Phi Sigma Pi, an honors fraternity, is one of several gender-inclusive fraternities on campus, and it is based on the values of scholarship, leadership and fellowship. 

According to its website, the fraternity was founded nationally in 1916 and has 140 chapters around the United States with approximately 53,000 members.

MaKayla Edmond is a junior member of Phi Sigma Pi, holding roles as the recruitment advisor and the historian. 

“It was originally founded by 10 guys, and the first women were allowed to join in the 1950’s,” says Edmond. Now, Kent’s chapter happens to be predominantly female. 

“When the fraternity was founded, only guys were allowed to join, but our chapter is actually mostly female,” Edmond said. 

Kent’s chapter includes 32 members, with nine currently going through the initiation process, Edmond said. Edmond oversees the recruitment and initiation process for all new members. 

Some upcoming service projects for the fraternity are cleaning up Metroparks in the Cleveland area and hosting a sock collection to donate new socks to a local nursing home. 

The requirements to become a member of Phi Sigma Pi include having at least a 3.0 GPA, at least 12 credit hours completed and at least one more semester remaining at Kent State. 

Members of the fraternity can hold a role as chairperson. Some other chairs are social chair, scholarship chair, service chair, historian and recruitment advisor. 

As the historian, Edmond holds the “big” and “little” reveals and other events to ensure that the fraternity’s history stays in place. 

Other events the chapter hosts for members include a formal banquet every semester, a scrapbook party and end-of-year holiday parties. 

“We like to plan our events based on the members so everybody will have a fun time,” Edmond said.

Chloe Harich is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].