A history of the end: My experiences in Gamma Zeta and the final years.
 

Just to let you know the background is boring, but I promise keep reading and it will get alot more exciting in my next post.

I. Background, a brief history

Where to begin. I was/am a member of Gamma Zeta at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

As some of you may know, New England is the region which gave birth to our great fraternity. Boston University was our first chapter, Alpha, Umass-Amherst was our second chapter, Gamma, and owners of our very first chapter house in 1914.

Gamma Zeta has a long and unique history in it's 90 years of existence, some bad, most good. In 90 years we have initiated an estimated 1,495 brothers which equals to having about 16.6 (or 17) active brothers a year. It is relatively small compared to many of the other LCA chapters. If I recall the most active members it ever had was around 60 and the least members (besides the initial class) was around 10-11.

We have had some famous alumni, Rick Pitino being the most recent. Rick was the coach of the Boston Celtics and various other sports teams over the last decade. I'll look up some other famous alumni later.

Over the 90 years we were not in operation twice. Currently the chapter is inactive (cross your fingers that it won't be for long) and the years 1976-1980, which I was told because of an unfortunate "incident" which I KNOW about but will not TALK about, so you should get the idea.

The house itself in it's current state leaves much to be desired. There are some major repairs that are needed, like a new roof, but in general it is a sturdy structure that is still standing today on it's original foundation. In 2003 (I think, not sure of the exact date) Gamma Zeta sold the house to LCAP.

The original portion of the house is almost exact to the other 7 surrounding fraternities known as "frat row." It is comparable to today's factory built houses or modular homes with very little differences. I am not sure if it was built to house a fraternity along with the other houses or if it was meant as a residential building. According to the town of Amherst acessors, it was built in 1903 on the corner of North Pleasant St. and Fearing St. a major road in Amherst which is one of the two gateways to Umass-Amherst. It is assessed at $370,000 but in the Amherst market there were offers to buy it for between $600,000 and $700,000.

It is capable to housing 30 brothers, very cramped brothers. It has a non-functional kitchen and laundry room. The first floor is fully handicapped equiped. It does have a four way divided common rooms, a group shower, three toilets and one urinal. It has two maintenance closets and a ritual closet. There are three floors and a very small attic. The third floor was renovated from being an attic in one of the renovations. It has a spacious porch in front and a non-functioning third floor outside area. Parking is difficult and usually on the grass along the side of the house.

It is old, but there is a very special charm to it. Everyone who ever lived there loved it.

II. Umass-Amherst and the Greeks

Umass-Amherst is located in a small college town in Western Massachusetts. Located right of the Mass Pike and I-91, it is about 15 minutes away from Springfield, birthplace of basketball. Amherst itself is an upperclass town with high property values.

Umass-Amherst itself is a primarily middle class school, composed of students mainly from Massachusetts but it does have a high portion of New York and out of state students.

The greek system when I first came to Umass (in 1999) was divided into three segments:

1. The Jewish Fraternities - Umass has a high population of Jewish students and has three prominent Jewish fraternities. AEPi, SAM and ZBT. They historically have always had big numbers for Umass, usually over 50 brothers.

2. Ethnic/Special Fraternities - Usually based for African Americans or latinos or Asians, they typically did not have a house and prospered in the dorms. There was also a marching band fraternity.

3. Drinking Fraternity - (I'm just joking about the drinking part) If you weren't one of the above you fit into this category. They are considered your more all american typical fraternity. I guess you could compare it best to Animal House. They were deverse groups, you had drinking fraternities, partying fraternities, drug fraternities, etc. Pretty much there was a fraternity for everyone. Most of them were located along frat row but there were several located a little further from campus.

Umass over the last several decades has always had a small greek population. In 1999 I recall it being a little less than 2%, with fraternities being maybe .6% or .7% out of a student population of around 25,000.

Umass was known as a party school until around 2001, when police and administration started to crack down after several nationally recognized riots after sporting events and other events like the "Hobart Hoedown" got out of control. Currently it is a much more sleepy school, with parties sparse.

In the 1970's it received it's reputaion of ZooMass, and from the stories I heard, even that name failed to live up to what really went on.

Next up: The start of one man's experiences...

III. The beginning of my journey.

I came to Umass during the Fall of 1999 and moved into one of the giant dorms. Umass was still considered a party school then. Every weekend on frat row looked like a Mardi Gras party with thousands of students packing the streets and pretty much closing down the street of frat row. It was an amazing experience. I have never seen such a huge party. People were on roofs, kegs on the front lawns, loud music, it literally looked like Bourbon St.

My step-brother was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha (different chapter way out west shortly before I began college), and I was a legacy. However joining a fraternity was the furthest thing from my mind. The only time I ever thought about anything fraternity related was those two or three minutes I was sober enough at them between my next beer (don't worry, I sobered up like all freshman do right before midterms :) ). My first beer at Umass actually was at Gamma Zeta, but at that point in time it was just some stupid fraternity to me and was just the first stop in a string of 9 other fraternities having parties.

The first few weeks were a blur to me. Freedom. No parents. Hot freshman girls everywhere you looked. Beer. Beer. Beer.

My roomates and floor neighbors were nice and we got along, we would go out drinking, have fun, etc., but something was really missing.

I still wanted beer and girls ( I would eventually find out there is so much more to life and fraternity), but I knew that the dorms were not for me. So one night I'm sitting in my dorm room and I notice a little 1/4 page flier advertising LCA rush. It was the first time in my life that I ever considered joining a fraternity. I never even considered joining any other frat at that moment.

Me and my brother are alot alike, same personalities, likes, dislikes, etc. When he talked about his time at LCA it was like he described this amazing place, but whenever I visited him there all it looked to me was a beer drenched house in the ghetto. How could anyone actually LIKE this???

But when I got that 1/4 flier, I really think it was divine intervention. I don't know why, but something pulled me from my dorm room that night, put my shoes on and marched me down Fearing St., all by myself, into something as scary as going to a fraternity for rush.

Next: My first encounter. Ok the basic story is now set, now comes the good stuff where we can actually talk about the fraternity.

IV. My first encounter

Before I came to Umass and before I started my involvement with Gamma Zeta, I literally had no idea how to join a fraternity. I had no idea what a "rush" was or a "pledge." When I decided to go to lambda chi to see what it was about, I was expecting that "rush" was going to be some sort of test, where they would make you do strange things, maybe some hazing, abuse you, etc., just all the things that someone who never joined a fraternity has as a stereotype. I didn't know that rush was supposed to be fun and to try to sell you on the fraternity, I always thought that it was supposed to be the candidate looking for acceptance by the fraternity.

I walked up to the door of Gamma Zeta. I've been in it before, but that was on a Friday night with many other people. Here it was a chilly Tuesday, no one else in sight. It was a dark New England fall evening, and I could see the white puff of my breath as I exhaled. I nervously knocked on the door. I didn't know who answered it, but I was invited in. The house looked alot different sober. As soon as I walked in I saw 15 guys, standing around the pool table shooting pool, game on the tv, eating buffalo wings and having a few beers. The atmosphere was calm, relaxed, but fun. The room was dark, with a haze of smoke in the air. The multi colored pool table light was reflected against the glass windows.

I was shy and nervous, not really sure what to expect next. Were they going to haze me? Maybe they were going to interview me in some little room. Maybe egg me.

"Hey man, grab some wings, you want next game?" is the first words I heard.

That night I met everyone in the fraternity. It was the single most diverse group I had ever met in one place. There was the cool guy, the skinny guy, the fat guy, the drunk, the druggie, the smart guy, the crazy guy, the fighter, the ladies man, the jock, the geek and dork, the metrosexual, the man's man, the guy who never showered, a jewish guy, an asian, a redneck, an ackward guy, the military guy, the loud mouth, the quiet guy and on and on.

But despite their diversity, I noticed one thing: their differences didn't matter. They were all friends. The drunk was playing pool with the quiet guy. The military guy was watching the game with the jewish guy. The asian and redneck were playing darts.

I played some pool, had some wings, and just talked to people. There really wasn't anything else to it. I was a little apprehensive because I was still waiting for a surprise or something to happen. But towards the end of the night I started to relax a little more.

They didn't try to sell me on the fraternity that night, or themselves, in fact they never really ever tried to give me any type of sales pitch. They didn't get in my face about how great Lambda Chi was and the whole associate v. pledging and no hazing, and yada yada yada, and brotherhood forever, and go Lambda Chi go, blah blah blah, Warren Cole and We believe in Lambda Chi Alpha and Gamma Zeta or die.

We just talked. If I had a question they answered it, nothing more, nothing less. They seemed more interested in who I was and what I liked, not weather I wanted to rent a room and when I could start paying dues.

I guess that night I learned what it is to be a LCA and in a fraternity. It was about friendship. A group of people coming together to support a common cause. And through that common cause lifelong friendship and brotherhood was developed and established.

I went back to my dorm room that night wanting to find out more about LCA, but more importantly the people that were in it.

NEXT: The rest of my rush and my first steps as a pledge.

YUP!!! :D

JONO, well said, strikes a cord amongst most of us!!!

Any new installments GammaZeta?

It really is interesting for not only me but a bunch.:)

V. Rush

Rush was a totally new experience for me, as I am sure it was to most of you. The gentleman at Gamma Zeta literally opened up their house and their hearts to us when rush was taking place.

At Umass during the late 90's, rush basically consisted of throwing big parties early in the semester and hoping guys liked the parties and girls enough to want to become a member. I'll admit, being part of the fraternity, the cool guys with their own rooms during the party, the guys with the hot sorority girls hanging on them, acting like they were god-like in their house, going to other fraternity's parties and just walking past the line of 50 other kids waiting to get in and automatically getting a beer was a pretty big incentive for me and alot of other pledges, both in Gamma Zeta and all the other fraternitys. We were all 18 at one time and all thought the same.

There is an image that people have of fraternities. Many guys become interested because of movies like Animal House. Other guys think it's an easy way of getting drunk and getting laid. And yeah, it is. If you joined a fraternity at Umass and was a somewhat decent looking guy (ie: no hump or three eyes) you could get laid if you were in a fraternity with no problem.

I'll tell ya, part of the reason I continued with rush was because I saw the guys having a good time. It wasn't the only reason, as I have stated above, but what other 18-19 year old with newly found freedom, hot girls around them, wouldn't want an easy way to have fun and get laid?

But I would have to say, Gamma Zeta was pretty good at weeding out the guys that ONLY wanted to get laid and drunk. I can say that all the guys in the fraternity, either drunks, druggies, nerds, etc., had that something extra about them that showed that they wanted to be there other than getting drunk, etc. Hell, if you really wanted to it was easy enough to get drunk in the dorm rooms and get laid.

When I was rushing alot of my friends would say the classic "so you're just going to buy your friends" and "you're just going to be a clone." etc.

I thought about that alot and never really had a good answer to that until about last year. Part of the answer relies on Rush. Rushing and looking into fraternities is all about seeing where you fit in and are most comfortable. Some people went to dozens of rush events at many different frats and never joined. It's about finding a match.

So when you are thinking about joining a fraternity, you really have to go through two questions to find the right one:
1. Do you agree with and like the ultimate goal of the fraternity?
2. Do you get along with and like the men in the fraternity?

I say that because as I stated above, I think that fraternities are people coming together for a common goal/cause, and forging relationships through the pursuit of that common goal/cause.

So if you were a heavy pot smoker, there was a fraternity at Umass for you (no it wasn't Gamma Zeta). And chances are you would fit right in if you were a pot smoker. If you were a body builder/jock there was a fraternity at Umass for you (again, not Gamma Zeta) And chances are you would fit right in if you were a body builder/jock.

The common goal of Gamma Zeta, at least in my opinion, was both the physical house (I will go into later, but you will see how important a role it played) and I think an even fraternal experience. It was a place for a jewish guy that might not have been all about what the jewish fraternities stood for. It was a place for the military guy that didn't conform to the strict regulations of ROTC. It was a place for the drunk that wanted more than just "drinking buddies." Many other fraternities and their brothers simply conformed to their stereotype and accepted it as who they were and what they did. Not Gamma Zeta, these were men that knew better than to limit themselves. These were men that knew there was so much more out there in a fraternal experience, although they may not have known it right away. It is those types of people, maybe on some sort of sub-conscience level, that attract other people like that.

As for the rest of my rush, it was pretty low key, many times just BBQ'ing, watching tv, maybe a road trip here and there. As an alumni of LXA, and a brother during the transition of the international fraternity to focus more on recruiting, I don't think I would have joined if they sold me on LCA as some of the recruiters instructed us to do when I was a brother. It was too much like a sales pitch. If I want a sales pitch for a product, I'll go down to my local Circuit City. You can't sell a fraternity like it's a "product" or some moveable good. You have to sell it like it's an experience, an experience like nothing else to last your whole life. Honestly, I didn't care about associate versus pledge. I didn't care about our no hazing policy, hell I was expecting it and didn't care if they did do it (it happened in my high school with our sports teams all the time and was nothing new to me, although I didn't like it and there was NO "hazing" at GZ, so let's just get that out of the way right now). I didn't care about the opportunity to go to General Assembly or regional conferences. All those points are great and constructive, I'll admit, but the one thing I noticed that the recruiters didn't instruct or advise...was to sell the PEOPLE of Lambda Chi. I joined because they were good PEOPLE, not because they had good POLICIES. And when you join because of people you trust and respect, you won't worry about pledge v. associate or hazing or conferences, because if they are good people they won't do that to you and they will treat you with the proper respect and and adhere to your boundaries. I know that the methods of hq DO work at other college's, but each college and their recruitment is more different than the next. I would really like to see a more personalized attempt from HQ to focus more on the individual campus in recruitment. I've worked with recruiters that had wonderful ideas and success stories, great methods that I knew would 100% work.....except at Umass. It wasn't the recruiters fault, they went well above giving 110% of their time and effort. But colleges and universities are all different. Can you really compare Texas Chrisitan University to Umass, or Boston University, or Southern Florida? The ethnicity, size, economic status, academic focus, heck even the weather, all make each place unique and the students even more different.

Ok, I seem to have lost focus of my rush experience and just went on a ramble, sorry. To some up my rush; BBQ's, fun, good people.

NEXT: My first step to becoming a brother.

*guys, this is going to be a long thread over a couple of weeks. I'm going to try to go as in depth as possible from now on to really get into the mental aspect of what went on in our chapter. I guess I'm doing this for two reasons:
1. to clear up the name of Gamma Zeta and ALL the brothers in it. To set the record straight about what happened so that many of you may understand a little more and not be so "pissed off" about us losing our first house.
2. So it doesn't happen again and everyone can learn from it.

I hope at this point you kind of get a feeling about the greek system at Umass and understand the student body a little bit. The most important thing to understanding the future events and downfall of GZ is to know about the ENVIRONMENT that we were in. At that time Amherst and Umass was pretty hostile to the greek system, in 2000 I really thought that fraternities/sororities were going to be kicked off campus, and that is coming up soon as well.

Pardon me for barging in, but I just wanted to say this is one of the most riveting threads I've ever read on GC. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying it. I really want people to LEARN from it as well. I think that many times, especially as alumni, we depend too much on the information in the Cross and Crescent, Paed., General Assembly etc. Of course hq always puts a positive spin on things, as they should and are expected to. But you really have to keep in mind the reality of the situation. It's been I think 5 years since I joined LXA, but today if I were to begin recruiting and helping rebuild GZ, I probably wouldn't be able to come up with any ideas that would actually work to get new brothers. The greek system at Umass has really changed that much in those short 5 years. Now on frat row instead of the typical big national fraternities in the houses (Pike, etc.), there are now Asian and Latino fraternities that I never even knew existed before.

People also need to remember that you are dealing with 18 and 19 and 20 year olds, especially in today's world. Most of the freshman now were already drinking and having sex by the time they were freshman in HIGH SCHOOL! I'm only in my mid 20's and that shocked even me.

Just remember to keep an open mind. Looks can be deceiving.

Don't worry, didn't forget. Next post Tuesday Oct. 12.

VI. Becoming a Brother 1

Well, the day came. I had been rushing for several weeks now, have gotten to know the guys, the house and LXA. Again, I wasn't sure exactly what the next step was to becoming a member. After all, joining a fraternity is something most people only do once in their lives.

It was just a regular night of playing pool, watching the game etc. There weren't any decorations, or people running around. It was pretty much like any other night.

Kevin B. was the president at the time. He was a tall, slender, muscular guy. He was older than all of us, he had served several years in the Navy and had the discipline about him. Like many others, he had no intention in joining a fraternity in his mid-twenties. He had originally just rented a room in Gamma Zeta, eventually associated/pledged and became the president some time afterwards.

He was a guy that demanded respect, and got it. He kept a clean house, an organized house, and a respectful house. You just didn't mess with him. There were always alot of stories about him, true or not I don't know, but most were not willing to find out. He was always a nice and generous guy, but you always knew he could snap you like a twig if he wanted to.

It was his last semester at Umass and I really never got to know him. We talked and hung out a couple times, but it was tough for an 18 year old freshman to really relate to a 26 or 27 year old senior. Kevin in my opinion was probably the best president that I ever was a member under.

I was called into his room that night, with several other GZ's in there already. I was handed an envelope, opened it and read the letter.

It was my bid letter. A smile came over my face.

I don't remember what it said because they had used a really fancy font and couldn't really read it. Years later when I was in charge of printing the bid letters I would finally know the text of it. Despite that, I pretty much knew what it said and could read the time and date.

I shook a few hands, said some thank you's, and took a toast with my future brothers. It was a good night, but it really wasn't that memorable. I don't want to sound like I was over confident, but I knew that everyone was getting along and I was expecting a bid letter.

Tomorrow: "Sex, Shower, Sleep and Sports"

sistermadly, you are always welcome here!:)

GammaZeta, I think this is a very well done sceniario and wish you would send this to IHQ for printing in the C & C.

Reason being, is that you have spoken what everyone of us feel in growing up with and starting out with LXA!

It is without a doubt one of the very finest Greek Organizations in GreekDom!:cool:

ONE of the very finest organizations in Greekdom?!?!?! LOL! I would have to say THE finest organization despite some problems I have with it (much respect to the other fraternities/sororities though). I wouldn't want this submitted to C & C. It's not a real example of my writing skills, it's just something I'm throwing together late at night to relax and try to forget about work, etc. I also would love to go into much more detail, there is ALOT more I can say and remember, there are alot of specifics that I forget to put in when writing on the spur of the moment. This wouldn't even be considered a rough draft to me, more like a short outline.

But in my future posts there will be some things that the C&C wouldn't want to publish and I wouldn't expect them to. It's just my opinions though. For example the whole pledge v. associate, which I will go into detail about later. I know the reasons LXA uses "associate", and I can see and agree with why they use it and everyone in GZ always tried their best to comply with the national standard. But I also have no problem with, and feel more confortable using the term pledge. People just know it better and what it means, especially at Umass. Usually when I tried to explain to people the whole associate v. pledge idea, after a couple minutes and the usual puzzled look on their faces, it was just easier to say pledge.

Well I'll go into that later.

VII. Sex Shower Sleep Sports

So several days had past since I received my bid letter. I was excited, but mostly anxious. Is the hazing going to start now? When is the humiliation going to start? When do I experience all those horror stories? Again, I kind of expected all that from my high school days.

The bid letter was pretty clear. Shirt and tie,Thursday 7:00 pm, be on the Chapter House Porch.

So I started my walk to the chapter house, butterflies in my stomach. Maybe they'll egg me when I get there or pour mustard and ketchup on me. Maybe they'll go straight for the paddles. Am I really going to wear a diaper and say "Thank you sir, may I have another" like in animal house? Damn, I wore one of my favorite ties and shirts!

So there I was. 6:50 on the porch. No lights on. Windows covered in newspaper. Only the street light and the occasional passing car to provide any light. We sat there, in silence, not knowing what was next. A cold chill blew onto us. Leafs rustled on the concrete and grass. The old 1950's stolen dorm furniture set on the porch didn't provide much comfort.

The only sound I heard from the house was: "God damnit, where is everyone, we're going to be late!"

Little did I know that was normal for EVERY event at Gamma Zeta! LOL! If you wanted an event for 8:00, better tell people to be there at 7:00.

Every now and then a brother would come out, make sure we were alright, see if we had any questions, tell us they were almost ready, etc. Finally at 8:45 a brother emerged from the house. I knew who he was, and he introduced himself as our new pledge coordinator, it was the first time I ever saw him in a tie.

We were taken into the house, all lights were off except a few candles to provide the most minimum light. All doors were closed and some rooms were blocked off. The stair lights remained on. We were taken to a third floor room so we didn't get sick outside and so we didn't get too afraid we would run away. They were trying to create a very important, respectful, very solemn atmosphere.

We never were known for our ability to keep on time. I could hear stuff like: "Why didn't you eat earlier!" and "Where are the matches" and "Put on a fucking tie dipshit, it's almost time!" and "Where the hell is Mike?!" despite their best attempts to keep the atmosphere and quietness.

9:00 Our pledge coordinator finally came into the room to see us. He calmly explained to us that we will soon be coming downstairs. He told us that it was a very solemn and important ceremony and he said he expected us to all respect it and behave properly. Anything less would be considered disrespectful and would seriously offend the brothers.

We agreed.

Now I not only didn't know what to expect, I also was afraid of insulting everyone and screwing up! The time came, we were marched down the narrow stairs...

...and so I was an official Associate Member of Lambda Chi Alpha.

It was interesting to say the least. I have just went through something I totally did not expect. It was amazing to see how everyone came together for something. How everyone was there to support and congratulate us. It was our night. It was just a pin, but somehow it was more than that. It felt like I belonged, that I was, although a very small part, still part of the house.

However I could tell that this night would be the last night of our free ride. The brothers have accepted me until this point. Now I would have to prove I belonged there, I wanted to be there, be part of something. I would have to earn the respect, friendship and brotherhood of every brother in that house, alumni of that chapter, and every Lambda Chi Alpha...ever.

It was explained to me how important that AM/pledge pin was. It was a test. It was a sign of respect to the house, the chapter and the fraternity. It was not something to just go home and throw in the drawer. It was to be displayed proudly, properly and with dignity, always over my heart. I was not to do anything illegal, wrongful, hurtful, embarrasing, or anything else that may devalue that pin with my actions while wearing it.

I was taken aside by a brother who nicely told me about the "4 S's" - Sex, Shower, Sports and Sleep. Those were the only times I should take off my pin. It wasn't an official rule or anything, just a phrase to remind us of how important it was.

That night was amazing. I had a late dinner with some brothers who talked about LXA and what I would be going through, etc. I was taken back to the house and an exchange/mixer was previously planned with three sororities, I was also told to invite all my friends, etc. It was a great time. A great welcoming. A great beginning.

I had now seen the house at it's best. Coming together to welcome the new AM's. Organizing something special, and then welcoming us. (and of course the sorority girls were a nice touch!)

NEXT: An Awakening

VIII. Dedication

As a pledge and as a brother, I never really realized the lack of Alumni support we had until I saw how much people on this board were involved with their chapters. Sure it could have made things easier with some extra guys and experience around, but hey, we did what we could.

But I remember one person, Bill Whitmore, the most out of any alumni.

When I was a pledge, and for most of my time in Gamma Zeta, Bill Whitmore was our High Pi. He's an older gentelman, probably in his late 70's early 80's right now, skinny, but he was never afraid to grab a bucket of tar on a 90 degree summer day and resurface our driveway. He was that type of guy.

Bill lived in Sunderland, a town just north of Amherst, for his entire life. Sunderland is where Bill Cosby owns his farm. Sunderland was and is still partly a farming community. Bill grew up on his family farm, where he still lives today.

Bill's father was a respected member of the community. In the 40's and 50's his father was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he served for many years. He was one of the most vital people for organizing and getting the funding for the major renovations and expansions for the Umass-Amherst campus. I would have to guess that 50%-65% of the campus right now is there because of Bill's dad. In fact, his contributions were so great, that they named the major building at Umass the Whitmore Administration Building. (That building is pretty much were all major offices are). The amazing thing about the naming of the building, was that Bill's dad was still alive when they named it for him. That is something very rare and unique and is considered to be a high honor.

His father also attended Umass-Amherst, then Mass. Agricultural. In fact, he was a fouding member of Thata Chi's alpha chapter.

Bill came to Umass like his father, and joined LXA in the 50's. Needless to say it was alot different then, but alot was still the same. He was a good brother, holding positions and was dedicated. You could say his life really began in Gamma Zeta.

He used to tell us that he got his first job in the common rooms when a General Electric representative was recruiting college men for the company. He was interviewed and hired in those common rooms. Bill was also one of the very first "Mr. Wizards" if any of you can remember them.

Bill was a character. He was older than all of us, but he knew, he knew. He wasn't stupid. He knew we would try to fudge the rules now and then, but he also knew that we couldn't be perfect angels. He did know when too much was too much.

I first met Bill at a rush event. I was introduced to him. The first thing a brother asked Bill was:
"Hey Bill, would you ever lie for us?"

Bill replied: "Well, I can't lie for you guys. But I can tell stories that don't go anywhere."

Tonight: Bill Continued.

co-sign.

I can't wait for your next installment. :)

Bill 2

I got to know Bill pretty well over the years. He loved and cared for the fraternity, but he really never understood today's generation completely.

The best thing about Bill as high pi, was that he knew he was in an advisory role. He didn't come in and try to run everything, or tell us what to do or how to do it. He let us figure alot out on our own. He let us grow, experiment, and find out what worked best. He knew he was part of Gamma Zeta and LXA, but he also knew that he was an alumni, and that the pain and glory should be for the actives.

Bill was obsessive about records keeping. Which was good and bad in a way. He kept business cards, scrap papers, receipts for $.25 worth of nails, light bulb instructions, EVERYTHING. He was always nagging about getting this and that, which is good, but you really shouldn't be nagging a brother about his class schedule the morning after his 21st birthday at 8:00 am.

I can remember every event, he would bring this rattered tattered 3 ring binder with him. Every event he would hound you and ask what your address was, etc. for the alumni directory. Bill, I just gave you my address last week!

Bill wasn't an angel either. He had his own agenda for Gamma Zeta and there were people that were more accepting of it than others. Bill favored those people. But he always wanted the best for Gamma Zeta.

I remember 1 summer Umass was selling all their old, and I mean OLD office furniture. Sitting on the porch, I see his station wagon pulling a trailers of about 15 desks, 10 tables and dozens of chairs.

I thought to myself: "There goes my day."

I couldn't argue with Bill or make him see that we didn't need rusty old metal desks. There were no use or room for them. It was just easier to spend a few hours moving them into the house and chucking them the next day.

But Bill got things done. He would just nag you until you did it. Sometimes that really was the only way alot of brothers would have pulled their fair share.

Bill also wanted to bring the Umass Greek system into the new age. He advocated for no drinking, hazing, etc., not just in our house but across the campus, especially to the fraternities without those regulations. I remember one hot summer day several years back. Me and some of the older guys decided to come down to prepare the house for move in, rush and to clean. It was hot out, we were all broke. All of a sudden Bill pulled up. He pulled out of his car three big brown bags. I heard the clanking of beer bottles a mile away and came running. There's nothing better than doing work, hanging out with guys on a hot summer day, and having a few drinks while working. Bill had brought us a couple of sixers. So there we were, chugging some bottles, working hard in the summer sun, getting ALOT accomplished now that we had some refreshment. A few hours passed and I looked around. I saw the table where we were putting our empties, and it was pretty full. We've been drinking for a good 2 1/2 hours while working. I asked the other guys, who have also been drinking on pace with me, "Hey guys, do you feel anything?" They looked at me with a puzzled expression, realizing that they did in fact not feel anything. I walked over, grabbed a bottle, and there it was: O'Douls Non-Alcoholic Beer.

Bill was still probably a better brother, being a 70 something alumni, then most of our actives. I don't think he ever got the appreciation that he deserved though. He spent hours upon hours a week helping the house. He was at every meeting. He was at every crisis. He was at every event. Again, that's something I didn't realize until I was out of college.

So guys, consider yourself lucky that you have alumni support. Treat them with respect. They may seem old, out of touch, annoying and old fashioned, but they do know a thing or two. Take the time to get to know them. Listen to them. Let them be involved. Sometimes when they stay a bit too long, or tell a story that doesn't go anywhere, just bite your tongue and smile. Give them the respect they deserved and earned, hell, you may even learn a thing or two.

GammaZeta, so far, I like this piece the best especially about How Alums may seem out of touch but are still there to be of help no matter how at times it can seem miss directed to the new young breed of Active members.:)

Associat vs Pledge.

The first time I heard that was in 1966.
Brother George Spasyk and I "Discussed" this until the wea hours of the morning. He was there for Colonization of what was to become LX Z in 1969.

Thanks Tom. I know about the whole pledge v. associate thing. We always tried to use associate member and were pretty good at it. But at Umass, where the greek system is probably a good 10-15 years behind the national trend, it's just much easier to talk to other people and say you're a pledge instead of explaining everything.

When I used to sit in class with my pin on, people would ask what house I was pledging. I would nicely explain to them that I was not a pledge, was equal, etc.

So after 5 minutes and the puzzled look on their faces, they would ask again:"What house are you pledging?"

And I would frustratingly say "Lambda Chi."

I never personally thought pledge was ever a bad word. You are "pledging" your loyalty to a fraternity. You can use pledge, you can use associate member, as long as they both encompass the same ideals in the fraternity. That's just my opinion. Usually the term associate members were always used for anything within our fraternity. But if I had to clarify my status to every person that asked about what fraternity I was pledging or how I liked pledging, I would have spent half my day explaining what an associate member was.

I'm curious Tom, what were the arguments both for, and against, changing the terms? Could you tell us a little bit more about that?

Funny you should ask!:)

I will never forget that night.:eek:

George was down for the Colonization and We went to one of the local bars. Yes, we had some beers. The rest of Beta Chi were all there, but not sitting with us, they were lurking wanting to know what was being said between George and My Self. Scared, Hell Yes, I was scared.:eek:

The bar closed and We went back to the house @ 12:30 and sat talking about Greek Life. How did you start BX, what did you expect from the members. How do you feel about hazing, the night or early morning drug on.

Geaorge then asked me, do you have Pledges, of course I said.

Well, LXA is changing course and there will be no more Pledges. What are you talking about was my next question. Well,

We are going to have Associate Members.

What is that and why.

It is because of the conotation of Hazing with Pledges. WHOA, We do not allow Hazing in BX and I see no need for any changes. Everyone uses the Termonology Pledge. Who will understand? Everyone will as LXA are trend setters of the Greek World.

I am thinking BS! But it came tpo the point @ 4:300 in the Morning and Geaorge just said, well Tom, that is the way it is going to be and can you live with it!

Of course since we were going to be colonized that morning.

He asked me to pick a Candidate to represent the Local and I did.

He then asked me to be there for Practice in @ 3 1/2 hours so I could observe and explain what was going on.

Little did I know, I was the Practice Guy.

Damn, what an experience, and can only tell you privately when I know who you are!:)

Yes, to this day, it is still hard, to explain it each time, but, it is well worth it when talking to New Young Possible. We do things different for sure.

LXA is and has been trend setters for many years and I cannot find anything wrong with that.

1909, We are not the Oldies, but, We are the best.:cool: We have set many New Presidences for all of Greek Society, they just dont remember them or ignor them.:(

Great story Tom,

Just so I get things right, you were a member of a local fraternity that was converting to LXA?

Yes, I think we are trendsetters, but does anyone know if the Associate Member trend ever caught on to other greek orgs? Did other fraternities discontinue the use of the word "pledge"?

I'd agree with you though. It's not so much the name of a new member, pledge or AM, but that you treat the person with the respect and dignity they deserve. We were always so afraid of slipping in front of HQ all the time. I think that it should be enforced for ceremonies, national events, etc., but in casual conversation with an ELC, I really wish (excuse my french) that they wouldn't be such tight asses about it. They should be more focused that the AM's are being properly handled and guidelines followed and not so much concerned about slips of the tongue.

I'd say keep the Associate Member term, but just lighten up a bit if someone makes a mistake. I remember ELC's getting really pi$$ed off because someone made a mistake. Instead of coming down on us just for a mistake and putting a chapter on the $hit list because of an honest mistake, they really should just politely remind us the difference between pledge and AM. So much more would get accomplished by focusing on the real problems.

It's really difficult, but we were pretty good at it, in keeping with the AM term. On a campus that is very old fashioned where there are only 10-15 other guys (LXA brothers) using the term AM instead of pledge, it can be VERY difficult. It's alot easier when LXA is a leading fraternity on campus with 70-80 guys. It's also alot easier when the campus is a little more supportive and progressive in it's greek system.

re: AM in other fraternities
 

Yes, some fraternities have adopted "new member programs"
which "are not pledges" though they may have different names
for them. When I received my Pike bid in '86 (I'm getting old),
it formally said "You are invited to accept Associate Membership
in Pi Kappa Alpha", though I've never heard a Pike use the
term "A.M."

ZBT has supposedly gone a step further than us....they
require new members to become fully initiated within
a week (or other short period of time) after accepting their
bid....they "skip" pledgeship/AM-ship totally....though I
think some of their chapters "unofficially" still have a
pledge program (as do some LXA chapters).

Very short pledge periods are not unheard-of....
in fact it was the standard before
WWI. Even early LXA's were supposed to be "fully initiated"
within 3 weeks after taking a bid (that was the early plan),
being "partially initated" in stages during that 3 week
period. They were to begin the first stage as soon after
accepting their bid as possible....probably explaining why
we had no "Pledge Ceremony" before 1939.

Phi Mu Fraternity (for women) calls their new members
"Phis", though I don't know if that's really different from
a "pledge"....they have enough trouble explaining how
they are a Fraternity eventhough they are all girls!

I'm not sure the "new names" make much difference.
We could just as easily have said that "LXA pledges are"
what A.M.'s are today...just used the same term.

I think it was GA 2002 that someone sponsored a bill
to change "LXA Fraternity" to "LXA Brotherhood". Obviously
it didn't pass, and it wouldn't have done any good anyway,
other than causing more confusion. Does anyone really
think that Kappa Alpha is "not a college fraternity" because
they are "KA Order" instead of "KA Fraternity"?? LOL

Point of clarification...the Kappa Alpha ORDER is the younger of the two organizations using those Greek letters; their HQ is in Virginia. Kappa Alpha SOCIETY is located in New York.

As I've understood the differences between the two groups (through conversations @ the NIC Convention), the ORDER consists of chapters south of the Mason-Dixon Line; conversely, the SOCIETY'S chapters are north of the line.

FWIW in ZAX,
BF

GZ, as I have said before, Local Beta Chi, but for only one school year, 9 Months.

Evrything that I designed went by the wayside. But what the heck, it was worth it.

Back then, I got turned down by 6-8 of the Old Line Greek Fraternitys as they were not expanding so they said. It was a State College at the time. May have had something to do with it from the get go.

Very few were expanding in the mid 1960s. There was a local that would have become DSPhi and we won on that note. Only one would be allowed on Campus. We were contacted by LXA and then TX and it was decided to Affiliate with LXA. A lot of thanks must go to Eric Conard who was the TKE Advisor at the time. He and George S were tooth and nail trying to expand at the time as LXA and TKE new the maeaning of expansion back then, and they did. Then the Oldsters decided oops maybe we screwed up and started expanding anew.

There is still a question on who you may be and if you are real. I am just adding this as I have contacted you and still, NADA.

I am glad joinerLXA so stated as I was not aware of anyothers who have changed to Associates. I have no problem with Associates as when it is explained, they have a lot more respect as compared to Being A Pledge. Negative conotation of course as that is what is put in All of The News Media. "Pledges Were this and this happened to them"!

As a writer, you are doing a wonderful job, but still wonder if it is a writer typing or a Brother from reading posts and web sites?

Oh, Kev, you are still young and keep thinking that way!:)

re: KA
 

KA Society and KA order have no historical connection
with each other....just a coincidence they have the
same name.

KAS chose to remain small (about 1 or 2 dozen active
chapters I think?? no national HQ) and only expanded
in the NE and Canda....I don't think they ever had "policy" of "no southern chapters"...just a policy
of "no more chapters anywhere".

KAO was founded as a southern fraternity that USED
to limit itself to the south, but they have a few
northern chapters now. Just read an article about
KA at Purdue Univ. in northern IN.

P.S. Just checked out their web pages:

KA Order (Southern) has 1 chapter in NJ (Princeton)
and a handful in OH and IN (which are half populated
by x-southerners anyway)

KA Soc. only has 10 active chapters (5 are in
Canada), with four listed as closed.

Interestingly enough:
- Princeton Univ seems to have an active chapter of
BOTH KAS and KAO
- There used to be a KAS (northern) chapter at
U of VA, definitely below the Mason-Dixon

But KAS can still claim to be the oldest general fraternity
still in existence!

Kevin, I will leave the research up to you! For sure!:)

But, KA # 1 seems to be very selective on expanding and stagnent.

KA # 2 seems to be finally figuring out, if there is no expansion, We Will Die and no longer be.

Mason Dixon Line, I cannot speak for or about. You are the one who can guru this out.

Thanks!:cool:

How many people really know what the Mason Dixon line was all about, probably damn few!:rolleyes:

It anint about the No/So (Civil War)conflict, but seemed to be used for the dividing line!

The "real" Mason-Dixon line is just the border between
Maryland and Pennsylvania. In the 1700's, it was surveyed
out from Delware to the mountains by two surveyors named,
you guessed it, Mason and Dixon!

It became symbolic as the border between the northern
colonies (states) and southern colonies....it became
the "nickname" for the "border between north and south"
as we expanded westward.

If you actually extended the true MDL, half of Ohio, IN and
IL would be "in the south".

KAO was founded by "confederates" after the civil war, and
like many southern fraternities, only opened chapters in states
considered to be "confederate". Its arguable whether or
not KY and MO were "rebel", but the KAO considered them
so. They also accepted "new" states which were territories
claimed by the confederates: OK, AZ, NM, KS, etc.
(I think the confederates intended the KS/NB border
to be the "MDL" in the west)

But sometime in the 1900's, they decided to remove that
restriction and to charter chapters in northern states, though
they haven't been as effective as Pikes and others who
followed the same pattern....prolly because they hold
on to the "confederate" theme more than the others.

The KA house at Gtown used to have (maybe still do) a
big sign on the front that said "Home of All Fine Southern
Gentlemen"....which was funny, since most of their members
in the late '80s were football players from Ohio! :confused:

KAO is "famous" for its "Old South Week"...they dress up
in confed. uniforms and have a "ball" with the ladies dressed
in hoop skirts. In the 70's and early 80's, the LX's at Gtown
always held a fake "Old North Week" during the same week
just to make 'em mad ;)

Reflections Article - Pledges v. Associates
 

Reflections, by George W. Spasyk
Executive Director of Lambda Chi Alpha, 1969-1990
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pledges -- Who Needs Them?
Can Lambda Chi Alpha, or any other fraternity, get along without having pledges? I submit that not only can we, but in the long run we must.

Lest that startling statement shock the reader into thinking that the Executive Director is suggesting a phasing out program which would eventually eliminate fraternities, let me hasten to add that I don't mean we should stop the recruiting of new members -- in fact we must continue to increase our efforts in this direction, and the program suggested in this column is designed to do just that.

Since last summer members of the Grand High Zeta and the administrative staff have been talking with our student members, alumni, and college administrators about many of the problems which confront us as chapters, as an international fraternity, and as part of a fraternity system. Some of the problems are chronic, others are new, as times and students, attitudes and philosophies change. All of them must be faced seriously and knowledgeably if we are to deal with them effectively.

One of these problems is the tragic loss of so many of our pledges who never make it through to initiation. Last year 1,358 LCA pledges did not become members -- about 30% of all men pledged. For some reason I had always felt that more men were de-pledged by the chapters than dropped by their own action. Perhaps this was true at one time -- apparently not anymore.

A study completed last summer showed that 65% of the men de-pledged last year withdrew by their own action. Any thinking member must wonder why, since this represents one out of every five men pledged. After long and careful analysis of the problem, I must conclude that most of them drop out because we're still playing games with them, and they have decided that they have better things to do with their time.

And, come to think of it, why should a bright young freshman (or sophomore, or junior) who has met the entrance requirements of his university, who has perhaps worked all summer to help finance his education, be expected to enjoy a role in which his fraternal status is second class? We expect a pledge to obey every rule (while actives don't); be respectful to the housemother (while actives frequently aren't); light cigarettes; carry matches; say "yes, sir; no, sir"; clean the toilets; and never say anything which offends anyone. In these negative ways the pledge is "proving" himself worthy of membership. Yet if we found a spineless person who would subject himself to such a status of semi-servitude anywhere else in society, we'd be disgusted with him. The problem, as I see it, is that we have been doing an excellent job of training men to be pledges... a role they will no longer have as soon as the training period is over.

In an area which cries out for dramatic changes, we have found many of our student members (and, tragically, some alumni) reluctant to break with tradition. The concept of pledge education vs. pledge training, which we introduced several years ago, has been almost universally accepted, but at the chapter level the transition has been made, for the most part, in the name of the program only, not in practice. While it is true that fraternities have rid their programs, for the most part, of physical hazing, there remain in most programs strong elements of separation between actives and pledges, with sharp distinctions between these two classes of membership.

What I feel is needed is not a new look at pledge education, but a totally different concept of this period between initial acceptance and initiation. In the program which I envision as the type of approach all fraternities must eventually adopt:

There is virtually no distinction between an active and a pledge.
The pledge period is limited to no more than six to eight weeks.
Pledge tasks and pledge work sessions are replaced by chapter work sessions involving both actives and pledges.
Pledges attend at least half the active meetings or a major portion of all chapter meetings.
Pledges are included on chapter committees and are given a voice in chapter affairs.
Pledge class unity is not considered a desirable goal since it tends to create horizontal divisions within the chapter.
Pledges are in no way subservient to active members, and discipline of pledges is handled within the same framework of laws and policies which govern all members.
Instruction of pledges is handled through a series of conferences using the concepts of group discussions, case studies, and individual development, rather than the traditional classroom methods and pledge class organization.
It may well be that the most serious deterrent to the implementation of such a program is the word "pledge" itself, since it has for so long been associated with subservient status in fraternities. Accordingly, LCA has developed this totally new approach into a program which we call FRATERNITY EDUCATION. In which the newcomer is called an ASSOCIATE MEMBER. Jon Nielsen, director of chapter services, has prepared an excellent paper on the program which was enthusiastically received at last summer's management training seminar. In it, he states that,

"While this program allows for a reasonable time of mutual observation, it pursues education of the new member from the standpoint that, since he has been chosen for unique and noteworthy talents and abilities, he can therefore participate with most major membership privileges from the outset and learn the guidelines of fraternal experience by doing. This is complemented by a series of educational conferences which emphasize chapter operations. fraternity history, personal and leadership development.

"At the end of the six-eight-week period, if college or IFC regulations do not permit immediate initiation, he then assumes all membership rights and responsibilities as an active member but must wait until he participates in the ritual to become an initiated member."

The paper concludes that associate membership is best understood as comprised of eight types of experience, some spontaneous, some organized. These include: member influence; participation; conference-type instruction; personal development; behavioral responsibility; academic and intellectual development; leadership development: and individual, unique experiences.

We genuinely believe this concept of fraternity education will appeal to students who are interested in the fraternity experience but who are unwilling to subject themselves to the lengthy, immature, and time-consuming activities which traditionally characterized fraternity pledgeship. Some chapters have already adopted the program in total -- some in part -- others are talking about it and gaining converts. Lambda Chi Alpha can take the lead in adopting wholeheartedly an innovative, imaginative, and exciting program in which each new member is given the freedom to explore his fraternal experience, to discover his talents and abilities, and to develop his individuality. His experience in LCA will be meaningful because it is his.

Great article. I think it's great that we have been on the cutting edge of fraternities.

At Umass, we were the only fraternity that didn't call it's prospective member pledges. I see the points made for the AM name and agree with them, but in certain environments like Umass, I just wish that IHQ would focus more on the way we treated our Am/pledges then what we called them. I remember one brother accidentally slipped up and for the rest of the day the ELC lectured us on how we were supposed to use AM and not pledge. Was that a productive use of time? That's my only complaint. In my four years, not one person ever joined or dropped out because we used AM or pledge.

So to put this topic to rest, I only wish IHQ would focus more on the actual treatment and education of our AM and less on the name.

"A rose by any other name is still a rose."

"In a very real sense, the Fraternity creates a family relationship among its members.

It aims to bring together in an intimate association a group of young men who will be, conginuasl, loyal, and be helpful to omne another during some of the best years of their lives, the college years".

Brother George Spaysk.


So, stop and think, is this true?

Is this what We are doing here?

I think so and that is why I respect My Brothers here on this Site.:cool:

Pledges -- Who Needs Them?
 

LXAAlum,

Thanks for posting that. Can you tell us when it was written? Thanks.

In ZAX,
Jono

IX. My AM/pledge experience 1

Well, the honeymoon was over. I got my pin, paid my dues, and was on my way to becoming a full LXA.

It was tough, but if you want something bad enough, you're not afraid to earn it, work for it and sacrifice for it.

There was some very specific guidelines while I was an AM. Obviously there was always respect the house, the brothers and represent yourself in a proper manner. But there were other rules. Each pledge/Am, being an equal member of LXA, also meant that we had equal responsibility. My fellow AM's were placed on the weekly house schedule of chores, equal to all the other brothers (although we were more likely to get basement or bathroom duty). It was fair, hell we spent more time in the house than our own dormrooms or classrooms. We were also required to attend each and every weekly meeting. It made sense. If you're going to become part of something, you need to know what's going on.

Sunday was our house meetings. It was also the time we met with our fraternity educator and schedule that weeks events. It usually consisted of a silly/weird event, fun event, teamwork event, test event, trial event or an event leading up to our initiation.

There were alot of events that were traditional to Gamma Zeta which I will not discuss on the boards. They were very old and very important. I know every chapter has their own little events that are unique to their chapter, and we were no different.

One of my favorite pledge/AM events was the Halloween Party. All the brothers got dressed up and we usually invited a bunch of other fraternities and sororities over. Every year the brothers would designate the theme for the AM/pledges customes and it became a week long event for them making their custome. There was really a couple rules 1. no degrading/risque customes 2. had to be home made, not store bought 3. had to be made as a group. My favorite would have to be the 7 Duff Dwarfs, based on a Simpsons episode. There was one episode where the 7 dwarfs from Snow White were created as Duff Beer names. Instead of Sleepy, Sloppy, you had Tipsy, Remorseful, Quesy, etc.

Alot more to come...