I would note that Phi Gamma Delta's website is "phigam.org", so clearly the nickanme "Phi Gam" is still used. My chapter doesn't use it much but I personally like it better than "FIJI"...

Frat or Fraternity?
 

Which one do you say? In our fraternity it is taboo to say "frat". What does everyone else think?

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=91896

Searching, then reading, is fundamental.

my bad, im new at this haha

Some do.

Florida Pikes don't say Frat
 

A great Pike by the name of Pete W. (UF) once said "Don't call my fraternity a frat. Would you call your country a count?" We don't let our pledges say frat in reference to Pike, and that carries on through their membership. To this day, if someone asks me about my frat I let them know I am in a fraternity not a frat.

phi phi k a
-once a pike always a pike

I see you're new here. Welcome to Greek Chat.

Let me suggest that you read around a while. You'll find quite a few posts on why this analogy is considered by many to be stupid and lame, not to mention offensive. This post and this one (by yours truly) are good places to start.

Funny how threads resurrect themselves periodically.

MysticCat -

I read both of your posts and you bring up great points (thank you for providing links). I respect your point of view, but would like to respond to one of your comments (which I have pasted below).

[Someone who is truly a "fraternity man" or "fraternity gentleman" would never use what is probably the single most derogatory word in the English language. Someone who is a "fraternity man" would honor and respect the females in their life and NOT use that word.]

When gentlemen are amongst gentlemen they don't speak the same as they would in front of a lady. One difference between a class-less man and a gentleman is that a gentleman knows what language is appropriate at what time. This was said behind closed doors, and not in front of ladies. As crude as it sounds, it illustrates a point. It may not be a perfect analogy, but it works. I would never repeat it in front of my mother or girlfriend, but given the time and place it was not offensive. I understand that a large number of women are offended by that word, but not all women are. A perfect example is that some people are offended when the Lord's name is taken in vain, and others aren't. Is a person crude and not a gentleman for taking the Lord's name in vain? Is a person disrespecting everyone that is a Christian by saying "Jesus Christ" when they are angry?

Calling that word the most derogatory word in the English language is an opinion. While I find the word highly inappropriate for the vast majority of my daily conversations, I am not offended by it. I could list a number of words that offend me much more.

Thank you for the welcome, have a good night.

One more thing (sorry to harp) you used the words "frat boy" as a negative stereotype. I and my fellow brothers hate the word frat bc of the "frat boy" label. We are not a frat, with frat boys. We are a fraternity founded on brotherhood, with brothers, not frat boys. I think the word frat offends me as much as the C-word offends you.

One more thing (not directed at you) I have not been on this blog before. I saw where a brother from my chapter was banned and he had a name simialr to mine. I think I know who they person is by the things said, but I am not him.

One more thing (sorry to harp) you used the words "frat boy" as a negative stereotype. I and my fellow brothers hate the word frat bc of the "frat boy" label. We are not a frat, with frat boys. We are a fraternity founded on brotherhood, with brothers, not frat boys. I think the word frat offends me as much as the C-word offends you.

One more thing (not directed at you) I have not been on this blog before. I saw where a brother from my chapter was banned and he had a name simialr to mine. I think I know who they person is by the things said, but I am not him.

I still cringe when I see "UF" and "PIKE" in the same sentence.

I know I'm not the only one.

UFPIKE4LIFE woo woo...

Me and my broseidons slay mad girls, broseph.

Something like that, I think in real life was Lambda Chi? idk, it's been awhile.

OTW
 

Give me a chance before you condemn me OTW. I didn't read all the threads before I made my user name. I can promise you, I am not the same person you are thinking of. I will say that I am proud of my house and my chapter, despite the fact that one of my brothers pissed the majority of this blog off. To me, UF Pikes are True Pikes and everything that stands for. I am sorry if you or anyone else on the blog has a bad taste in your mouth about UF Pikes. We had shirts made a while ago, and they pretty much said it all.

Pikes - Loved, Hated, Never Ignored

Have a good night!

Elephant walk.... are you an AH Pike?

I wasn't condemning you or your chapter. "UF" and "PIKE" bring back bad memories of someone from years ago, long before you were initiated, probably.

So get over yourself. It's not even about you.

Oh, and Greekchat is not a blog. Thx.

A less kind and gentle me could have a whole lot of fun with this statement. :D

Why wouldn't I think you were talking about me? You did write uf and pike (which happen to combine to be my username) in the same sentence, then say that you had bad memories. It's all good, no harm done.

What is greekchat if is isn't a blog? a message board? I didn't realize there was a difference, sorry.

I got some really good peach fuck at the farmers' market the other week. A little Amish boy gave it to me. :)

(I sincerely hope this post kills this thread. If it doesn't, we should try merging it with the Mary Kay thread.)

Flex Fridays?

Go back and read -- you're not responding to what I said; I only wrote one of those posts. You're responding to what kddani (as in Kappa Delta Danielle) said. Perhaps the guy you were quoting said it behind closed doors with only guys around. You said it on an internet message board with lots of females around. ;)

Again, that was kddani, not me. But you prove my point. "Frat" and "frat boy" are offensive to you because of the connotation they carry, not because of the actual, dictionary meaning of "frat." That is how it is fundamentally different from the C-word, which is, per the dictionary, an obscenity.

A little historical perspective might be helpful. The whole "it's a fraternity, not a frat" thing is relatively recent. Three or four decades ago and more, few if any fraternity brothers would have given the use of the word "frat" a second thought. National publications and songs of fraternities used to have references to the "dear old frat." It's the more recent, negative stereotype you mention that has made the word a "dirty word." It may be offensive to lots of people, but it's still not obscene. That's why the analogy doesn't work. The reason we don't call our country a *^%# is because *^%# is an obscenity. That's not the reason we don't call our fraternity a "frat."

I'm not saying you shouldn't try to get people not to use the word if it bothers you. I am saying that the analogy doesn't help you. It's much more helpful, not to mention straight-forward, to say "We're fraternity men, not frat boys." That's all.

haha, I forgot about Flex Fridays. He also use to say some great stuff about protein shakes but I've long forgotten.

One of my favorite posters ever.

I don't even know what Uni. AH is.

And no, I am not a Pike.

then what are you?

The world may never know.

How long have you been a Pike?

My guess is that AH = Alpha Eta, not a university. Based on a quick look at a Pike chapter list, their chapter at UF is their Alpha Eta chapter.

EW's a Kappa Sig. He's mentioned it from time to time.

4 years

Hahaha... Flex Fridays were awesome...

I know our chapter tells all of our associate members the same saying, "You would never call your country a cunt, why call your fraternity a frat."

I know a few fraternities on campus made shirts that say "FRAT SHIRT FRIDAY" on them. And it is embarrassing because they really do portray what a "frat" is. It kills Greek life at ISU.

"I wish you would read the whole thread." -- Senusret I

Man, if I had a buck for every frat and country post. :rolleyes:

This and the brothel law thread are a neverending source of "WTF?" for me - why people don't read at least the first couple pages of a thread is completely beyond me.

neverending "WTF"
 

Why do people let repeat posts bother them? You aren't being forced to read or respond to them...

Because it shows that there is a sector of greekchatters that are either A. Too stupid or B. too lazy to read back through the thread before responding. It makes me sad because all of us are supposed to be fairly educated.

They don't bother me. They are, however, deserving targets for ridicule.

Lazy doesnt equal uneducated

I'll tell you right now, I am not gonna read 8 pages of a thread before I post.... I usually read the first 3 pages and the page before I post.... I guess I'm lazy, but I'm not going to read 8 pages of crap because I got on a thread late just to post something...

On the other hand, I can see MysticCat's open for ridicule comment... hahaha

My bad, I didn't look the names when I read them.... I was just thinking you posted both of the links.... my apologies....

You obviously didn't read any of the pages on this thread, though, because the "Country" comment discussion STARTED on the first page. Either you're REALLY lazy, or you can't read. Pick one.

Ha...... I can read..... or maybe I missed that comment when I was reading the thread on my phone...