There is a new fraternity coming to campus in 2026: Phi Delta Theta who have a mission to bring everyone on campus together.
“We just want to unite Greek Life on campus, and end previous rivalries between frats here,” freshman Cole Mergulis said.
Mergulis transferred to CMU from Michigan State University (MSU), and was involved in the Phi Delta Theta chapter there.
“[I] really enjoyed it, and when I transferred here, I didn’t really like the current Greek Life, so I had the idea to start a chapter of Phi Delta Theta,” Mergulis said.
Phi Delta Theta provides a new potential route for Greek Life in the valley after the recent strife Theta Xi has encountered. Establishing a new fraternity chapter at a university takes several steps and cannot happen overnight.
The process starts with having a group of guys and recruiting. Then, the potential fraternity needs to show good standing, communication and involvement with both Student Life and Phi Delta Theta headquarters. Impressing both involves much philanthropy and social events, not only including parties.
“They need to see [that] we can work together, as well as communicate and work hard,” Mergulis said.
The process is also made difficult by the current relationship between Student Life and fraternity organizations. The current two fraternities allegedly butt heads frequently behind closed doors, and crackdowns on hazing have gotten more serious this year.
“It’s tough since frats don’t have a good standing with Student Life currently,” freshman Erik Sweatt said.
Theta Xi was only recently put back into good standing with Student Life and is currently on a probationary period for an incident allegedly involving firearms in Oct. 2025 and compounding communication problems.
Phi Delta Theta’s goals are to push back against that kind of frat culture, according to the members. Members cite wanting to work with other Greek Life organizations on campus, encourage accountability and unity and advocate against hazing culture in Greek Life.
“[Phi Delta Theta is] the only frat in the anti hazing coalition,” said freshman Carson Zoll.
The Phi Delta Theta founders are planning on hosting social events this semester, including a mixer in early April, to get their name out there and gather people who might want to recruit in the fall. The group wants to bring together people from all walks of life on campus in addition to the numerous Greek Life organizations.
“We want it to be for everyone, and anyone can get involved,” Sweatt said.
Sweatt described Phi Delta Theta as a social fraternity.
The founders claim to want a group that is not just based on rush, but social events and unity in the student body.
“We want to unite not just Greek Life on campus, but clubs as well,” Manier said.
