Wichita State is adding a new multicultural fraternity to its ranks of Greek life organizations. A chapter of the Omega Delta Phi fraternity is starting this spring.
Omega Delta Phi joins WSU’s Cultural Greek Council (CGC), made up of six other culturally-based organizations. The organization will start recruiting this semester.
Erika Mendoza, the president of the CGC, said that welcoming a new organization is “like a new beginning for all of us.”
“We are on the smaller scale between all (of WSU’s Greek life) councils. So adding another fraternity … is going to be really exciting,” Mendoza said.
Founded at Texas Tech University, Omega Delta Phi is a national organization with chapters across the country. It was founded as a fraternity primarily for Hispanic men, but according to the organization’s website, it welcomes members of all ethnicities.
Gabriel Fonseca is the executive director of WSU’s Student Engagement and Belonging (SEB) office. He said the fraternity addition gives more options to students, especially for WSU’s Hispanic students.
Fonseca said SEB started the process of bringing in the new organization by thinking about the needs of students involved in Greek life. The percentage of Hispanic students at WSU has been on the rise in recent years, as Wichita State approaches designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). HSIs, which have a 25% or more Hispanic student population, currently qualify for specific federal funding.
“We ran enrollment data for underrepresented men and Hispanic men on campus,” Fonseca said. “One of the things that we look at is a trend of membership in the (Cultural Greek) Council itself … where we have seen maybe an uptick or where there may be an opportunity to consider another organization.”
Fonseca said that while WSU has two Hispanic-oriented sororities, there was only one such fraternity, meaning there was a gap that Omega Delta Phi could fill. SEB then put out a call for organizations interested in expanding to Wichita State and the Cultural Greek Council helped pick the fraternity.
Lateef Ipaye is Omega Delta Phi Inc.’s vice president of program, quality and impact. He said the growing Hispanic population was something that drew them to WSU as well.
“Looking at Wichita State University as a growing Hispanic community … moving towards becoming a Hispanic Serving Institute, that was something that attracted us as an organization that has several members within that community,” Ipaye said. “And then also the fact that we are in an important time in our country where community building is important. Community civic engagement is important as well.”
Students wanting to learn more about Omega Delta Phi can speak to national representatives and members from nearby chapters at the Involvement Fair on Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Rhatigan Student Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Omega Delta Phi will be holding several events next week for interested students, according to Malaree Hood, the assistant director of SEB.
“Anyone who’s interested in joining their organization can go and attend those different events, and then they’ll have them do an application to join their organization, and then there’ll be a semester-long education process,” Hood said. “Then at the end of the semester, just like the rest of the CGC organizations and (National Pan-Hellenic Council), they’ll do a reveal of their new members.”
Students can also reach out to the office of Student Engagement and Belonging, or visit the WSU fraternity’s Instagram page to learn more or get involved.
