The following article appeared in The Santa Clara, SCU's newspaper, on October 20, 1994. It is reprinted with permission of The Santa Clara, 11/28/94.
Brotherhood. Community Service. Academic excellence. These are the three main priorities of SCU's multicultural fraternity, Nu Alpha Kappa.
Last week, these priorities were expressed to the 15 new pledges during NAK's second annual rush.
NAK decided to have its rush now since there is a lot of interaction between Santa Clara's chapter and chapters from other schools, which all have fall rush.
Ray Esquivel, president of the fraternity, said it was time to test the waters. "We were in great anticipation of our first pledge class," he said.
Letting people know about their rush was difficult since they are not a campus-recognized organization. School advertising was limited. Some of the active members knew students who were interested, and word of mouth through members and friends was helpful. Esquivel said the fraternity was looking for prospectives who were up for challenges and willing to take on leadership roles. The fraternity was not only impressed with the individuals who attended but by the turnout as well. "Rush process in itself was a success," said Esquivel.
CHOOSING AN ORGANIZATION
One of the main incentives for wanting to start a new fraternity at SCU was to establish a new multicultural organization.
"We wanted to start something that was new and fresh," said senior and founding father John Marcoida. "We wanted to change the attitude of the school and open some minds." Marcoida and his friends wanted to help educate students about other cultures and reduce stereotypes by encouraging interaction among the students.
With that idea in mind, Marcoida and others began talking with representatives from fraternities at other universities. To help get a better idea and understanding of the fraternities, they visited and spoke with different houses at San Jose State University, including most of the Latino fraternities.
Although the original founding fathers of most NAK chapters are of Latino heritage, Marcoida said, "The thing that made Nu Alpha Kappa different from other predominant Latino fraternities was that it was multi-cultural."
Marcoida and two other prime founders for the SCU chapter, Shawn Herrera and Alberto Cruz, knew NAK was the fraternity for them. Attending a smaller campus like SCU, a house with just one outlook, such as a "Black frat" or "true Mexican frat," would not last.
"You have to include everyone, and that's the way we wanted to see it anyway," said Marcoida.
After working out the plans, goals and regulations with the NAK Regional Executive Council and the active members at SJSU, the men were ready to pledge. They planned on pledging at SJSU, but according to the NAK regulations, all members must pledge at the school they are attending.
For Marcoida and his future brothers, that was the perfect reason to start a new chapter at SCU.
GETTING STARTED
The first step was meeting with the regionals and writing a proposal for a new chapter. The SJSU chapter agreed to be their sponsor, but for the first year the new chapter was on probation.
The soon-to-be members had to demonstrate their commitment through community service and fundraising projects. Aside from their quarterly dues, it is up to the fraternity to fund itself.
As an organization, the members also participate in volunteer activities such as "Adopt a Highway" and "Walk For AIDS." The fraternity raised over $1400 during the "Walk For AIDS" last Sunday in downtown San Jose.
TIME TO TAKE NOTICE
This year the fraternity's main goal, according to Esquivel, is university relations. "We're trying to expand our relationships with the university this year," said Esquivel. "We feel there can be mutual benefit if we work together instead of on our own."
Because they are not a national fraternity, the NAKs cannot be a part of the Inter Greek Council (IGC). In addition, they are a regional fraternity and therefore, cannot be recognized by the school as a club.
"It's not going to be easy, and we knew that from the start, because of the system and the way it's set up," Esquivel said.
Although they would rather be recognized on campus than chartered by IGC, they would also like to have more university involvement and identification with the student body and other organizations. They are looking into an associated position which would allow a member from their fraternity to sit in on meetings without taking any action such as voting on the issues.
Nu Alpha Kappa doesn't expect everyone on campus to know who they are. Their smaller size and mostly Latino membership makes them different from the other Greek fraternities at SCU. However, Esquivel emphasized that they want to inform people about the multi-cultural aspect of the fraternity and not enforce it.
"I don't care if we're seen differently. I just don't want to be treated differently," said Marcoida.
