The University of Tampa’s Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter was the recipient of the Excelsior Award for their vast improvement during the 2009 fall recruitment.
The Nationals of the fraternity recognized the chapter at the Carlson Leadership Academy (CLA) last month.
Will Reilly, Sigma Phi Epsilon president and UT junior psychology major, explained the new methods for recruiting.“We used Facebook a lot in the fall. We had events planned and tables already set up in Vaughn even before classes started,” he said.
He also said that the new freshman orientation sessions this year aided their recruitment plans.
In past years, student organizations would each have their own table or kiosk set up in the Cass Gym or Vaughn courtyard.
In fall 2009, each organization, categorized by interest, held sessions during specific times all around campus.Reilly said that his fraternity set up a table along the flow of freshman traffic.
He laughed and said, “We really weren’t supposed to be apart of it, but I guess we kind of were.”
Last semester, Sigma Phi Epsilon recruited 19 new members.Sharing similar stories and ideas, Reilly and his brothers met other chapters from the Southeast, from Virginia to Florida.
The awards were given out during a dinner. Reilly explained that the Excelsior Award was the best one for a chapter because the rest are given to individual recipients. “I was really surprised, but we’ve definitely come a long way,” said Reilly, who joined in 2007. “We’ve made such a huge turnaround and we’re headed in the right direction.”
He describes his chapter as a non-traditional fraternity that does not use a regular rushing program with pledges.The use of pledges, Reilly explained, is designed to give a person the opportunity to “pledge” to the chapter and promote respect.In terms of Sigma Phi Epsilon’s non-pledge program however, Reilly believes that “as a brother, this bond already exists.”
Almost halfway through his term as president, Reilly has high hopes for his brothers. “I’m so proud to see how far we’ve come,” he said.When asked what his vision is for the future of Sigma Phi Epsilon, he said, ”I hope no one ever stays idle. Okay, so we’ve won awards, but we’ve got to continually look ahead. We can always do better.”
Reilly mentioned above how they recruited their members through different social media and events. Yet, what he failed to mention is the intent to actually keep there new members from dropping.