Colonization at Simon Fraser University

Brother Fu and Wirtz walking in Burnaby.
Photo courtesy of Brother Roeser.

“None of us really knew what is was supposed to look like,” said Elisa Fu, the Associate Member Educator at the Omega Beta chapter, when referring to her recent visit to Simon Fraser University in Burnaby. She joined AKPsi members from the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary for the memorable ceremony on January 25, 2014: the establishment of Alpha Kappa Psi’s newest colony.

Fu had the pleasure of driving up to Burnaby with Western alumni Erik Roeser, an active member in the Seattle alumni chapter as well as a cabinet member, and Sarah Wirtz, Simon Fraser’s advisor. When the trio arrived at SFU, they witnessed the colonization ceremony and became acquainted with the first pledge class, consisting of thirteen people.

“They were all part of the college of business and economics up there, and they were all super stoked about starting their own AKPsi because they just allowed Greek systems back up at SFU,” shared Fu. “Their greatest interests are creating networking relationships as well as a lot of them wanted to start a business (a couple of them are entrepreneurs).”

After the colonization ritual, Wirtz discussed topics such as pledge pins and executive board roles. Prior to the meeting, Wirtz had informed the pledge class about the e-board positions, so the members already agreed who would run for each position.

One interesting observation Fu made was the significance of the VP of Membership at SFU. “The VP of Membership was the driving force behind the chapter,” explained Fu. To some extent, Fu felt as though the VP of Membership served a higher importance and was more actively involved in the chapter than the president, who served as a role to organize and get people excited about the events the VP of Membership organized.

How does the leadership team operate at your school, and does it work for your chapter? Or are there changes that need to be made to improve productivity?