Men looking to join an Interfraternity Council fraternity will have two options during recruitment this fall. Phi Gamma Delta, also known as FIJI will begin their recruitment process on August 26, according to Chris McQueen, assistant director of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Prior to the recruitment process, members of the FIJI headquarters will be on campus to raise awareness for the new fraternity by tabling in the Danna Center. The recruitment process will also be led by the headquarters’ members and will consist of the men meeting recruits three separate times for brotherhood events before bids are distributed.

Since the removal of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity in fall of 2018, Student Affairs has looked to replace the gap within the Greek community. The process of choosing a fraternity to join the Loyola community began with McQueen providing a list of all the North American Interfraternity Council organization to the 2018 Interfraternity Council executive board, who then narrowed down that list of 66 organizations to 19 organizations.

“What we were looking for in a new fraternity included an understanding of the Greek community and the Loyola student body as a whole, alignment with the school’s Jesuit background and a viable plan to successfully colonize their organization,” said Alex Lopez, vice president of programming for the Interfraternity Council.

Of those 19 organizations, nine had plans to expand their chapters. The Student Affairs administration reviewed each fraternity and invited five of the organizations to the community to be voted on.

FIJI also aims to establish a philanthropic culture on campus.

“We’re still looking into service projects at Loyola,” said Jake Lueck, Director of Expansion for FIJI. “We will get into the habit of doing at least one project per week whether it be volunteering at a food pantry, city or university clean-ups or to help at a retirement home. We want to be a part the New Orleans community, not just the Loyola community.”

FIJI also has a chapter at Tulane’s campus and will be the only current Greek organization to have a chapter on both campuses. According to Lueck, there should be no need for concern of mistaken chapter identities.

“Loyola and Tulane have two different student demographics. Each chapter reflects the university and no two chapters of Phi Gamma Delta are alike,” Lueck said.

Lueck also said that members of FIJI will immediately begin the voting process to establish the first class of leadership officers.

Even with the addition of FIJI, Loyola does have plans to continue to expand the Greek community with other fraternities from the Interfraternity Council. Delta Chi will be brought on campus in spring 2020, with Beta Theta Pi following after in Fall 2020 and Alpha Kappa Lambda in spring 2021, according to McQueen.

For Jaime Jimenez, public relations junior and Pi Kappa Phi member, FIJI’s status on campus will provide a positive impact and friendly competition in recruiting young men.

“I remember going through recruitment when there was more than one organization and it allowed me to think deeper about the organization I wanted to join,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez’s sentiments are widely shared throughout the standing fraternity men on campus, according to Lopez.

“I think Fiji is the first step in the process towards boosting the overall profile of the Greek community on Loyola’s campus,” Lopez said. “The purpose of fraternities is to find a lifelong brotherhood, and the more organizations, the more likely potential members are to find a chapter that aligns with their values, lifestyle and goals.”