PIKE recognizes GW chapter

The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity was named one of the international organization’s top 15 chapters in the nation this summer.

In its second year on campus, GW’s Pi Kappa Alpha chapter won the Robert Adger Smythe Award from a field of 210 North American chapter candidates.

“It’s a prestigious top honor,” said senior John Van Name, president of GW’s Pi Kappa Alpha chapter.

Van Name said GW’s chapter was chosen based on factors including chapter meetings, events sponsored by the organization, and judicial records and finances.

“It’s an amalgamation of numerous factors, but the thing that really put us over the top was our firemen’s challenge,” Van Name said.

Last April, the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity hosted a competition among GW’s sororities in University Yard to raise money for the D.C. firefighter’s burn foundation.

“We used the resources on campus like the University Quad,” Van Name said. “And we teamed up to raise money and for valuable D.C. cause.”

-Brandon Butler