A new fraternity chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) is coming to San Diego State this fall. PIKE National Consultants Patrick Hamel and Christopher Ehiogu will be on campus for the next five to seven weeks building a colony.
PIKE’s main goal at SDSU is to be the premiere gentlemen’s organization and make campus and community the main focus, according to PIKE’s national consultants.
The PIKE recruiters’ main focus is “SLAG,” which stands for scholars, leaders, athletes, and gentlemen. The athletic aspect is added to the qualities of a PIKE to uphold the fraternity’s completive atmosphere. PIKE aims to break from the social norm of fraternities to uphold professionally and community-based goals along with social aspects, according to PIKE’s website.
During the colonization process the consultants hope to receive potential member recommendations from a variety of individuals.
“It’s a selection-based process,” Hamel said. “We get recommendations from high-caliber individuals so we can find the high-caliber men. That’s the way in which we want to go about establishing a chapter so when moving forward they are self-governing after we leave.”
The consultants plan to meet with campus administrators, campus leaders, professors, university staff and coaches at SDSU. Members of the university community can also recommend young men online.
“It’s a colony of founding fathers who are working toward becoming a chapter,” Hamel said.
Hamel said there is no set number of individuals that will form part of the chapter, but he hopes it will be of comparable size to other fraternities on campus.
After the colonization process is complete the new colony members will hold a “Meet the PIKEs” Night.
“Meet the PIKEs Night is open to the campus and community for anyone who wants to come out and see the men selected that are going to be apart of the Pi Kappa Alpha colony,” Hamel said.
One of the consultants’ main goals at SDSU is to train the selected men to maintain a fully functioning colony after Hamel and Ehiogu leave. The colony should be self-governing after consultants leave to then start petitioning to establish a charter chapter, Hamel said.
“A colony is almost like you’re running a small business or you’re starting a small business,” Hamel said.
Before becoming a recognized chapter, the colony has to complete a program checklist and then petition to charter and prove why they are worthy of being a chapter at SDSU.
After the petition to charter, the colony will have an installation and chartering weekend to be initiated as members of the organization. They will then be nationally recognized as the SDSU Delta Kappa chapter of PIKE.
It typically takes 12 to 18 weeks after petitioning to charter to become a chapter, Hamel said.
