Columnist Erin Franczak highlights OU's Phi Kappa Psi and how its members strive to better the community.
From an outside perspective, Greek life at Ohio University is misunderstood. Some students may only think of sororities and fraternities as social organizations, but they actually do a lot for the community. One great example of that is Phi Kappa Psi, a fraternity on campus known for not only their philanthropy but also their inclusion and leadership roles.
The fraternity welcomes men who are involved in all aspects of life at OU. Stephen Lichtenfels, the president of Phi Psi, said that besides fraternity life, he is on Student Senate's Student Appropriations Committee. Student Senate is an awesome organization that aims to represent all the students enrolled in OU. Lichtenfels also is very interested in helping out in the community, and he always is trying to find ways of incorporating service into his daily routine.
He gets a lot of help with that from his fraternity brothers. Phi Psi members constantly are volunteering and taking part in charity functions. Lichtenfels said the fraternity's national philanthropy organization is The Boys & Girls Club of America, but his chapter is partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Athens County for the Phi Psi 500, which takes place from April 4 through 9.
They also hosted a Battle of the Bands show in November, with the proceeds going to the Wounded Warrior Project. One of the best memories Lichtenfels has is when his fraternity took a trip to Nelsonville to work with Habitat for Humanity.
Phi Psi also is big on leadership. Within the organization there is the president, vice president, treasurer, philanthropy chair and brotherhood chair (the member who plans brotherhood events, athletics and more). There is also the activities chair, who is in charge of events like Moms Weekend and Dads Weekend. Members of Phi Kappa Psi work toward developing leadership skills. They attend workshops and conferences that focus on improving those skills. A great leader understands how to incorporate people and find them a place where they can grow, learn and succeed. The men of Phi Psi are very interested in inclusion.
“I don’t treat anyone that is not in Greek life any differently than I would treat someone in my own organization. I try to give a positive face to Greek life no matter what I am doing,” Lichtenfels said.
Erin Franczak is a freshman studying journalism. Have you been to one of Phi Kappa Psi's fundraising events? Email her at ef441614@ohio.edu.
