Rushing at UGA as an international student
 

Hi guys,

I'm very new to all thinks Greek, since I have just transferred to UGA, from France. I've tried my best to lurk around here and read up/find out as much as I can about Greek life, but still if I say/do anything that's a no-no around here, please forgive me in advance.

Now that that's out of the way, :)

Like I said, I just transferred to UGA this semester, and my knowledge of the Greek system was pretty much non existent before I came. However, I've gotten to know a couple of guys and girls in the system, and how it functions etc.

Long story short, I've learned about the networking opportunities, the leadership opportunities, the experience and other various facts like a mind-boggling number of CEOs of top companies being Greek; and I feel like I want to give rushing a try. I'll be a junior, but I still have a few houses in mind and want to try, so I've just signed up for Spring Rush.

Here's the thing though, I was looking at all the fraternities in the IFC, and all the brothers seem predominantly from the same background - caucasian and southern, and I'm neither.

I know there are multicultural fraternities at my school too, but I've hung out with them and honestly didn't feel like we all got along.

So my question is this(and hope I don't sound like a total noob):
Is the reason for this lack of diversity that IFC fraternities actively don't accept Asians/Indians/Latinos? Or is it because there aren't any Asian/Indian/Latinos rushing in the first place?

Also, I'd be very grateful if you guys could suggest some houses that would be more open to someone from my background, so I could maybe focus on them. (I know TKE is an international fraternity for example)

I won't ask you to tell me which ones I should stay away from obviously, because then this might turn into a racism flame war.


What do you guys think?

Also, any tips/suggestions on rushing would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance! :)

CSGa

From what I have seen, most of the people in these groups do not rush. People who rush go to find a group they can relate most with, or have the most fun with. Personally, I joined mine because of religious brotherhood. Are there people not of my religion in the chapter? Yes, but very few. They just don't have as much interest. Same goes for Asians, Blacks, etc.

Historically, most NPC/IFC groups had clauses against accepting minorities of any sort. I don't believe any of them do, any more, but you can't just erase that sort of thing in a single generation.

You're going to have to look around. Can't really just recommend one to you. Search around and find one that you like, and that will take you. We took a guy from Brazil so it is possible.

I always :rolleyes: at this. Having chapters in Canada is such a weak way of calling yourself international.

I am confident to say every NIC fraternity has a member (alum) living abroad in some form, so technically all are international. It's the actual school you're going to that matters more than the chapter you join. This is a huge generalization, but Southern Schools will more likely than not lack the diversity in NIC fraternities that you will find at Northern and West Coast schools.

Thanks for the replies guys, I haven't posted but I've been checking back here every so often.

I was at one of the houses yesterday and it was a blast. The guys all introduced themselves, gave me a tour, we played some poker, and then they insisted on giving me a ride home. They were all really chill and cool. Although I'm planning to look at a couple of other fraternities as well, I really liked hanging out with these guys, and they said we'll probably do something again on the weekend, so I'm looking forward to checking that out.

If you guys still have any tips or any houses I should check out, let me know! :) Hope you all had happy holidays!

most of us are alumni of our greek organizations and school(meaning we have graduated) and many of us are not in georgia. even if we were, we do not recommend or comment on a particular group-what is attractive or a good fit for one person, will not be for the next. in addition, even if the poster really likes a group and wants to hear opinions, the group may not think he/she is a good fit, so our opinion would not matter anyway.

we always advise that those seeking membership in a greek letter organization keep an open mind, visit as many groups as he/she can, and look for the place where they feel the most at home.

I hope everything works out for you! Good luck!

Gotcha :)

They just called me over to hang out again tonight, hope everything goes well! Thank you for the wishes AmIblue!

I think we are beyond one generations since most chapters that dopped the clauses did so in the 50s and 60s.

that sounds promising CSGa. Good luck!

Thanks once again for the wishes you guys!
I was there again yesterday, and had a blast again.

At one point, one of the guys told me to not start the next game of pong and wait for a second. Then I was led up to a room with 4 of the brothers, and they sat me down, and extended me a bid.

When I came back out everyone was shouting my name and congratulating me and coming to give me a hug. It was such a great feeling! :)

I've planned to check out other fraternities as well, but this one feels pretty awesome.

...now I only have to convince my parents who have never heard of Greek life to help me with the costs. Which will not be a simple task at all :D

Best of luck. When you decide to accept a bid, let us know.

The bid room is always an exciting experience. I'm glad you were able to experience it, as well as the Rim Rush.

Congratulations!!! Good luck with your parents.

What'sup guys? Sorry I haven't updated in a while. As you probably know its rush week so things were a little...rushed :p

Anyway, I went to formal rush, and met a ton of great guys and got invited back out to 5 really good fraternities, and this whole week I've been checking them out.

Although I didn't get the chance to see them all, I have gotten to know 3, and got a bid at all of them. Like Jazing said, the bid room is a very special experience, and they all have different ways of giving out bids. One was casual and friendly, another was formal and polite, and another was like a small ceremony. All were great experiences :)

Before I rushed, I was super nervous because -
1. Like I said, I'm not southern or caucasian like the majority of greek guys here
2. I'm not a freshman
3. I had little to no connection to Greek life

But I went to rush parties, tried to be myself and have fun as much as possible, and thankfully people seemed to like me! I still have some questions that I'd be really grateful if you guys could help me with -

Do Greeks usually attend each others' parties/maintain friendships with other fraternities?

The bid card signing ceremony at UGA is tomorrow, if I pick one of the 3 who have given me bids, will the other 2 hate me? I just want to know what to expect :D

Thanks for your time again guys!

Glad to hear things are going well for you!

No, they will not hate you. They may be surprised and/or a little hurt if they felt you were really a sure thing and then you go elsewhere, but it happens every year to lots of guys.

Will they still want to hang out? Well, they are going to focus on hanging out with and getting to know the guys who DO pledge their fraternity. However, you may be able to stay in touch with guys you've met who you have other things in common with, i.e. they are in your classes and stuff like that.