Pi Kappa Phi is back.
The fraternity is returning to UF after its Alpha Epsilon chapter received a four-year ban for hazing in 2008. Staff from its national office will be on campus until April 6 to recruit new members.
The chapter wants to build a base of 30 to 50 upperclassmen so it has leadership going into fall, said national Director of Expansion Tyler Johansson.
Then, Pi Kappa Phi will join the Interfraternity Council and participate in rush.
“This time around, we’re going to recruit the guys that we know want to be different,” Johansson said. “We want them to challenge the fraternity stereotype that you see in pop culture.”
Ryan Montgomery, a 19-year-old psychology freshman, accepted one of the two bids extended so far. His dad was a member of the fraternity at UF in the ’80s, but the service aspect of the fraternity is what attracted Montgomery.
Pi Kappa Phi’s philanthropy, called Push America, supports people with disabilities.
Montgomery hopes to help lead the chapter in the fall. He’ll be a sophomore recruiting freshmen, which he said could build stronger bonds.
“The age gap doesn’t make me feel like I’m [an] elder and I deserve more,” he said. “I want to see everyone as equals in this fraternity.”
