Local History

As undergraduate students together for three years, college friends Richardo Francis and Paul Habernig began to wonder what more college life could offer. They pondered the idea of starting a fraternity. After being in many clubs and organization, they sought a closer bond to be had with colleagues. Additionally, they wanted to be able to give back to the campus through service in a way that they had not done before. Greek Life at SUNY Oneonta was at a very low point, and their idea was met with some immediate criticism from those closest to them. However, Brother Francis and Brother Habernig pressed on. They sent letters to the men of high character that they knew. Paul and Richardo sought only the hardest working, most dedicated men that they could find. These letters led to the creation of an interest group that contained seven men, all hoping to start something truly unique on campus.

This group contained campus leaders from all walks of life. They set out to find a fraternity based on their core values of leadership, scholarship, character, brotherhood, and service. Throughout the spring of 2003, the group searched tirelessly to find a perfect match, but found none. At one point, one fraternity was loosely decided on, but the men decided that the national organization was unimpressive and not suited to their tastes. The constant struggle to find the right fraternity left some men disheartened, and the group dwindled to only three men: Richardo Francis, Paul Habernig, and a new member, Evan Rakowski.

As the summer of 2003 approached, the three men realized they were at a crossroads, and wanted to figure out how to keep their idea alive. Evan Rakowski remembered that one of his cousins constantly spoke highly of his fraternity, and so he placed a call to his cousin for more information. Brother Brett Topche of Pennsylvania Iota told Brother Rakowski he should look into becoming a chapter of Phi Kappa Psi. Brother Topche said that he valued his experience greatly and thought Phi Psi fit with all of our stated goals.

That summer, Brother Rakowski and Brother Francis contacted the Director of Expansion for Phi Kappa Psi. He eagerly pursued the group's interest and sent large amounts of information to our colony founders. This communication took place all summer, and was the very first step in creating the excellent relationship that New York Kappa will always strive to have with the National Headquarters.

When everyone got back to SUNY Oneonta, they immediately set out to recruit more potential members. The group added Tyler Obenauf, Ryan Harrington, and Ryan Butler and the six men worked even harder to grow. That fall, the Director of Expansion came to visit SUNY Oneonta. The six men said that although they were small, they were committed to their vision of a fraternity, and of a Phi Kappa Psi chapter. The group worked to establish some goals for the future. Within one month of his leaving, the group had grown from six to fifteen men, all who were excited about the idea of starting a new kind of Greek Life for Oneonta. Upon learning of our expansion and dedication to success, the Executive Council voted to officially recognize New York Kappa as a colony.

With a constant connection with the National Headquarters and support from the Oneonta campus, Phi Kappa Psi quickly grew. The men of the group continued to excel in all walks of life, from athletics, to student government, to community service, and more. On December 5th, 2003, Brother Eric Parker and Brother Josh Perrin came to Oneonta to officially install the men of New York Kappa as a colony. This instilled a deep sense of purpose within the group, and that night each of the men pledged to settle for nothing less than the best, promising to make New York Kappa well known locally, and even nationwide.

News of Phi Kappa Psi spread quickly in Oneonta. New York Kappa maintained a fine reputation from the very day of its inception, always striving to be gentleman and carry themselves with pride in their every day lives. Four freshmen heard about this group and wanted to be a part of it. However, College at Oneonta policy forbade first-semester freshmen from joining Greek organizations - this is done so that they have a chance to acclimate themselves to the campus before making any large commitments to an organization. That would not stop these four, however, from spending every second possible with the Phi Psi brothers. Matthew Kurz, Nathan MacLean, Frank Striano, and Zachary Wischnia all got to know the brothers. They went with the group on their own accord to all campus-wide events and anxiously awaited the day that they could become full brothers. The first day of the spring 2004 semester, the four men were initiated, bringing the group to nineteen men.

The spring semester of 2004 was the turning point for this blossoming group. Brother Francis and Brother Rakowski attended the Presidents Leadership Academy in Indianapolis. This was the first time that men of New York Kappa had a chance to meet brothers from across the country. This was truly inspiring, as the two men felt what it was really like to be a part of a national brotherhood. At the conference, the brothers had a chance to meet Executive Director Shawn Collinsworth, and President John Cicarelli. The two men said they had heard great things about the colony, and urged Brothers Francis and Rakowski to push forward and to start thinking about chartering. When they returned to Oneonta, they wanted to do more than just think about it. The two men consulted with several brothers and decided that New York Kappa was going to work at a level never before attempted in order to petition for a charter by the summer of 2004. That semester, the colony initiated both an Alpha and Beta class, wanting to demonstrate the health and recruitment ability of the colony as much as possible.