Leadership.
Academically focused.
Gentleman-like.
Athletic. Social.
These are the characteristics that the new fraternity on campus, Theta Chi, expects their members to embody in order to break the traditional stereotypes of fraternity men.
“”I went through the rush process, and I wasn’t happy with the way that other fraternities marketed themselves,”” said Jared Jacobovitz, the president of Theta Chi and economics senior. “”I wasn’t happy that everything was about the party instead of what, in my opinion, Greek Life should have been, which is more about helping the community and bettering yourself.””
A book called “”The Accidental Billionaires,”” by Ben Mezrich, inspired Jacobvitz’s vision for the new fraternity. The book is about the creation of Facebook but also talks about the Harvard Final Clubs.
“”They are the most prestigious clubs on campus that everyone wants to join,”” he said. “”It’s a collection of people who are doing something with their lives but will eventually become a network of people who have the same core values and beliefs. That’s what I wanted to build on this campus.””
Theta Chi currently has 35 members and is growing rapidly. This year they participated in the formal rush but are also continuing to recruit throughout the semester.
“”It’s a lot different than joining a traditional fraternity,”” said Layton Cox, the new member educator and sophomore economics major. “”It’s a lot of work. It is definitely for a select few and so far we have found those few, but now we are trying to find more.””
Cox was one of the original seven members who helped to establish Theta Chi last semester. He became part of the fraternity when it was considered an “”interest group,”” meaning there were fewer than 25 members. Theta Chi is currently considered a “”colony”” since they do not have enough members to be a brotherhood, which requires a minimum of 45 men.
“”Right now we are doing a lot of recruiting,”” he said. “”Once we have reached 45 members and get approved by the national chapter of Theta Chi, we will be considered a brotherhood. We have to send in a petition saying what community service we have done, what philanthropies we have done and how we are involved in making the University of Arizona a better place.””
Theta Chi has doubled in size since the semester started and is expecting to have 50 members by the end of the semester.
“”We are mostly growing through word of mouth right now,”” said Philip Thornton, advisor of Theta Chi and Eller College of Management graduate student. “”We have recruitment events every week. It’s a chance for us to get to know people, see if they are what we are looking for and if we are a good fit for them. It’s about joining a group of people where you feel comfortable, where you fit in and where you feel you have a good mix because you will be brothers for life.””
The men of Theta Chi get together with potential new members by playing volleyball, going out to dinner and a variety of other events. They take pride in getting to know the potential new members so that they can continue to build the ideal fraternity they have envisioned.
“”Our goal for the future is to be the best fraternity on campus,”” said Sam Garst, scholarship chair and electrical engineering junior. “”It’s easy to say that, but what our objectives are for being the best and what that means to us is having the highest GPA on campus. We want to be recognized as being smart as well as by being cool, outgoing and fun to be with, but we also want to be recognized as the safest fraternity on campus. We don’t want to have any girls who come to our mixers or parties leaving thinking that this is a sketchy place. We want them to be comfortable around us.””
