Gamma Mu’s Return to Kansas
Mar 2, 2012
In an article from The Daily Kansan:
On Feb 18, their efforts paid off when they were officially given a charter.
“I don’t think we appreciated that we were re-founding a fraternity at KU that had been around for 100 years and had this great history and done all these great things,” said Zack McQuiston, Kansas ’12, a junior from Shawnee and one of the 18 founding members of the new chapter.
With no experience running an organization or being a part of a fraternity, McQuiston said members were unsure about how to proceed for the first six months. Consultants from ATO’s national office made several visits a year to help members establish the fraternity and work toward becoming a fully recognized chapter.
As people became aware that ATO was once again on campus, McQuiston started receiving emails from alumni voicing their support.
“ATO has a long history on campus, and it was horrible when it disappeared for them,” Interfraternity Council (IFC) president Stephen Nichols said. “I think it got to a point where they needed to re-evaluate and reassess, and that’s exactly what Zack and these other guys did. They definitely went about it in a way that we want all of our fraternities to.”
McQuiston, who served as president for several years, was excited to hear the news that the charter was finally being approved after waiting for more than six months,
“It was a relief, for sure,” McQuiston said. “I think there was kind of a sense among the group, especially among the original 18 guys, that we were ready.”
Jake Klenda, Kansas State ’10, a junior from Wichita, and president of the fraternity said that to obtain a charter, ATO had to have 45 members to prove there was interest and volunteer in Lawrence.
“Being a full chapter instead of a colony means a lot,” Klenda said. “Hopefully we can just continue to move in the right direction,”
Klenda said he hopes the fraternity focuses on maintaining their grades and fundraising.