Members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity celebrated their exceptionally fast ascent from associate chapter to charter chapter with a black-tie banquet Saturday night at the National Press Club.
Archon Brandon Blackburn-Dwyer kissed the framed charter and described a group of men who worked harder than most fraternity members.
"You do about two-and-a-half times the work [of other fraternities]," he said. "You can't float by in Pi Kapp. There is work to be done."
He recounted a seven-and-a-half-hour meeting on the group's constitution and bylaws that made one member cry because he wanted to leave so badly. But the hard work brought the men together and made the chapter stronger, he said.
Blackburn-Dwyer said the brothers were successful in chartering the chapter because they are "organized, exceptionally motivated and used to being leaders."
The associate chapter achieved full chapter status in the fifth- or sixth- fastest time in the fraternity's history, he said.
The process usually takes about two years, according to Ken Forti, the fraternity's regional governor.
"They have just jumped right in ... because of the men they are," he said. "This is an excellent group of men who made it to chartering in such a short time."
He said the 35-member group's commitment to community service projects has been exemplary. Forti oversees chapters at the University of Maryland, the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee University, George Mason University and George Washington University, the newest charter chapter before the one at AU.
To become recognized as a full-fledged fraternity at AU, a group must meet community service requirements, take part in campus-wide greek events and represent itself at meetings of the Interfraternity Council, among other requirements, according to Danny Kelley, coordinator of greek life. The group must also meet national fraternity standards.
"I was extremely impressed with the quickness [with which the organization became a charter chapter]," Kelley said. "If you have a very aggressive, committed group ... it can be done, and that's what they did."
Usually new fraternities are slow to become full chapters because recruitment takes up a lot of time, he said. But Pi Kappa Phi was able to recruit quickly because it put the responsibility of recruiting on all members, not just a few as some other fraternities do.
The responsibilities were too much for some of the men, Blackburn-Dwyer said. Some dropped out along the way, reaching a low point of 17 members.
But membership increased as the fraternity attracted student leaders from a variety of campus organizations, including the Student Government, Residence Hall Association and other clubs, he said. The group gained members through references from trusted sources, especially women.
"If a group of women like him ... that's a green light," Blackbum- Dwyer said.
At the end of the ceremony the men gathered at the front of the room, kneeled and sang to the women who attended.
About 250 people came for the ceremony and dance, including about 30 parents.
Patty Bradbury, Richard Bradbury's mom, said she was happy to see her son join a fraternity, despite the stereotypes that sometimes make parents apprehensive.
"He's always been pretty conservative, so I believed him when he told us it wasn't like other fraternities," she said. "I think it's important to give him an organization to belong to, and it's a lifelong organization, too."
The Interfraternity Council decided in 2002 to invite two new fraternities after two groups lost campus recognition when they broke university policies.
Pi Kappa Phi arrived on campus last spring and Sigma Phi Epsilon is beginning to develop this semester. Kelley said it's hard to say whether Sig Ep will have the same success.
"It's so dependent on the individuals that they attract," he said.
