Fantasy football leagues, recreational basketball and forming long-lasting friendships are all normal aspects of Greek life, but the new Wichita State chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha is still trying to establish itself as an official campus fraternity.

“Our main goal is to recruit more members,” said Domanique Cary, Lambda Chi Alpha president.

Membership count is their main goal, because it is a key part of getting off the ground as a campus fraternity. Lambda Chi Alpha has about 10 members, which is well short of the 35 required to get a charter needed to make it an official WSU fraternity. However, Cary insists that they are being careful when it comes to fulfilling that prerequisite.

“We don’t just recruit for quantity, we recruit for quality,” Cary said.

Recruiting for a new fraternity can be challenging, though, and Lambda Chi Alpha recruiting chair Tyler Schulz does everything he can to attract more members.

“I try to be as social as I can and talk to kids on campus and talk to kids in the dorms,” Schulz said.

Lambda Chi Alpha’s often recruits by maintaining a table at the Rhatigan Student Center. Students who walk by and show interest are invited to attend fraternity activities, like watching football.

Convincing those potential recruits to join Lambda Chi Alpha instead of a more established fraternity is made most challenging by the lack of a charter and house.

“We don’t have a house yet, because we don’t have a charter, and that might be one of the bigger turn-offs for them,” Schulz said.

However, the founding members of Lambda Chi Alpha here feel that there are plenty of benefits to joining a new fraternity.

“It would be cool to be a founding father of a fraternity,” Schulz said. “I think that means a lot more to me and the people who are into it.”

Cary also feels that the positives outweigh the negatives.

“You gain leadership skills,” Cary said, because in a fraternity with so few members, each individual member has a larger role. “You gain responsibility and accountability.”

Cary and Schulz are new to Greek life. They are already seeing the appeal of the lifestyle.

“It’s a good way to hold you accountable and keep yourself in line,” Cary said. “Movies like ‘Animal House’ and ‘American Pie’ just show the party side. Those are frat boys, we are fraternity men.”

Schulz sees the social benefits of Greek life as another appealing factor.

“It’s a great opportunity to make new friends,” Schulz said. “I’ve already met so many new guys that I could say I could become really good friends with.”

If Cary, Schulz and the rest of WSU’s Lambda Chi Alpha branch reach their goal of attaining a charter and becoming an official campus fraternity, they could help establish a tradition of character and friendship building for years to come.