Phi Kappa Tau Expresses Excitement About Recruits

On Nov. 17, 2006, at 4 a.m., a major part of Nebraska Wesleyan was lost. In an unexpected fire three were injured along with the loss of one Phi Kappa Tau brother. Then began what would be the long road of Phi Kappa Tau's return to Nebraska Wesleyan's Greek life and campus community. After several years of inactivity the Greek chapter is now back on campus and ready for a fresh start.

The new acting President of Phi Kappa Tau, Steven Anderson, took the time to explain to me the inner workings and bright hopes he holds for his brothers and for the fraternity's future now that they are back on campus. "I'm most excited about passing the tradition that is Phi Kappa Tau onto a new group of guys, telling the stories, embodying the spirit of "men of character", really defining what brotherhood truly means and fighting the stereotype of what most view a fraternity to be and what it really is."

Getting everything needed to restart PKT was no easy task and Anderson described the recruitment techniques used in order to ensure they get the kind of guys they are looking for; men who will hopefully help to build a strong Greek chapter.

Alex Koehler, one of the Phi Kappa Tau National Expansion Coordinators came for the 2010-2011 school year to get the Nebraska Wesleyan administration back on track with what Phi Kappa Tau hoped in accomplishing in re-opening. Koehler also visited the other Wesleyan fraternities and sororities to get their opinions on where to begin with the rebuilding of Phi Kappa Tau. 

 Koehler ended up holding several hour-long conversations with numerous possible new members, in what Anderson described as an "extremely personal recruitment process," which now stands as the basis for the fraternities continued bid process. 

"We hope to continue our personalized recruitment process. We do not want to get lots of guys just because of our events but focus on getting to know them as a person, we want to get the guys that are here for the right reasons," Anderson says describing PKT's fall recruitment process. 

Phi Kappa Tau looks for several qualities when considering someone for their brotherhood, among them, academics. A GPA of 3.0 or higher is highly encouraged, and is met by 95 percent of the current members. Service is also a large part of the PKT heart, with an average of 50.5 hours of service combined through current members, and a desire to further their philanthropy with "Hole in the Wall," a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses. 

The gentlemen of Phi Kappa Tau have the opportunity to build what they want their fraternity to be from the very beginning. Anderson explains, "Being able to make it what we want, the best of the best, not just our close friends, but a variety of guys from different majors and campus activities." The possibilities for this new fraternity are endless.

PKT is planning an upcoming philanthropy with another campus organization, although Anderson would not hint to what it would be, but just that information on it would soon be released. 

Steven Anderson would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to all the brothers of Phi Kappa Tau for devoting their time, effort, enthusiasm, and most importantly the brotherhood they have put forth thus far. A thank you also goes to Erin Morettes and the Greek community for helping PKT to come back and setting them up with everything they needed. A final thank-you goes to the administration for allowing PKT to once again open their doors and offer brotherhood to the young men of Nebraska Wesleyan.