Updated: Aug. 13, 2015 at 10:35 a.m.
This post was written by Hatchet reporter Natalie Maher.
One multicultural Greek fraternity brought home two awards this month for its work on campus and around the city.
GW’s chapter of Iota Nu Delta, a South Asian interest-based fraternity, won national awards for chapter of the year and president of the year at the fraternity’s national convention in Boston. Despite only having eight active brothers at GW, the chapter beat out 13 other Iota Nu Delta chapters across the country.
Fraternity President Akhil Chandra said part of his chapter’s success was its presence across the city, including the Maryland and Virginia area, rather than limiting the chapter just to campus, and added that the awards were based on aspects like philanthropy, academics and involvement on campus.
Chandra said the fraternity participated in a peanut butter and jelly drive on F Street and mentored under-privileged children and students at the Perry School Community Service Center on M Street.
The fraternity’s small size sometimes makes it difficult to fully involve with other fraternities and organizations on campus, Chandra said, and added that the chapter relies heavily on alumni for added support.
“Our fraternity is pretty young, so our alumni are pretty young,” Chandra said. “They’re very enthusiastic because they joined the fraternity for the same reasons we did.”
Iota Nu Delta is also a national partner of the South Asian Marrow Association of Donors, and GW’s chapter held a bone marrow registration this past fall. The chapter is also part of the National Multicultural Greek Council, a group of fraternities and sororities that are historically focused on a specific ethnicity or background.
Chandra said that as the fraternity focuses on dedicating its time to the South Asian and D.C. communities, the chapter will spend more time recruiting new members for the upcoming years.
“I’ve worked so hard for three years now, so I want to get more people to carry on the legacy and all the work [Iota Nu Delta] has done so far,” Chandra said.
This post was updated to reflect the following correction:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that Iota Nu Delta was a Southeast Asian-interest fraternity. Iota Nu Delta is a South Asian-interest fraternity. We regret this error.
