A new colony was born on Thursday, Feb. 7, when a group of 52 University of Oregon college students pledged themselves to the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity as founding fathers of its reinstitution.
Most commonly referred to as Fiji at the UO, the fraternity will not become an official chapter for at least another year, but the colonization marks the first presence of the fraternity on campus since 1998.
Fiji started up again when President Ryan Donlon and two of his friends from high school caught wind that the fraternity’s international headquarters was looking to reinvigorate the UO chapter. He was able to gather 26 founding fathers before headquarters sent a representative to campus. In winter term 2013, he and his core group were officially recognized by the UO’s Interfraternity Council as a part of Fraternity and Sorority Life and are now free to start the recruitment process.
The local chapter uses a three-tier interview system for extending bids to potential recruits that includes filling out a candidate profile sheet, answering various questions about their priorities and feelings about the brotherhood.
“We’re a group of guys who didn’t join an established fraternity for a reason,” Donlon said. “For our group, we like to make it a very personal experience, and one that will hopefully kind of change the recruitment landscape in general.”
Fiji used the same three-tier interview system with each recruit — 52 bids — since the term started.
When it comes to starting a fraternity, Donlon is most looking forward to “having that legacy that lasts, hopefully a heck of a lot longer than it did before. Having something where I can come back in 20 or 30 years, and our chapter still has our house, and I can see my name on that charter.”
When the founding father class becomes initiated into the fraternity, they will each sign their name on the charter, officially recognizing them as a chapter of Phi Gamma Delta.
Fiji alumni own the house Alpha Epsilon Pi is currently living in. Phi Gamma Delta will eventually move into the house once they become chartered, but they are required to give AEPi a one year notice before doing so.