theta chi anyone?

The answer is money. Theta Chi Nationals have a lot of money and Valpo Theta Chi Alumni have a lot of money. Nationals are going to build a new house where the old one is and alumni will have an incentive to give money to the university if their fraternity is back. A new house from a big national org is gonna make Valpo look really good. It's a no-brainer for the University and Theta Chi. Sounds like a good deal, right?

Well, it's not good for the other chapters on campus.

The small chapters are going to suffer the worst from the return of Theta Chi. Sigma Pi and Nupes need all the guys they can get. A new chapter on campus means that the average new member class (if the pool of men interested in Greek Life does not increase) will decrease. Since Nupes are a traditionally African American fraternity, the challenge to find new members is far greater for them than Sigma Pi, who is 2 bad recruitment seasons away from being non-existent. An honorable-mention in this category is Phi Delt, who has been growing and is on the high-end of the small chapters. The return of Theta Chi endangers Phi Delt of falling back into being a dangerously small.

Chapters without houses are going to suffer. These include Lambchops, Pike, Phi Delt, and Nupes. A house is an automatic recruitment tool. Adding another chapter is going to create more competition, but a new house on top of that will automatically give Theta Chi an edge over the chapters without houses. Pike took the market for football players after Theta Chi left, so the return of Theta Chi could be dangerous for Pike's recruitment if Theta Chi once again recruits football players. Phi Delt is close to having enough members for the university and their nationals to provide them with a house, but Theta Chi could jeopardize that for them if Phi Delt can't meet the quote before Theta Chi comes back. The honorable-mention in this category is Sig Chi because they're supposed to be building a house within the next few years, but I've heard that a lot of the details are still up in the air.

Chapters who already have houses are going to suffer. These include SigEp, Phi Sig, and Sig Pi. Once again, a house is automatically a recruitment tool. None of the fraternity houses at Valpo are what one would consider to be "in good condition." Men interested in Greek Life are going to compare the current houses to the brand-spankin'-new Theta Chi house on the hill and will pick Theta Chi over the other dumps.

The only chapters who will probably be unaffected from Theta Chi are Phi Psi and (probably) Sig Chi. Phi Psi has already broken ground on their new house, so they're going to be the biggest competition against a chapter who will also have a new house.

Here is my manifesto against Theta Chi.