong presence on campus.

“The biggest part of boy’s recruitment doing well is when a fraternity understands what they stand for and believe in because that is what you are trying to show the freshman. I think that this year we figured out what we wanted our identity to be and we were able to prove that to the freshman and inspire their consideration to join our fraternity,” said Ben Kaftan, TKE Recruitment
Chair.

They have spent the past semester preparing for a strong recruitment by showing their involvement with their philanthropy and the Mobile community. They raised $3,940 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and completed 250 service hours as a chapter. “It was really cool that when we pitched our values and ideals that 17 guys had those same beliefs and were committed to seeing those ideals grow in the future,” said Kaftan.

Recruitment encourages freshman to get more involved around campus and in the community. The Interfraternity Council worked hard to promote Greek life to freshman and guide them through the process ensuring a successful turnout. IFC Vice President of Recruitment and Greek Standards, Robert Stewart, said, “It was amazing being able to play a role in making the formal recruitment process was a safe and smooth journey for those who went through.”

The other fraternities also saw success with their new member classes. Lambda Chi Alpha welcomed 10 new members. Delta Chi welcomed five new members and informally recruited another member. Sigma Chi welcomed 15 new members, and informally recruited three more members. 

The Recruitment process serves as a way to get to know other students by fostering relationships which continue after committing to a fraternity. Stewart added, “It was a really neat to experience recruitment from this perspective because it allowed me to interact with all of the organizations in a way that was different before.” IFC has made it known that their goal is to achieve Greek unity and a friendly environment for all students to feel welcomed and prosper under the ideals of Spring Hill College.