The Iota chapter of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was presented with its charter Thursday by the Supreme Council of ZBT, marking the chapter’s return to the DU campus after more than a decade.
The ceremony involved the presentation of the charter and speeches by current members, alumni and members of the DU community.
Previously considered a colony, the Iota chapter had to prove itself to be of “adequate size and performance” in order to be re-chartered, said Steve Ehrlich, an advisor to the fraternity and ZBT alumnus.
ZBT was founded at DU in 1920. It was once considered the number one ZBT chapter. However, ZBT national organization closed the DU chapter in 1990 because “things were out of control,” said Matt Landes, current recruitment chair of ZBT and one of the founding fathers of the new chapter.
Two years ago, a ZBT legacy (someone whose parent or sibling was a alumnus) tried to bring the fraternity back to DU.
Dan Goodman transferred to DU in fall quarter 2004 from the University of Illinois, where he was a ZBT member.
Wanting to continue being part of the fraternity he looked at the other fraternities on campus but didn’t like his options. Instead, he decided to try and resurrect ZBT at DU.
He believed there were “enough quality guys on this campus” to re-colonize the chapter after a hiatus of more than 10 years.
Goodman placed flyers around campus and five men showed up for the first meeting during spring quarter 2005.
These five became the founding fathers of the new ZBT: Dan Goodman, David Gross, Matt Landes, Peter Matvichuk and Ibrahim Al-Murjan.
These men all saw an “opportunity to create a fraternity on campus that wasn’t your typical fraternity,” said Landes.
Unlike most fraternities, ZBT is a nonhazing, nonpledging organization. Current ZBT president Scott Schwartz calls traditions of hazing and pledging “outdated.”
The fraternity prides itself on diversity in thinking, organization of the fraternity, and of member’s beliefs.
Though the fraternity is historically a Jewish one, brothers of all backgrounds are invited to join.
People will “always have a place in our brotherhood as long as they are a quality man,” said Goodman, the first president of the new colony.
“We are a Brotherhood of standards,” said Schwartz.
In the past year and a half, the Iota chapter has grown to include 37 members. They include many campus leaders, including Aaron Schwarzberg, AUSA president.
ZBT members also currently hold the highest GPA out of all of the fraternities at DU, according to Goodman.
The current minimum requirement of is a 2.75, and ZBT’s goal by the end of this academic year is to have a 3.4 average for the chapter.
For many, the re-chartering ceremony was a symbol of all the work that the fraternity has done over the past year and a half to prove.
Speeches and presentations by current and past members reflected this.
Patrick Casey, secretary of the ZBT Supreme Council, said of the founding fathers, these men “chose a path different from other men.” They saw “an opportunity for a community of brothers to come together who share a need for fraternalism.” He added, the Iota chapter was “created by this group of men, by their promises to each other and to themselves.”
Before the re-chartering, ZBT had created a name for itself at DU by organizing huge student events.
The First Annual Sexy Awards, held in the fall, had 1,800 people in attendance, and was, according to Landes, the “biggest student event outside of the school.”
ZBT also held a number of philanthropic events over the past year, raising over $3,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network, according to Jake Rokeach, a current member. ZBT’s goal this year is to raise $20,000, starting with Red Nose Week being held this week.
