Indiana braces for the return of several fraternities, including "the good guys".
"Right now, what we're seeing is the chapters that left campus for behavioral reasons are coming back -- and being welcomed back by the university," said Steve Veldkamp, assistant dean of students.
And it's not your older brother's frat house that the groups are trying to organize, Veldkamp said. With structured programs called "Men of Principle" and "Balanced Man," the new fraternities said they are emphasizing leadership, academics and service.
[Returning to a house is] the goal for Sigma Phi Epsilon, according to officials of the Richmond, Va.-based fraternity.
That fraternity closed its IU chapter without warning in December 2002, angering students and leaving them scrambling for housing during the week of final exams.
Officials said they closed the house because of "behavioral and financial issues," including declining membership and a $1.3 million debt. A bank foreclosed on the house, but the national organization bought it back at a sheriff's sale.
[...] Sigma Phi Epsilon will start recruiting for a new chapter next spring, planning to eventually move back into the house, said Bayard Gennert, director of residential life for the national organization.
The new chapter, he said, will dispense with the "pledge" model of recruitment, in which new members are expected to prove themselves to become active members.
"It's a lot more than just a social experience," Gennert said. "It's really about how to have the best life experience."
The full article has a good high level view of the change in the Greek "landscape" for chapters and colleges.
Ousted fraternities sport new attitudes, return to IU campus
