Since I go to school where no fraternities are located, I’m aloss on where to start. Are there any legal requirements that I need to meet? Do I need approval of my school?
First, you’ll need a bunch of people who would want to be in the fraternity with you. I would recommend a minimum of twenty. Second, in order to be affiliated with your school, you must have your school’s permission. In fact, I would recommend you get your school’s permission first. There may be a reason why there are no fraternities at your school.
Once you have those two things, you’ll need to figure out whether you want to start a whole new fraternity, or if you want to start a colony of a national fraternity. Again: do your research - not all national fraternities are the same.
Starting a fraternity is not as easy in real life as it is in the movies.
This is good advice with one caveat – you can begin as a “local” fraternity," i.e. no national affiliation, and, if your experiment works, pick up a national affiliation later. It happens this way a lot.
As a starter though, I would ask what it is you’re after.
If it’s parties and a good way to pool your resources (economies of scale and all), then I would suggest that you form an unofficial (in the eyes of the school) drinking/social club. Once you attached the “fraternity” label to your organization, you’re looking at a lot of headaches (insurance, oversight by the school, nationals, etc.). Not that there aren’t advantages to being in a national fraternity, you do have access to resources and don’t have to reinvent the wheel with respect to organization, rush, etc., but it sounds like you won’t have any direct competition. However, if it’s social interaction you’re after – I think I would just start a social club.
We used to joke in undergrad that when fraternities were eradicated from campuses (and believe me, there was a time in the super pc early '90s when this seemed like a distinct possibility) that guys would get together, rent a house and pool their money for parties, road trips, etc. – once they start making t-shirts, well there you go.
The reason there are no other fraternities is because its a communter college. Its only about 3 thousand students (Give or take 300) and there are no college dorms.
Thanks for the advice guys. I might just start a “social” club for me and my nerd buddies. 
Without doubt, my college marching band threw significantly more parties and was almost totally unconcerned with underage consumption than my fraternity. I agree that the mere label put social clubs called fraternitites in a much different position with the administration than clubs that were called something else. Of course, I also think there are benefits to being in a fraternity that you do not get in other types of organization, even of similar size.
Anyway, if the OP is interested, I’m suggest calling up a national that seems simpatico and figuring out if they’re interested in starting a chapter at your school. The big advantage the national offers is that it will know (or at leastknow how to find out) the legal and other requirements your state and college will impose on the fraternity.
–Cliffy
Contact the Dean of Students Office at your school, and ask if they have any bar against official recognition of fraternities. If they do, you can still form your own local fraternity, without official recognition, but most national fraternities will not go against the wishes of the school by establishing a fraternity chapter where it is not wanted.
If you are thinking of a fraternity as a drinking club, the trend in national fraternities is to require their chapters to be alcohol free. I am guessing that half of the members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference are already dry.
Benefits of membership in a national fraternity. Local unaffiliated fraternities play a disproportionate role in bad publicity incidents, involving alcohol, hazing or property damage, because of the lack of national oversight.
Some advice, if you do decide to start a fraternity:
- Don’t rush first semester freshmen. They are just getting used to college studies, and don’t need any more distractions.
- Don’t use alcohol to rush new members. You need to know who’s there because of genuine interest in the fraternity and not for the free beer.
- Do require that each pledge or new member have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.25.
- Do incorporate the fraternity as a not-for-profit, once it is ready to get a house, so that you will be able to obtain credit or sign a lease as a fraternity, limiting your personal liability.
- Pick a local charity or two, and make volunteer work part of the fraternity’s program. Good will all around.
- Don’t judge men by superficial criteria when looking for members. Judge them by character, and by their potential.
- Encourage others to form more fraternities and sororities. A healthy greek system is good for all its members.
I’ll add that joining a fraternity was one of the best decisions I made in college, and formed a parallel social education to my academic education. Good luck in your endeavors!
I’m wondering where you got this number from. Why is 2.25 better than 2 or 2.5 or 3?
It’s already been mentioned but you really do need the schools permission to start a fraternity. Starting a fraternity or secret society without permission can often get you kicked out of school.
If you want to start a national fraternity chapter, you need to speak with the headquarters of that national fraternity. You can’t for example simply call yourself Lambda Chi Alpha since there already is one. I guess you could, but you would still be a local fraternity that just happens to share the same name.
Many national fraternities actually require you to meet certain obligations as a local chapter - size, longevity, GPA, campus involvement - before you can join their national chapter.
They also required us to not do bong hits in the presidents room, launch frozen Cornish game hens at our neighbors or tear apart our washer/dryers to make makeshift hot tubs.
Since 2005, member fraternities of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) have required that all pledges or new members have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.25. At most schools, a 2.0 is the border point of academic probation or dismissal. You do not want people on the verge of academic probation to be any further distracted from their studies. A 2.25 allows a cushion above that border point.
Since 2005, NIC fraternities have also required that each fraternity chapter have an annual cumulative GPA of at least a 2.5, or at or above each campus’s all-men’s grade point average (individual fraternities can choose which standard to follow).
By “commnuity college,” do you mean a 2 year college that give associate degrees? If so, there’s your answer why there are not and probably won’t be any national fraternities. I don;t know of a single national that places chapters at CC’s.
sucks to be you, that was the best part, but like I said:
I think he meant a “commuter” college, i.e., one which has few or no students living in college-owned housing.