Sororities and fraternities recruiting at CU Denver

What to expect from new organizations

**Sororities and fraternities will hold presentations on campus in the coming weeks.**
Photo: John Mazzetta · The Sentry

As the Auraria campus continues to grow in profile and expand, new opportunities await students hoping to branch out and connect. “Sorority & Fraternity Life” is a new program that will be rolling out in the upcoming spring semester, allowing students to get involved with a number of national sorority and fraternity organizations.

Courtney Kristan is the Sorority & Fraternity Life Coordinator. She has some insight into what she anticipates the upcoming organizations will end up looking like, and the benefits that they might have on the CU Denver campus.

“It’s a social experience,” Kristan says, acknowledging that as a commuter campus, many students often find their social interactions somewhat lacking. “There’s a need for building community,” she then posits. It’s a dilemma that may be remedied by sorority and fraternity organizations, which she calls, “a place to grow with people going through the same experiences.”

What’s more, Kristan claims that the CU Denver campus might be the ideal location for these organizations to take root. The lack of on-campus housing will likely help to prevent the toxic “party culture” often associated with fraternity organizations from manifesting.

Kristan estimates that this will allow for the focus of these groups at CU Denver to be on their more positive aspects. This includes the construction of a more interactive on-campus community. Also, according to Kristan, there are professional and philanthropic benefits to joining a sorority or fraternity as well. Furthermore, she explains that “our program has a commitment to diversity and inclusion,” meaning that all of the proposed organizations will be adhering to this commitment.

Currently the organizations that will be available in the spring hail from the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), and the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO).

Upcoming on-campus presentations from individual organizations will include Lambda Pi Upsilon, Alpha Psi Lambda, Pi Lambda Phi Delta Chi, Alpha Phi, and Delta Lambda Phi, which will occur throughout the day on Oct. 7 in Tivoli 640.

However, this isn’t necessarily an exhaustive list of the organizations that will be open to join this spring. The Sorority & Fraternity life department is looking for student suggestions and feedback regarding which sororities and fraternities will be the first ones to join the campus.

Those hoping to see a specific group, or to find a group that suits their needs, that is not already on the roster are advised by Courtney Kristan to get in touch with her either by scheduling a meeting at her office in Tivoli Suite 301 or reaching out over email.

Regardless, the upcoming sorority and fraternity organizations that will soon be made available at CU Denver are likely to have a profound impact on the community and interactions of the campus.