The most proud possession you have is your name.

My issue is with offensive shirts that bear the names of our honorable fraternities.

Excellent point.

While it may seem funny to the wearer, it can make you look like idiots and the lips began talking and then the word gets out.

Being lonely is sad.:(

I really wish they would stop relisting those damn beads. Now I just feel sorry for them since no ones buying them.

It makes me happy. It's costing them 3 bucks to list them. They aren't
licensed. The beads are on sale for 8 bucks elsewhere. They are trying
to bilk our Brothers out of money...forget them!

WG Ruby Badge
 

So there was a White Gold All ruby LXA Badge on ebay this past week and it looks like it found its way in to Heather Holmes hands for $123.00,......sorry Tom and Bob :(

Who is this Heather Holmes?

This website right here http://www.fratpin.com/ and she marks them up at least twice what she paid......I can guarantee you will see this last one she bought go for $300+ but probably more like $400 based off of the sapphire one she has listed!

Brother Trey . . .
 

Bravo on the hunt


You should consider my business . . .

Offensive to who? To you, probably. But you are not the target audience.

Today's recruitment is nothing more than marketing. You have to do what gets attention and appeals to your target audience.

The target audience isn't older alumni, or parents. The target audience is the 18-21 year olds that sit behind them at class, or see them walking on campus.

A funny, or to some offensive, shirt stands out. It is branding. You have to compete with not only the other greek groups to get recognition, but also other marketing tools.

A college campus is overloaded with marketing schemes. If the t-shirt helps to get attention and helps recruitment, more power to them.

Brother John G,

What do you mean I should consider your business............can you elaborate on this.

I was wondering the same thing. An unfinished sentence is like...

Thats all fine and good but it depends on what perspective you take. If you are a potential Associate Member cool looking shirts with funny slogans are great. Where does it stop though? A lot of it has to do with how others, non-greek non-perspective members, greeks, sorority's, parents, alumni, teachers, and administrators see them. Getting new guys is half the battle, the other half is politics. No one is going to take you seriously if you fit the stereotype as typical frat guys who just want to drink and get laid. Perhaps I am putting too much emphasis on shirts, but that kind of attitude is detrimental to greek life as whole. "As long as it gets new guys, who cares?" Yea its all marketing, but you aren't just marketing to perspective members. I'm surprised someone who is having a problem with putting off a good image in Amherst would take that perspective. There is a reason the town doesn't like Greek's, perhaps a unwillingness to change their attitudes, and of course, bad marketing.

touche!

Greekbeads
 

Hi all,

Dever860

I actually am one of the owners of the greekbeads site. My name is Stephen Gordon and am from the Lambda Alpha chapter down in New Orleans. Myself and three older alumni came up with the idea after katrina to add a bit of our own flavor to our fraternity as I (president at the time) tried to resurrect our chapter. These items were originally presents to Nationals after we successfully worked together to bring the chapter back after the storm!

I am surprised by the negativity that my own brothers are saying about this product. We are licensed and have come up with another unique product for the Greek community.

At the last winter leadership conference I handed out FREE beads and wrist bands to all brothers and associates there as a gesture of good will and because after the storm many fine brothers took me in and anything I can do in return I gladly will. Bill Farkas, Biff Halloway, Aaron parker, Tim Reuteur and a handful of other brothers at nationals loved the products when we gave them one off pieces at an event last November. Because of the positive response we ended up having this made in larger quantities for the rest of our brothers to enjoy!

The reason why the beads were listed multiple times on ebay is because a well known Greek website was interested in becoming a distributor for the products and we sent them free samples to look at. He put them on ebay to test the market at diffrent prices.

I put them on shortly after that to test the market myself at the higher price and see what the response was for the beads. I listed the tag at the regular 8.95 price.

The price on our website was originally the price just for brothers that we came up with after the winter leadership retreat. I will gladly sell any brother any item for a discounted price even from what the website says. I am not here to squeeze anyone for cash and really would like to get the products to as many brothers as possible! I LOVE lambda chi alpha with all my heart and would never do anything to try and do otherwise!

Dever, I don't try to put off a good image in Amherst. I put off a true image, but I don't try to bend it or distort anything. There is nothing in Amherst, and probably won't be for many years considering the state of the greek community. I just tell it like it is.

Yeah, I see your point about politics and parents, staff, administration, etc. But will a shirt really make a difference? Where I come from, any type of letters, slogan or not, was cause for discrimination and ridicule.

It boils down to marketing, simple. Beer commercials use women in bikinis for a reason. Do they care about the Christian Right Wing groups?

If it was ONLY greek organizations using the slogans, I would say it may be problematic. But it's not. These type of t-shirts are everywhere. I remember at Mt. Holyoke, the cheerleading team had a shirt with two pom-poms and a megaphone positioned to resemble male genetalia with the slogan "practicing perfect mounting since 1997" or something like that.

20 years ago I would say the shirts are inappropriate. But in today's college environment, I don't really see it.