Greek Life at Binghamton usually involves matching outfits, worrying about beer-to-foam ratio and dealing with hazing investigations. If that’s not your scene, and you’re more of the John Arthur Café, Barnes & Noble type, then there is, amazingly enough, a frat for you. It’s the Alpha Delta Phi Society. You know, the literary frat?

Alpha Delta Phi Society, or ADPS (because spelling things out is mainstream), has only been on campus for a year, but the club is already becoming very popular. Katelyn Chechko, a member of the society and a junior majoring in English, reflects on the society’s beginnings.

“We were started by Robert Pavacic, the current president of ADPS,” Chechko said. “He wanted to introduce another element to campus outside of social and professional Greek Life. In a day and age that is so focused on science, technology and money, it’s hard to get a full, ‘well-rounded’ college experience, which includes delving into cultural arts and literature. Well, we offer that.”

ADPS offers that, all right. Members read, discuss and write literature, as well as hold social and charity events. The society is ideal for those interested in brotherhood but are maybe on the brainy, English-y side. Plus, the frat is co-ed.

Ruben Martinez, ADPS vice president and a junior double-majoring in economics and philosophy, politics and law, loves knowing he’s projecting the literary voice on campus.

“We are a literary society, so we try to cherish literature in everything we do, whether it be writing things ourselves or being well-read on subjects of interest,” Martinez said. “Specifically, on the Binghamton University campus, we’ve been trying to give English, creative writing and the fine arts a voice. The ‘literary arts,’ as we call them, are — in our opinion — underrepresented on campus and don’t quite have an avenue to be completely creative.”

The fraternity has already hosted a big event, an open mic night with Ellipsis, and booked (pun intended) three bands from Merrifield Records for a concert. The society has eight new members this semester.

It hasn’t been the easiest road either. Chechko recalls the difficulties the frat has had thus far.

“We were denied from the SA because we charged a membership fee, we were denied from Greek Life because we really aren’t social and we were kicked out of the door by the Professional Fraternity Council because we didn’t ‘fit their criteria,’” Chechko said. “However, all of this has made us just that much stronger as a group of people and it really shows how we are in it to win it.”

If you’re interested and want more information about the Alpha Delta Phi Society, contact kchechk1@binghamton.edu or rmartin5@binghamton.edu.