A new kind of fraternity is trying to gain official recognition on campus — Beta Upsilon Chi, a national Christian fraternity.
Colloquially known as BYX or Brothers Under Christ, the Alpha Phi chapter recently held its first spring rush after colonizing in the fall.
"We were particularly pleased to initiate the BYX chapter at USC because it was the final SEC school for the fraternity," said Brian Lee, the national director of BYX.
While it is currently a student organization, BYX is working with the USC Fraternity Council to become part of the Greek system.
“In many ways BYX is like other social fraternities,” said chapter president Ladd Platt, a first-year public health student. “We hold weekly chapters, functions, open parties, mixers and more."
However, Platt did highlight the Christian bond of the fraternity, noting that all social events are dry — a standard that he believes will “best represent Christ on this campus.”
Michael Vinzani, the chapter’s chaplain and one of the founding members, said that one of the fraternity’s main goals is growth.
"I really want those pledges to come in and be like, 'Wow, I'm a part of something bigger than myself," first-year biochemistry student Vinzani said.
Vinzani talked about BYX’s special focus on brotherhood, namely through “cell groups” — small groups of 4-6 brothers who gather for personal discussion and fellowship.
"The guys share life and do life together,” Vinzani said. “That's what makes us brothers under Christ."
And soon, they might be brothers under USC.