After a 30-year presence at Drake University, social fraternity Phi Gamma Delta closed its doors at the end of the fall semester.

This marks the second Interfraternity Council chapter to close in the past year, as Phi Delta Theta closed over the summer.

According to Drake Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Liz Itzen, both chapters decided internally to cease chapter operations after conversations with chapter headquarters.

A new generation

Junior Maynor Martinez joined FIJI as a first-year in fall 2023. Chapter membership was low, as 14 seniors had graduated in the spring. 

“I knew it was small, but I did want to grow the chapter and be part of that,” Martinez said.

Martinez was one of six recruited that fall. Four of the new members later transferred to other schools, and one dropped, leaving Martinez the only remaining member of his recruitment class.

During his first year at Drake, senior Agha Noor Ahmed Khan got to know the members of FIJI. As an international student, Khan had never heard of fraternities before. At the end of his second semester in spring 2024, Khan was invited over to the house for a movie night, where the chapter members explained what it meant to be in a fraternity.

“[The FIJI members] just introduced it to me as if, like, I’m an American who had some knowledge,” Khan said. “I didn’t, I really didn’t get it, but they said that I can live in the house. That was what got my attention.”

Since Khan had graduated from high school two years ago, he was looking for an off-campus housing option. According to Khan, living in the FIJI house would be more affordable than the residence halls and potentially other off-campus options. 

Khan announced on Instagram that he was invited to join FIJI on May 13, 2024. He was initiated in August. 

Growing membership brings hope

FIJI grew even smaller after another class of seniors graduated in May 2024. According to Martinez, FIJI only had four members, including Khan, going into the fall semester recruitment. 

“Formal recruitment was just incredibly depressing, just because we went through everyone, met everyone, and no one joined,” Martinez said.

Despite this disappointment, Khan doubled recruitment efforts. Khan said he put up posters, talked to every student he could and asked every First-Year Seminar professor at Drake if he could give a presentation about FIJI. Khan focused his efforts specifically on international students like himself.

Khan said he found six people interested in the chapter. However, there were additional barriers to these recruits joining FIJI. 

One was hesitant to join because of the cost of dues. Knowing this could be a barrier to others joining FIJI as well, Khan found a solution. 

Khan connected with Drake FIJI alumni, including chapter founder Jonathan Espy, a retired Silicon Valley entrepreneur. According to Khan, Espy volunteered to help cover each new member’s dues for their first two semesters in the chapter. Other alumni also donated to help cover costs for recruitment events.

During this time, Khan was also elected chapter president for the 2025 term. 

FIJI’s last stand

Although informal recruitment in the fall had been successful, the chapter had difficulty retaining members. By the time formal recruitment came around in fall 2025, the chapter was in a worse position than it had been the previous year.

Martinez, who served as president for the fall semester, says FIJI graduates came to help with rush week.

“More people showed up to the house,” Martinez said. “We were very excited to see them, but still the same feeling.”

One first-year student, a FIJI legacy, was interested in joining the chapter. However, he didn’t become a member before “everything fell apart.”

According to Khan, a representative from FIJI’s headquarters suggested they vote on closing the chapter. The chapter remained officially active through November.

“I didn’t want to waste resources that these graduates gave us to keep a false hope alive,” Khan said. 

The future of Drake FSL

Despite the difficulties the chapter faced, Martinez is glad he chose to join FIJI.

“[There have] been great years,” Martinez said. “I’ve learned lessons that I don’t think you could have learned outside of this fraternity.”

Looking to the future, Martinez hopes Drake’s remaining social fraternity chapters focus on unity instead of competition. 

“I’m kind of concerned that if chapters don’t respect each other, that it’s going to get to the point where other chapters are going to start to shut down, because that’s one of the reasons why us and Phi Delt shut down,” Martinez said.

This year, current IFC President Adam Acs’ goal is to build connections between IFC chapters and Drake’s campus as a whole, and share the uniqueness of Drake’s FSL culture.

“Maybe [they] will at least see what this culture has to offer,” Acs said. “I think that people will be pleasantly surprised at the genuine kindness and wonderful people that you find in every house.”

Editor’s note: Members of Drake’s Phi Delta Theta chapter did not respond in time for publication.