"Walk in our shoes, or stand in our shadows"
About Us
Local History
The Beta Tau colony at the University of Rhode Island really began in November 1999 at Casey's Bar and Grill on a Wednesday evening. The URI Student Senate had a tradition of frequenting this establishment after every meeting. On this particular occasion Michael Jordan and Dawn O'Gorman were a little late arriving so there was no longer room at the big table forcing them to sit separately from the rest. 
Dawn had recently been elected the next president of the Panhellenic council the conversation quickly turned to the URI Greek system. After some time discussing the good and the bad, Dawn made mention of an ad in the cigar from the Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity looking to re-colonize at URI. Shortly after this comment Nick Talarico came over to the table to chat. It was at this point that they, first jokingly, then with increasing seriousness discussed founding our own fraternal chapter. They pulled in a starry eyed frosh John "Soon to be Snatch" Stringer and made plans to call ZBT National the following day. And so they did. Nick Talarico made the call and also brought Cory "soon to be El Presidente" Bousquet into the fold. Cory and Nick had discussed what they had seen as the shortfalls in the fraternal system sometime before ZBT was even thought about and so he was a natural fit for the initial foursome. They met in Nick's room in Weldin Hall and plotted their course and planned their next move. They continued their discussion with National and set a date for our initial formal contact. John Stemen came to meet with the four and a fifth, Glen "Jesse Barfield" Whitfield, whom the original four had hoped to add to the squad. The meeting was success. The four - now five - left with renewed energy and a tangible goal: Twenty-five men by March for an initiation. Five became nine, nine became thirteen and eventually by March 4, 2000 the goal had been met. Through the use of personal recruitment and meetings held in Butterfield Dining Hall, an impressive group of campus leaders, good friends, and young men with amazing potential gathered in the memorial union to be initiated into ZBT by the brothers of the Tufts chapter, under the supervision of John Stemen.
The Legend Begins...
One month after initiation, the Beta Tau colony entered their first Greek Week competition as a team with Chi Omega Sorority and Lamda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Even though the colony had only existed for one month, the team had raised more than one thousand dollars for the Feinstein Foundation for Hunger (more than any other team). This team then went to take first place in the Greek Week team competition.
Our First Rush
The next fall the colony began the daunting task of their first rush. Using the skills learned at the summer ZBT National conference, the colony was well prepared to take the next step. The first rush lasted one month and consisted of numerous events aimed at generating brotherhood connecting with the potential members, including cookouts, interviews, and volleyball and football games. Through these events, the brothers of the colony grew to know the potential members. The brothers looked for quality in the men that would add to the growth and diversity of the Fraterntiy. Thus was initiated the Alpha Alpha class of ZBT.
National History
Brotherhood
There are over sixty brothers in the Rho Iota Chapter of ZBT, and as of this moment, that number is growing. We are a diverse group of students that have many different beliefs, majors, and backgrounds, and both despite and because of this, we pride ourselves on the close bonds that are formed throughout the years as undergraduates at ZBT. Programming events are held for the brotherhood on a regular basis, which encourage Brothers to learn about each other and just have fun.
Philanthropy
Rho Iota is always assisting the community in any way possible. Whether it's volunteering at the University, tutoring children at a nearby school, or tidying up parts of campus, you will always see the letters ZBT at an event that represents a good cause. One example of Rho Iota’s philanthropic participate was the URI Relay for Life. Three teams were fielded by our Chapter in both 2005 and 2006. All told, our Brothers succeeded in raising over $50,000! Many Brothers were also involved in the planning and organization of the event.
Academics
ZBT at URI believes that education is a priority and we all help each other accomplish our educations goals. If you are having trouble in a class or need some help figuring out what classes to take, chances are there is an older brother in the fraternity you can go to for help. In addition, we have recently created a system where each brother has an academic advisor to assist him in the learning experience that is college. Our efforts have led to success - since Rho Iota’s inception we have held the highest GPA among all the fraternities for three years, and have always been near the top.
Involvement
ZBT Brothers believe that college is much more than just going to class and hanging out with friends. Of all the groups and clubs on campus, it's hard to find one where there is not a ZBT in the ranks. We also help the school progress by getting involved on campus with others, like the Greeks, and by cheering on our Rhode Island Rams! To truly appreciate your university experience, we believe you need to do more than just go to class; you have to become engaged in the campus community. Living it as a Zebe makes it that much better.
Awards
Since we began in 2000, Rho Iota has received many prestigeous accolades for the hard work and dedication shown to URI, ZBT nationally, and to each other. We have received awards including Best Fraternity on Campus, Excellence in Philanthropy, and Alumni Programming. However, there are a few that pride us most: For the past two years, Rho Iota has received the Brummer Cup, which is given to the best ZBT chapter in the nation! In addition we received the NIC Award of Distinction, which is given anually by the governing body of fraternities to a few of the best overall chapters in the country!