After a month of formal membership review, Hillsdale College fraternity Delta Sigma Phi is still working with the national fraternity and Dean of Men Aaron Petersen’s office to determine the chapter’s future, senior DJ Loy, president of the chapter said.
“I’m a lot more optimistic than I was before,” Loy said. “Credit to all parties involved, everyone’s working together to save this.”
Representatives from the national fraternity came in February, to evaluate Hillsdale College’s Tau chapter.
They left without making any announcements, but continue to work with the dean’s office and the chapter’s alumni board, Petersen said.
The dean said his office is committed to the continued effort.
“We’re going to give them all the resources we can,” Petersen said.
Members of the fraternity were given the opportunity to opt out of the rebuilding process next year, by taking alumni status. Petersen said the deadline for that decision was postponed, now tentatively scheduled for the first week of April.
Loy said the delay was good for the chapter. He said the extra time would allow members to better understand the college administration’s expectations for next year. He said that several men had considered opting for alumni status because they were concerned at the ambiguity of expectations.
“They want to make an informed decision,” Loy said. “The guys are going to err on the side of caution.”
Petersen said the alumni board, Tau chapter, and national representatives will meet for a Planning and Leadership retreat March 29 to April 1 to map out the chapter’s future. Petersen said the retreat will let the chapter’s members articulate their vision for the next year.
“They’re going to help us come up with clear, measurable benchmarks for progress,” he said. “We’re going to move forward and work really hard together.”
Representatives from the national fraternity did not respond to requests for comment.
