University Of Alaska Anchorage: Alpha Sigma Phi Becomes Newest UAA Fraternity

Press release from the University of Alaska Anchorage:

August 23, 2021

Last year during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, shuttering businesses
and widening relationships were all too common. However, Alpha Sigma Phi [ASP] defied the odds and was able to take the necessary steps to officially becoming
UAA’s newest fraternity.

First established in fall 2017 as a temporary colony of the national ASP organization
while they worked toward registration, the group officially became UAA’s fourth chartered Greek organization in April 2021. ASP joined one other fraternity — Tau Kappa Epsilon — as well as two
sororities — Alpha Sigma Alpha and Sigma Sigma Sigma. A third fraternity organization,
Delta Chi, is currently registered as a colony at UAA and hopes to follow ASP’s lead
by chartering this academic year. 

Typically, the process to become a registered Greek organization involves growing
membership and fundraising. Recruitment is accomplished through face-to-face relationship
building at rush events, tailgate parties, movie nights or even chance encounters
in the student union or tutoring hall, which were all but impossible during the height
of the pandemic.

Like the rest of the world, ASP had to pivot online during such a vital stage of the
fraternity’s establishment. Such an unexpected challenge would be daunting for anyone,
but even more so for Aeron Mills, who had just been appointed as ASP’s new president
at that time.

“Nobody expected this, so there wasn’t a playbook to draw from,” said Mills. “But
the national [ASP] organization had a whole set up for the presidents to talk to each
other about what was working. We found that you can still have that brotherhood bond
virtually, and in fact I think those bonds might even be stronger because we've been
apart for so long.”

Even before the pandemic fortified those bonds, brotherhood was always much more than fraternity jargon. For Mills and the members of ASP, membership
in a fraternity or sorority can provide a valuable sense of identity and community
during a time that can be an intimidating adjustment period for some.

“Coming to college can be jarring,” said Ryan Phipps, former ASP president and current
president of the Interfraternity Council. “Realistically, I don't know if I would
have stayed in school because after my first semester I didn’t think college was for
me. But having [ASP] keep me involved and hang out and study with made me feel like
this is where I'm supposed to be.”

In addition to recruiting and fundraising, philanthropy is a key component on the
pathway to establishing a fraternity or sorority. For ASP, those efforts resulted
in the group raising more than $800 for Standing Together Against Rape Alaska, a local
nonprofit that provides sexual trauma and crisis intervention support to survivors,
and over $500 for Active Minds, a national nonprofit that provides mental health and
suicide intervention services for young adults.

Looking ahead, philanthropy will continue to be a cornerstone of ASP via annual fundraisers
supporting one of five nonprofits associated with the national organization: Rape
Abuse Incest National Network, Aware Awake Alive, Humane Society, Big Brothers Big
Sisters and Homes for Our Troops. And closer to home, ASP will keep up their monthly
meetings to pitch ideas for local nonprofits and causes to support.

“Our motto is, ‘To better the man,’” said Phipps. “Philanthropy is all about that
— bringing everybody around you up. To be someone who wants to help others is an amazing
trait to have, and if everybody wanted to help other people, the world would be a
much better place.”

With their registration secured and in-person events cautiously returning to campus,
ASP is excited to begin the new academic year recruiting in a manner more closely
resembling that before the pandemic. 

“If you're looking to join a fraternity or sorority, by all means check out all of
them,” said Mills. “Honestly it's nothing like the movies, it’s actually a lot better.
For me, this fraternity and the long lasting friendships I made from it is one of
the main reasons I’m able to call UAA home.”

Learn more about Alpha Sigma Phi at UAA.

This press release was produced by the University of Alaska Anchorage. The views expressed here are the author’s own.