Four national fraternities, each of which once had active chapters at Monmouth, visited campus in the last few weeks to make presentations to the students and MC administration. Late last week, the students reached a formal decision, and Phi Delta Theta will become Monmouth’s fourth active fraternity next spring. The chapter, which previously existed at Monmouth from 1871 to 1884, will be officially re-colonized in March. An installation ceremony is expected to follow in the fall.
 

"Monmouth’s current fraternity system provides many opportunities for service and brotherhood, but our group of men feel another fraternity will provide a new niche in which men can become involved in the community and form lifelong friendships," said Benjamin Sauer, a senior from Elgin.
 

"No matter which fraternity was selected (the others considered were Phi Kappa Psi, Tau Kappa Epsilon and Sigma Chi), it had already been determined by the students that it would be alcohol-free. Phi Delta Theta prides itself on being the first male Greek letter society to adopt alcohol-free housing.

Phi Delta Theta exemplifies everything that we are looking for in a fraternity," said Sauer. "They are very value-centric, have a strong national organization willing to support us and have a strong focus on academics and leadership. When comparing the fraternities, we noticed that the other three all looked to Phi Delta Theta as a leader, so if we are going to choose one, we decided that we ought to pick the one that the others looked to as a leader."
 

To be a member, Monmouth students need to fulfill several expectations, including a minimum grade-point average of 2.5, membership in another student organization and completion of 16 hours of community service.
 

Phi Delta Theta began in 1848 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. It was founded on the three cardinal principles of friendship, sound learning and rectitude. Its mission statement elaborates on those principles, stating that the fraternity was organized for the cultivation of friendship among its members, the acquirement individually of a high degree of mental culture and the attainment personally of a high standard of morality.
 

Also known as Phi Delt, the fraternity has initiated more than 227,000 members in its 159-year history. It currently has 157 chapters, with 33 being added since 2000. Seven of its chapters are in Illinois, including the Delta-Zeta chapter at Knox College, and nearly 1,000 of the fraternity’s alumni live within a 100-mile radius of Monmouth. Among its most famous alumni are Lou Gehrig, Burt Reynolds and Roger Ebert.
 

In addition to its alcohol-free policy, Phi Delta Theta has also implemented an anti-hazing campaign and is involved in several philanthropic endeavors, including support of research on ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.