There is a new fraternity on the block at the University of Denver with hopes of doing Greek Life differently.
Phi Gamma Delta or FIJI as many know it, joined the DU Interfraternity Council during the first week of the Winter Quarter. After a search for members by a FIJI representative across campus, the fraternity has already gained 20 members.
One of those members was third-year student Tyler Miller, who is now the president of FIJI.
Miller said he was skeptical of joining a fraternity at first, because of preconceived opinions of fraternity life, but was inspired “to raise healthy men on campus” from his involvement with the DU Masculinities Project’s workshops.
“I sat down and talked with one of the representatives from [FIJI] HQ, and it was like all the pieces of the puzzle came together and it was like, this is how I help bring about a healthier idea of masculinity on campus and how I can change and impact a positive culture,” Miller said.
After the initial recruitment of the cabinet members, Phi Gamma Delta at DU was finally coming into fruition. It wasn’t until the middle weeks of the Winter Quarter that the fraternity started holding chapter meetings, philanthropy events, and their unique Campus Cleanup Day.
Every other Friday, the members of FIJI grab trash bags, gloves and a speaker to go around and clean up the campus alongside other surrounding areas. With the absence of a big philanthropy budget, FIJI Treasurer Zach Headley and the rest of the cabinet members decided to come up with a simple way to meet their value of giving back to the community.
“One of the simple things we thought of was, ‘Hey, when we’re walking along University [Blvd] after a Thursday or Saturday night, there’re beer cans all over the place, there’s all kinds of trash, cigarette butts, everything like that. How hard would it be to grab some kitchen trash bags and some gloves and just walk around for a couple of hours and pick that up,” Headley said.
