Montana Alpha Phi House Catches Fire

Fire Breaks Out at UM Sorority House

By Patrick W. Connelly
Co-Editor, The Frat Boy News

The University of Montana's Alpha Phi sorority house caught fire early Sunday morning, forcing its sisters to evacuate.

Firefighters said the blaze began at about 5 a.m. and sprinklers helped to contain flames from spreading.

No smoke was visible when firefighters arrived, but they said they did find flames in the house's basement.

An electrical malfunction is believed to be the cause, but the investigation remains open, firefighters said.

Montana Kappa Sigs Become Official

New Fraternity Chartered at UM

After three years of hard work by its founding members, Kappa Sigma will officially become a recognized fraternity at the University of Montana.

“There were a lot of doubters in the beginning,” said Matt Ferguson, a Kappa Sigma's brother. “They saw the decline in the system and said, ‘They'll never be able to get this done.' But I think we've proved the critics wrong.”

The fraternity colonized on the Montana campus in 2004 and has since worked to actively recruit members.

“As long as I've been going to school here, one fraternity has closed down every year,” said its president, Jose Diaz. “The numbers when I first came on board were definitely at an all-time low. That's changed a lot, because the kinds of students going into the Greek system are there for different things. It's not about the partying. People are in for the brotherhood and service first.”