What frat were you in in school? Still keep in touch with your buddies? Advice?
I was in Theta Xi during college...helped a friend restart up a chapter. I keep in touch with a couple of guys, every few months or so. I would advise you to really investigate the house. The guys in the house may seem cool during rush, but all that can change quick. Also, be aware of the condition of the house. If it's trashed all the time, it can be a bad situation. Ask my brother-in-law...he's in that situation right now.
Before this gets in too deep, anyone care to tell me things in general about frats? I know what they are but I never really knew/understood what they were/are for? They seem to be a love/hate sort of deal. Anyone care to expand?
There are those who buy into the greek system at college and there are those who don't care either way. Then there is a vocal minority of people who despise the greek system and make sure everyone knows it for the next four years. As a general rule, women who join sororities tend to have a much better time of it then the guys who join frats. From the outside the greek systems tends to look better then it really is. By the time college is over most people involved in the fraternity system use it mainly as a place to sleep and drink free beer. There of course are the dedicated few who really fall in love with their greek life but this is maybe 15% of them. At the majorities of schools greeks tend to be on the wane. If your objective is to meet women you'll have a much better time of it at a reading club, ballroom dance class or own a big fluffy dog. For the record I did not join a frat. I got my degree in 2 1/2 years so I never saw the relevence. I had a few freinds who were frat bothers/ sorority sisters. They loved it for the first year or two then they seemed to grow out of it, ussually after they turned 21 and alcahol was no longer a problem. Joining a frat is a personal preference. Some people really love the comradeship and get a great deal of satisfaction from the community service aspect. If you do join one make sure the people involved take a great deal of pride in being in the frat but are not so extreme that they exclude the rest of of the college experience as "silly". There is also a considerable cost involved.
Six of my brothers came to my house this weekend for a hang. We had a good time. Thats mainly what its all about, haing a good time with guys who you are close to. My house is small, mypledge class was only 12 guys including me. We are by far the tightest house on campus. And as for keeping in touch with graduates, yes, we do. Grads are a big part of our house and are always welcome back. Every weekend a few will be over. While i love the parties, thats not why i pledged this fall (we pledge as sophomores where i go to school). I pledged be ause i like the other 11 guys i pledged with. you really have to like them because you spend so much time with them and the only way to make it through pledging is to help each other through. During the week i can honestly say i spend more time doing homework with the 5 guys who are engineers also from my pledge class than i do drinking with them. What i say may not have been the case for the fraternity you were in, but im sure there are close houese everywhere. I would not have pledged a house with 50 brothers. Also, peolpe who are not in fraterities do not know what they are talking about. There is so much **** that you dont know until you get brothered in and they tell you. You dont have an understandsing of all the things that people on the outside dont know. Obviously any organization that is over 150 years old has alot of history and traditions that all of those in the fraternity know about, so do not for one second think that its just guys getting drunk together, although thats part of it. We were expected to read and know the history, and were tested on it. And those who say that all frats are about is drinking is ignorant. Our pledging didnt even involve any drinking, even though alcohol was provided, no one was obligated to drink at any time, which i didnt. All in all it has been such a worthwhile experience for me and i would strongly recommend that you join. the anti-greek people just dont know what they are talking about. Maybe my view is jaded since i go to the place where the american fraternity system started, but i think my picuter of them is pretty much what you'll find at small schools.
Oh yeah, and soroities are a joke at my school, and i think they are everywhere else too. Im not knocking them, im jjust saying that they are pretty much a loose association of women.
Phi Crappa Zappa Our motto was, "Don't go Greek. Go Freak cause its a better rush." Hey, it sounded good 30 years ago! DrTax
I pledged Alpha Phi Alpha at Jackson State University. I have kept up with a few of my brothers but you eventually grow out of it and just use it for business contacts.
I was a Theta Xi--used to make the monthly checks out to 'the taxi' My particular frat was a cross between what one would see on Animal House but with the distinction that of all groups operating on or off campus, we had the highest grade point average and were the only frat that had never been in debt tot he college. Carnegie Mellon 1972-1978. The whole experience has done me well over the years in surprising ways, from money management, to just getting along with people you don't particularly like, but still have to live with. If you choose a frat based on the quality of relationships the brothers have and not based on the parties they throw, you, too, can experience an acceleration in you mental processes while in college.
Or an association of loose women. Psi Upsilon...Beta Kappa Chapter. Good dudes, a bit slanted towards academics.
Lambda, Lambda, Lambda... LOL!! Just kidding... Is that even a real frat or just something from "Revenge of the Nerds"?
Psi U's alpha chapter is at my school. I think it was founded in 1833. I've got some friends who are psi u's. It seems like they are slanted towards academics too, but then again so are most frats at my school, including mine. But this isnt to say that everyone is a schoolworkaholic. We do have our share of biochem and mech. engineering majors who are, but then we have alot of poli sci majors who barely do anything and still get a's (just joking about poli sci, im sure its hard...cough cough). Anyway, one reason i pledged was also because i appriciated the history and traditions of not just my fraternity, but all of them. theres no much those who arent involvled dont know or care to know. they are just ignorant and think that frats are just a means of getting drunk. They are a whole lot more than that, but you might not see that unless you spend alot of time at one, but you dont know the full extent of that until you pledge and make it to brotherhood.
Hey Tim, know guys in Sig Chi at Union? One of my brothers best friends (a senior) is pretty big there I believe..
Yeah, i know a few sig chis. One of my friends pledged there this fall. I also know a current senior who was on the crew team last year. i also hooked up with the female cousin of a sig chi last spring.
Is he from WP? I vaguely remember talking to a sig chi from that area, but i thought he was a senior last year.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Good mix of guys, many of whom I'm still good friends with. When I was there we busted our rears doing fund-raising to renovate the house, which was over 100 years old at the time (late 80s), and ended up raising about $400K. It finally got done, house looked great, and then this last year they had to go down and kick half the members out for drug dealing and non payment of house bills. They almost lost the house because of it.
Pledged Sigma Chi at one school and ended up depledging and leaving the school. Bad timing for me. Re pledged Sigma Nu at next school and made some of the best friends I have to date. There were of course guys I didn't care to know, but overall it was a great experience.
