"Frat Boys"
 

there is a documentary on the History Channel tonight at 9 p.m. on the history of fraternities. kevin costner and matthew mcconaughey are among the fraternity members being interviewed. the show is also following one guy as he goes through the rush, pledging, and initiation of phi delta theta. dont know how things are going to be portrayed. but i am interested in watching.

speakin of these things..i hated fraternity life on mtv lol

Hope like hell I can stay awake that late!!!!!!!! 8:00 gets close to bed time when your old!:D

Too funny!

I would hope the History Channel does a better job portraying fraternities than MTV.

It's coming on now.

i watching it now. i think it is really good. it is on for an hour and a half

So will he go Phi Delt or Sigma Nu? hehe

I think he wants Sigma Nu.

LMAO at the student affairs guy named Jason Dean....when I hear that name, this is who I think of. :D

http://membres.lycos.fr/issla/Heathers/heathers160.jpg

I checked the Phi Delts site at Ole Miss, and the little Fossum kid is not on the active list. Probably the site needs updating...

So good, so far. I am kinda disappointed though that they just skipped from the Union Triad right into 1848. A lot of key stuff for the Greek world happened in the 1830's and 1840's....

but he went phi delt:)

The sparky reardon guy on the site came to my school last year after the phi delta theta chapter on campus was caught hazing (and had a front-page newspaper article about it) to talk to the greek community.

He's a GREAT speaker.

Ok, can you believe that one guy half showed his handshake?????? WOW!!!!!!

i was thinking the same thing

OMG, they just showed Matthew McConaghey on his composite from 1990 and he looks sooooooo adorable!!!

Overall I think it was a very very positive show. I am happy to see something positive during recrutiment season!

The guy who showed his grip was an SAE. Why he was even on the show, I don't know.

Also, for the Phi Delts - to give out 75 bids, have 55 accept and only have 26 go through initiation - whats up with that?

That campus looks awesome. I was happy to see a lot of Beta pictures, video clips and music.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. Cudos to the History Channel.

I think the History Channel did a great job.

They showed a Theta Chi house!!!! And Westol.

I'm a Rattlesnake. Should I be in Texas?

Does anyone here go to Ole Miss? That looks like a fun campous.

That Theta Chi house was at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. The house still stands, however the chapter is pretty much defunct. I noticed that house right away!

two thumbs up
 

I liked it a lot... unfortunatly I wouldn't recommend that you watch it with your very GDI boyfriend... big arguments will insue.

I'm still not sure what to think. I, too, am a little concerned about how much they glossed over. I guess the pull of "reality TV" was just too strong. The pledge in question seemed a little reluctant going into FDQ at first, but I think he learned to love it. Though what's up with their locking the pledges in a room for a week? That I found mildly disturbing.

As an historian, I don't know what to think. I wish that the History Channel had cited its sources. And I wish that they had provided a more in-depth look at the history and ideals of fraternities.

*mentally files a note for a post-doctoral project*

Yeah, I watched and it was very objective in my opinion...it emphasized the Alumni connection a little bit more than I would have guessed, but I imagine there are varying levels of alumni stepping up to get you an edge depending on the chapter and the location throughout the country.

ZZ-kai-

I noticed the Beta pictures a lot too. I was watching with some pledges and kept pointing out pictures that weren't obviously Beta to them...like the video clip of the one of the Conventions held in Miami with all the attendees sitting on the hill behind the Administrative Office.

BetaRulz! - yes, there were a lot of Beta pics, most of which you wouldn't have really noticed unless you were a Beta. There were several at the Alpha house at Miami U., several of Old Miami and the Beta campenile, the Vanderbilt Beta pic, the Ole Miss Beta house, about 8 pictures of various Beta group shots from different campuses, For the Staunchest playing in the background and the video clips and pics. of the Admin Office.

The credits cited all the orgs. that the History Channel worked with. I too would have liked to see more of a historical portion - but hey, it was good anyway.

Oh yeah, 14-16 hours all stuck in one room, whats up with that? No class the week of hell week? hmmmm

it's interesting that fraternity boys was followed by a "documentary" on cleavage....
draw your own conclusions....
i actually didn't think it was all that bad.

I thought it was pretty well done. It tackled the subjects of hazing and alcohol without allowing them to become the overriding topic of the ninety minutes.

The pledge deaths were covered without sensationalism. They could easily have been the entire storyline of the program. Obviously, they had to be mentioned -- but they didn't dwell on them.

It was interesting to me to hear some of the comments of alumni as they talked of their experiences which included what would be considered hazing today -- and probably weren't "back then." At least that relates to my experiences.

I don't think the alumni connection was overdone -- although I'm not sure it's as strong a calling card today as it was a generation or two ago.

I would have liked to have seen a little more depth in the "secret society" segment -- but, to be fair, it was a little off the main topic of the overall program.

In the end, the comments of the administrators, some of whom are obviously Greek alumni, ring important to me. That is that we need to return more to the reasons for our founding and the things taught in our Rituals. Those things are important to the survival of the system.

It's really not possible to adequately cover nearly 230 years of fraternities in America in ninety minutes -- but I was pleased, overall, with the tone and outcome of the broadcast.

Edited to add:

On reflection, I would have liked to have seen them cover two chapters perhaps -- one being what would probably be considered a more "normal" chapter on a campus in another section of the country. Perhaps one of 40 to 60 members on a campus where the system isn't as strong. That might have been a nice ballance.

Finally (although I'm sure I'll think of more), I'm very appreciative that 60 of the 90 minutes weren't spent on parties, drinking, drugs and sex.

I guess that's the difference between a real documentary and "reality TV." Don't suppose anyone from MTV was watching.

I agree with Kappa they should have site sources and should have showen more history. I do think it was objective and I did enjoy it.

something's missing
 

I, too, thought it was a fair and objective program. There should have been more information on NPHC fraternities though. We got just a little taste and that was it; more like a sidenote to greek life

Thought it was great. I was kind of hoping he'd go Sigma Nu:D

But I can really see how the Sigma Nu chapter thought they'd be wasting a bid. It's tough to tell sometimes and with a 4th generation legacy of another fraternity, chances are he'd go the other way anyhow.

Our Ole Miss chapter is one of our top chapters -- boasts members like Eli Manning (and his dad) and Senator Trent Lott. They raised near 85,000 in their annual Charity Bowl philanthropy last year.

There were a few things that really made me wince -- like the SAE showing his handshake and the title of the program. Otherwise, I enjoyed it, recorded it and figure it'll be used as part of our new member education program teaching about how the Greek System came to be and where it needs to go.

Overall, I think the program was great in that it really challenges us Greeks of today to really live the values taught in our rituals.

Yeah, I started singing along, and got some weird looks from the pledges in the room.:D

eh, too much U. Miss reality crap, felt like an Mtv knock off for Phi Delta Phi. Not to knock the university or the fraternity, but i just expected a plain documentary. I suppose what they did would give a person who knows nothing about the system a better look, just my thoughts on the whole deal....


RUgreek

I see your point completely, but you gotta agree, this was 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000 times better than the crap MTV and some independent filmakers have done to showcase Greeks.

I thought "Frat Boys" gave a more accurate portrayal of fraternities than MTV's Fraternity Life. If only the History Channel could do a documentary about Sororities although they made some references about them. When they discussed these secret societies, I felt a slight chill in my spine. Good job, History Channel!!!!!

http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies...k/smily012.gif

I thought that it was cool to see how Rush works at a different university, especially one that is very traditional like the University of Mississippi. It always amazes me how each chapter is unique, but still share the same bonds nationally. I always wonder if I were still an undergraduate, would I be a brother at Ole Miss as I would at Texas or UCLA or Ohio State? I guess that is one of the many things that makes being a member of a GLO so special-brotherhood is definitely universal!

I admit it - I was expecting total drek, even from the History Channel! I still don't understand why they chose the insensitive "Frat Boys" as the title, but I felt it was a reasonable portrayal of fraternity. It would have been better as a two-hour show, to better explain a few things, and to possibly touch more on the fact that sororities exist.

I thought for sure that the narrator said that the Phi Delt pledges had to be in that room whenever they weren't in class, but I could be wrong. Speaking of wrong, that handshake should NEVER have been shown!

I thought about that. I think it would be awesome if they did a documentary on sororities but, I don't forsee this happening. Especially with the NPC sororities. They tend to have very strict rules on what their members do and say on television. I also can't imagine a sorority allowing a camera crew to film their recruitment selection process or their pledge ceremony.

I thought the part on secret societies was impressice, and them naming names *cough* Bush *cough*.


I enjoyed it, I think they did a great job of it.

Chris

My perception had been that if you are in a secret society, you aren't supposed to admit that you're in one. You're involvement in it is just as big of a secret as the ritual. I guess I always thought that after watching 'The Skulls'. But, I have heard so many references to the Bush family being part of Skull and Bones. Did they freely admit to their involvement or is their involvement just assumed by the public?

It's very well known that the Bushes are all Skull and Bones members.... from waaaaay back. I think it's pretty much confirmed, but they haven't actually admitted to it.

Re: something's missing
 

I was thinking the same thing.