The fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon, or , used to exist at the university in the 60s and 70s. A group restarted the chapter in 2019, but it shut down during the COVID pandemic.
Now, they鈥檙e trying again, in what could become SOU's only fraternity.
Nolan Hannam, president of the TKE chapter at SOU, said transferring to the school was scary for him, but this group of guys helped.
"You have a group of guys out there that'll go out, make that first move, and kind of say, 'Hey, what's up, man? Is there anything I can do for you, help you out? Can I walk you to your classes, show you around?' " he said. "Those are the things that men are supposed to do, kind of lead the way and help each other out, lift each other up."
The group said TKE events would be open to all and help provide more social activities on campus, which they said have declined since COVID.
Enrollment at SOU declined by about 1% in fall 2024, and the school鈥檚 enrollment is still below what it was before the pandemic.
The frat had previously tried to be recognized as a student club that could receive student fees. But last year, the student government voted that limited-membership groups, like fraternities, were not eligible to receive student fee money. However, the fraternity can still be recognized as a special interest/affinity group.
Trenton Abraham, an officer of TKE, said he has a group of friends through sports teams, but for guys who aren鈥檛 athletes, it can be hard to find a social life.
"I do know a lot of guys who are like, 鈥楢 fraternity is a good idea, because right now, I'm just spending time in the dorm, rotting away, or I'm just looking to get a job, because I need to do something with my time besides just school,鈥� " he said.
They鈥檙e trying to gather 20 guys so they can be assessed by TKE鈥檚 national headquarters. They need 35 members to eventually become an official chapter.
TKE is an international fraternity that has existed for 126 years and has over 304,000 initiated members, according to its website.
The fraternity partners with St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee and has a goal of fundraising $10 million for the hospital by 2029.
Locally, the group said they've adopted Hunter Park in Ashland, where they spread new mulch and clean up.
Hannam said TKE's slogan is "Building Better Men for a Better World."
"A fraternity just isn't a college experience. It's also an after experience," he said. "You can then take what you've learned in your career and teach the younger kids that you were a part of maybe 20 years ago. You can teach them some of your insight and help them out, and job connections, opportunities."
Harrison Ross agreed.
"They're lasting, lifelong connections that you develop with people who are similar to you in their goals and ambitions and ways of life," he said. "We're not trying to bring a party scene."
Hannam said they've heard some pushback from the community about bringing a frat to Ashland, but people come around once they explain their goal.
"Most of the pushback we get [is] just from people that don't know what a fraternity or sorority really is about. People read headlines, and they kind of get sucked into that," he said.
SOU alumnus Michael Jones has been working to reinvigorate the TKE chapter for years and said it will provide unique benefits for male students.
"Sometimes there's just things that guys can only talk about with guys that other identities may not understand fully. And that's the same thing in a woman's space, or LGBTQ specific or a religious group," he said.
Jones said they already have an alumni association registered with the state with nonprofit status. Once the chapter has enough members, it would also become a nonprofit and host fundraising events. It would also be supported through membership dues.
