A group of students has begun the process of bringing a new fraternity to campus — something that has only been done twice in the last 11 years. The student interest group PIKE currently has between 40 and 50 members and hopes to one day become an official chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

Tanner Fitz and seven of his friends first decided to start the group last spring in the hope that they could add something new to the Greek community on campus.

“I basically sat down with my closest friends and said, ‘I’m thinking about doing this,’ and they said, ‘It sounds like a great idea,’” said Fitz, a junior history major.

PIKE’s constitution was recently ratified by the Students’ Association with a unanimous vote, making it an official student organization.

“This gives them all the benefits of a student group,” said Addie Borah, the adviser for Greek Life. “That way they can more easily organize and recruit new members.”

The official recognition allows PIKE to reserve rooms in The Union as well as host events.

Borah has helped the group from the beginning to make contact with the national organization and navigate the administrative tasks on the path to becoming a chapter.

PIKE’s next step is to become colonized, which will happen when the Greek Council votes on whether to accept PIKE into their community. Once the chapter is colonized, members will begin paying dues and be able to participate in Greek sponsored events.

“The colonization period is basically a test run for the chapter to prove that we can maintain interest and

expand,” Fitz said.

“We are bringing that urban aspect, so someone that’s from the city, they might not join an ag fraternity or an engineering fraternity,” said Grey Jensen, one of the founding members and a pre-law major. “This is a new option, something differvent … we are bringing new blood into the system.”

The final step for PIKE will be to becomev a chartered Greek chapter that is recognized by the national organization. Both Fitz and Borah believe this is a step that could happen sometime next fall.

The last time Greek organization chartered at SDSU was Alpha Omega Epsilon in 2010.

The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity has over 14,000 current members nationwide and over 220 chapters across the U.S. and Canada.

Students who join PIKE will have a unique distinction that comes with joining a fraternity in the early stages. Students who join now will become founding fathers of the chapter.

Fitz, Jensen and Collin Kjose expressed optimism about the organization’s future. The rest of the Greek Community has also been supportive of the group’s prospects while letting the group know that the process to becoming a fully chartered group can be time-consuming and involves many hurdles. For now, things are looking up for the newest men’s social fraternity at SDSU.