UWRF frats utilize facebook for publicity, not recruiting

Each of the four UW-River Falls fraternities has a Facebook group. Some creators said their group is a way to create publicity, while others said their fraternity has decreased in size.

Senior Michael Tate said he knows the numbers in Theta Chi have dropped, but it has no relation to Facebook.

“Facebook will not be a primary recruiting place for any Greek organization,” Tate said. “To get people to join, you have to meet with them face-to-face, talk with them and get to know them.”

Tate said if it comes to a point to ask if the possible candidate would like to meet the entire fraternity, they might take the opportunity or turn it down.

“Either way, you gain either a brother or a friend,” he said. “You can’t get that with Facebook.”

Tate, who has been a member of Theta Chi for four years, said the Facebook group is used as a way to keep in contact with members of the fraternity.

“The group is a way to keep in touch with each other in a manner more fun than just trading e-mail or voice messages, if we can’t see each other,” Tate said.

Senior Isaac Nellessen, who has been a member of Delta Theta Sigma (DTS) for three years, said he has not noticed a change in fraternity numbers due to the Facebook group.

“The purpose of [our] Facebook page was to gain a little more publicity and to show people what we are about,” Nellessen said. “The page has pictures of different activities and social events that we do and have taken place in.”

Like Tate, Nellessen said the reason the fraternity created the group was to create a space for contact.

“The group is a place for our members to stay in contact with each other over the school year and during summer and winter breaks,” he said. “The page is also a place where alumni members can keep in contact and stay in contact with current members.”

Nellessen, who held the Ethics chair position last year, said joining DTS was one of his greatest experiences in college.

“Joining Delta Theta Sigma is not like joining another group of people; you become a family,” he said.

Because DTS is a social-professional agricultural fraternity, members must be studying agriculture.

“You have a lot of good connections through alumni in the agriculture industry, which can be very helpful when nearing graduation and searching for a job,” Nellessen said.

Theta Chi Fraternity is an international fraternity that has been at UWRF since 1968. They have no religious or ethnic affiliation and students don’t have to be in a specific degree field to be a member. For more information about Theta Chi, students can log on to http://www.uwrf.edu/theta-chi/.

DTS was chartered at UWRF in 1969. In 1970, Albert Beaver, a Gamma Chapter alumni, helped to purchase the house where fraternity members currently reside. For more information about DTS, students can log to http://www.uwrf.edu/dts/welcome.html.