Delta Chi fraternity regained national recognition last month after a one-year suspension and is now working toward re-establishing itself as an official UA fraternity by the spring.
The Delta Chi Board of Regents told Andrew Dipsia, president of the Delta Chi UA chapter, that its suspended charter would be reactivated Aug. 28.
"At first it amazed me," Dipsia said. "It was like a little kid receiving his favorite gift on Christmas on the morning I called these guys and told them we got our charter back. It was unreal and we're proud of it."
After it was caught for hazing in 2001, Delta Chi lost its association with the UA indefinitely and was put on probation with Delta Chi international.
It violated its probation in 2004 when alcohol was distributed at a party at the fraternity house, which resulted in Delta Chi international suspending its charter, Dipsia said.
The fraternity has been operating independently under the name Delta Chi Alpha for the past year.
"We said if they wanted to have any consideration of us reversing the suspension they needed to be able to operate for one year in a manner that we deemed appropriate," said Ray Galbreth, executive director for Delta Chi international. "We believe they did that."
The fraternity had to make some big changes to get their charter back, Dipsia said. One of the changes included a "chapter cleansing" that evaluated every member.
After this process, UA Delta Chi membership went from 120 to 30 men.
It also created a strict alcohol policy, made member contracts about the fraternity's standards and created more communication with alumni, Dipsia said.
"It was basically a rebirth," said Trevor Richman, vice president of Delta Chi.
The final stage is a formal member evaluation process. This month a representative from Delta Chi international will come to Tucson to interview every potential member.
"We are going to be very emphatic on a commitment to our values and full compliance to our policies," Galbreth said. "We are dedicated to having a chapter in Tucson that represents us well."
Now that Delta Chi has its charter back, the next step is to re-establish itself as an official UA fraternity, Dipsia said.
Delta Chi is scheduled to appear before the Interfraternity Council in 2007, when the recognized fraternity presidents will vote on whether or not it will be a chapter recognized by the UA, said Michael Katzman, president of the council.
But Delta Chi is going to try sooner than that, Dipsia said.
Each semester, two groups are able to apply for university recognition by giving a presentation to several committees on campus.
Dipsia said he has Delta Chi's presentation ready and is trying to arrange a meeting as soon as possible.
If approved, Delta Chi will go through a six-month probationary period but will be considered an official UA organization.
"It's unimaginable the success we could have for (the) U of A and Delta Chi if we joined forces and actually did it together," Dipsia said.
"It really is our goal to prove to (the) U of A that the past is the past and future is future. We're in the most positive direction the chapter has been in the past decade, and we're making leaps and bounds every day."