Fraternity Alpha Sigma Phi plans to make its mark on campus beginning fall 2016. While it may be new to Quinnipiac, it already has a long and progressive history throughout the nation.

Representative of Alpha Sigma Phi L.T. Piver said the fraternity was founded at Yale University in 1845 and expanded from there. Alpha Sigma Phi is currently the tenth oldest collegiate men’s fraternity and the fourteenth largest in the nation.

“Over the past seven years, we’ve been the fastest growing fraternity in America, starting over 70 successful chapters across the country and having currently 7,000 undergraduate members,” Piver said. “Coming out to Quinnipiac, we’re really excited to join the community here and just get to call Quinnipiac home.”

The fraternity will be a new addition to the university, and students who join will have the chance to bring their visions and ideas to Alpha Sigma Phi. They will have the opportunity to shape it into a cumulative organization that will both add to their college experience and benefit them in the future when searching for job opportunities.

“It’s something that will always stay with them for the rest of their lives. These men will get to say, ‘I started Alpha Sigma Phi, that’s something I brought to my campus,’” Piver said.

Junior Adam Berg said he believes, like the current fraternities on campus now, that Alpha Sigma Phi can provide more unity within the student body.

“The more fraternities, the more philanthropic options for students to get involved in, which I think is great for the school,” he said. “I have some friends [who are in fraternities]; they seem to enjoy it. They seem to love the fact that they made a lot of new friends because of the fraternities.”

Alpha Sigma Phi hopes to gain new members who strive to be leaders and are open to contributing their ideas to the fraternity, according to Piver. The group is looking for growth in terms of size, membership development and alumni engagement.

“When we come in and do expansions, we look for men who want to be involved on campus, who want to be engaged in student life and who are looking for the right things out of a fraternity which are personal, professional, social and academic development,” Piver said. “We are looking for leaders, men from all different ages, classes [and] diverse backgrounds.”

Senior Aldo Servello believes that although Alpha Sigma Phi has the advantage of being a new fraternity on campus, there still may be risks to adding another fraternity.

“I think it could be an advantage in the sense that it is a new fraternity and people could be the founding fathers of it,” Servello said. “Then at the same time, we’ve also been having a little bit of heat with our fraternities.”

Servello’s concerns stem from various allegations of hazing over the past few years. Tau Kappa Epsilon was put on cease and desist due to hazing allegations in October 2014 and has not returned to campus. Sigma Phi Epsilon was also put on cease and desist in September 2015 because of hazing allegations, but was then issued a deferred suspension until Dec. 31, 2016. In October 2015, Beta Theta Pi was ordered to cease and desist due to hazing allegations, but was allowed to resume operations after the allegations were proven to be false.

Piver explained that the purpose of Alpha Sigma Phi is to “better the man” through the perpetuation of brotherhood. Its focus is to provide philanthropic and scholastic service opportunities.

The fraternity also works with five philanthropic partners, each partner being aligned with its values of character: silence, charity, purity, honor, and patriotism, according to the Alpha Sigma Phi website. Its partners are The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), Aware/Awake/Alive, The Humane Society, Big Brother-Big Sister and Homes for Our Troops.

“A lot of people will always [ask] when it comes to Greek life, ‘Why this one? Why that one?’ I think the biggest opportunity with joining Alpha Sigma Phi is just that: opportunity,” Piver said. “It’s an opportunity to leave your mark on campus and to create an organization from scratch; you’re going to have a lot of support and assistance from the national office and alumni, but it’s a clean start.”