DeKALB | Starting a fraternity at NIU is considered a long and hectic process, not something that happens overnight.

Chris Wiedmaier, freshman education major, has been working over the last semester to bring Kappa Sigma back to NIU Greek life.

“I wanted to rush in the fall but I couldn’t really find a house that I fit into,” Wiedmaier said. “The beginning of this semester a buddy of mine suggested we started our own.”

Richie Dalitto, president of the Interfraternity Council [IFC] at NIU, encourages new fraternities on campus.

“Expansion is something we’re all about,” Dalitto said. “The expansion of brotherhood is what the IFC is always working towards. We love it.”

According to the IFC Constitution, IFC at NIU encourages any and all organizations to go through the expansion process of the NIU IFC. Any fraternity chapter must go through the approval process to be accepted on campus despite their history at NIU and IFC. Groups interested are still responsible for conforming to all bylaws and policies in addition to state and federal laws.

“A lot goes into planning for this,” Wiedmaier said. “We need to start recruiting and bringing our numbers up, have bylaws, plan programs, raise money, get our name out there, etc.”

Programs include scholarships, recruitment and brotherhood activities for the men looking to join the fraternity. The first major step is moving from an interest group to being recognized as a colony from the fraternity’s national office, according to the IFC Constitution.

The members of the colony must be full-time students at NIU, maintain a 2.25 grade point average, pay all IFC dues, abide by all rules and regulations and be in good standing with the IFC.

“Kappa Sigma used to be on campus over a decade ago,” Wiedmaier said. “But they stopped recruiting for some reason and eventually just left campus. It’s nice because we’re receiving so much support from NIU and Kappa Sigma alumni.”

Dalitto and Jeremy Sanchez, vice president of Community Events, said interest groups looking to become colonies and eventually recognized fraternities on campus can look at a process taking at least a semester if not a whole school year.

“It isn’t a process that can happen over night,” Sanchez said.

“Something like that takes a lot of work and time to achieve.”

At the moment Kappa Sigma is a recognized colony and is working on getting their charter to become a chapter as soon as possible, Wiedmaier said.

“My goal is to be recognizable,” Wiedmaier said. “We want to have a good reputation and set a standard for a good time. We don’t want to be seen as a typical party scene fraternity. We want things to get done and give back to the college, it’s crucial to making this a success.”