Pakistani student makes most of short stay by joining Sigma Pi at Murray State

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One of the great parts about traveling the country and meeting fraternity and sorority members all over the country is seeing how they address the changing demographics of colleges today and make their organizations stand out to attract new members in new places on campus. Whether we look at race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, or religion, a diverse membership makes better organizations. There are various books published on this topic that provides the science, including The Difference by Scott E. Page, The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver, and The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki. These books all show how different perspectives, different experiences, different problem solving techniques, and different stories help us make better decisions, foster innovation, and help us predict the future. Imagine if our fraternities and sororities could predict the future? The truth is, we can – if we recruit right.

The challenge of course is that generally speaking, people would rather spend time with people that agree with them rather than disagree with them. This political election is a prime example of this, where users eliminated half of their friends that disagreed on who should lead our country. Our natural inclination is to recruit others that are just like us, perhaps from the same town even. What I’ve learned over the years is that “you don’t know what you don’t know”, and that’s why fraternal organizations are designed with committee structures. Use them. The various opinions and outlooks enable us to to identify opportunities and threats faster, of which there are many today.

What areas could we attract into our chapters in order to make us better? Florida State’s IFC voted to waive all fees for veterans on campus if they join a fraternity. They could be slightly older than the average age of our chapter, but these veterans come with ready made leadership skills and experience to help us move our chapters forward, and they are looking for a brotherhood experience just like they had in the military. What an exceptional idea.

Another story came across my feed a couple of weeks ago. A foreign exchange student from Pakistan that is attending Murray State decided to join Sigma Pi fraternity, even though he is here for only one semester. He’ll be able to accomplish the community service requirements of the foreign exchange program, and make lifelong friends even though he’ll have a short time here in the United States for school. There is no question in my mind that the Murray State chapter is better because of Birth Subhash, and all members will benefit from learning about new cultures in this process.

To read more about Murray State Sigma Pi and Birth Subhash’s story, read the original article by clicking here.