Asking Umass-Amherst Greeks
 

Hi, former Umass LXA alumni here. I was in Amherst recently and noticed alot of changes to the greek system.

I was hoping that some current Umass-Amherst students involved in Greek life could give me some insight on what is currently happening, any future plans, and how Greek life is in general right now.

Thanks!

Amherst
 

I was there recently and was shocked at the condition of the
once-gorgeous and well maintained fraternity houses. They
are now replete with broken stained glass windows, sprayed
graffitti and deferred maintenance. This old man would cut a
few nuts and render a few filberts sterile...but that might be that
I am out of touch. The "freedom" and the whining of some of you
is interesting, with guilt-ridden divorced parents paying the bills.
But it is here, too, in Boulder, but AMHERST. one of the old, old
greek bastions...The gay rights groups, et al. may be bright, they
may be creative, but they are not, seemingly, house keepers.

I know that the school has a much more positive attitude about greeks..new and returning groups are being encouraged, but.....Housing is the big issue. Most of the houses on N. Pleasant are not owned by the fraternities in them.(Only SDT and IGU still own their houses) School is talking about greek housing, but on a UConn model, with very little security for each organization.

You wouldn't happen to know which organizations are new on campus?

I'm pretty sure that Alpha Sigma Phi just came back and that Kappa Sig is about to. When were you there,BTW

I was out of there by '01. Heard it was doing well by some and not so well by others.

UMass
 

TKE has been off the UMass campus for a coupla dozen years but
now has a colony, so-so in progress. The housing and status of
the Greeks in all of MA is kinda in limbo and I have never been able to figure out those folks...but anybody who continually puts
Teddy Kennedy back into the congress has an oar out of the water. Do not know if this comment is inappropriate for this site
or not, but I am being a daring sort at this point.

Erik, thanks for the info. Any idea of other organizations that are wanting to colonize?

Re: UMass
 

Actually, that's not completely true. There have been pushes for housing at many of our respective schools, and some schools (WPI, MIT, for example), have a solid amount of Greek housing.

Also, not all of us are Teddy Kennedy boosters; some of us are even Republicans.

KSigKid
- Boston U. Greek alum

How is the status of Greeks in MA in limbo? I advise at two schools here in Boston, and we are all thriving.

That's what I'm trying to figure out. I heard conflictng stories about Umass-Amherst Greeks. I refuse to believe that with thriving Greek communities in Boston, Conn., New Hampshire and Rhode Island, that there is no interest in Amherst.

UMASS-GREEKS
 

I know DU built a new house on N.Pleasant and has an active chapter.

Exactly - the Greek systems aren't as large as in other states, but by no means are they "in limbo."

Possibly More Interest by some Mass. Schools than some profess?

I dont know and I am just as interested here as GammaZeta is.:)

I know we're (ADPhi) happy with Massachusetts. We've had an affiliate at Northeastern for 1-1/2 years now and are just starting working with a group at Brandeis. We've been chatting with some guys at Harvard and hope to formally organize a group of interested men at BU. While chapters tend to be smaller in the NE, and it can be difficult to work with the admins at some of the schools (look no further than Colgate), but most of our NE chapters are doing quite well. Our Hamilton chapter is more successful now than it ever was when we still had our house. We are talking with NYU about coming back to campus next school year. Also, the short distances between schools leads to a fair amount of synergy, as a field rep can visit two or three chapters in the same day. If our plans are all successful, nearly 1/4 of our entire society will be in Mass. and almost 1/2 in the NE.

BTW, KSig kid, I hear that there is a group of men at Brandeis trying to start a KSig chapter. Our guys are friends with some of them. There are also three groups of women looking to start sororities. Deis is going greek like crazy!!!

I hadn't heard that; it would be nice to have another chapter in Massachusetts, as long as it could be sustained at the school.

I've heard some interesting things about BU expansion lately; mainly, that the school isn't all that open to new groups right now, with the party line being that they would like to see the current groups expand and strengthen first. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but it's something to keep in mind (although I'm all for a larger, stronger Greek sytem at the school).

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but what's with the sudden urge to expand for you guys? Part of your charm was the age and exclusivity, so is there some effort to play with the bigger fraternities or is that still a long ways away?

-Rudey

Well, it's not really THAT sudden. We've had an expansion efforts over the last thirty years(my chapter is one), some aimed at restarting old chapters (ala NYU and Harvard) and some at schools that meet the same standards as our existing chapters' hosts. While three-four projects is a bit aggressive for us, it doesn't mean that will be the next SAE or TKE:) (no disrepect intended) Many of us would like to see some geographic gaps filled(Purdue and/or Indiana to bridge our Ohio and Illinois chapters for instance) and some old chapters restarted. Even if we doubled in size we still would only be fiftyish chapters big.

Over the years Fraternitys did or did not expand for what ever reasons.

When I started BX Local, I sent letters to many of what I considered Old Line Fraternitys.

The rejections were pretty much the same. Thank You, but We are not expanding at the time.

I still have a letter from SN where i was invited to talk with them at Their Convention in Kansas City. Kansas came up with a law that any Fraternity that had a White only Clause were not going to be allowed to expand in the state.

At this time, LXA, TX, and TKE were in expansion modes by varing degrees.

This was in the Mid Sixtys to give an idea of time frame.

LXA was suggested to Me by a member of GC who was the Advisor of the TKE Chapter and all I can say, the rest is Hisory and have been a Proud Member of LXA for 40 Years now.

The Union Triad have always been slower to expand than the Miami Triad. Them some others are still reluctant to expand even today and that is their pergative.

There is even today a small National that split off of the Merger of PHI SIGMA EPSILON and PHI SIGMA KAPPA!

It depends on what each GLO feels comfortable with and what they want to do.

The one I mentioned above and KDRho.

in reviewing...
 

I have noticed, pleasantly, in the last coupla years, a revival of
interest in the East which I'd criticized in the past. I especially
think outfits like Alpha Delt are classy and would hope they would
come to the midwest and prairie states to re-introduce manners.
The Dakotas are a greek wasteland and Colorado is an outright
embarrassment. Yep, change is a comin' and I do not know why or where or when, but it is certainly welcome.
Housing will be vastly different, but today's kids do not seem to
know how to keep a clean house ('cept in the South). Revivals
are indeed going like crazy, TKE getting back about 15 a year plus
an occasional new one. I am putting virtually all my efforts in the
reactivation mode, quite different than colonizing a new chapter.
There are a few moribund chapters (dormant ones) which could
well be revived and teach us all a few things.
But, Kappa Sig says with pride, not every man can wear the pin.

Very Well Put!:cool:

As Erik and I go back many years, We have both seen the Dead Periods and the Revival Periods.

But as We both beleive, if one does not grow, one will pass away.

There are more than LXA and TKE who today beleive it is a two pronged expansion.

1. Recolonizing.
2. Expanding to New Campi.

While some are more meticulous than others, that is the better way to go. Find a place that is receptive or dont go. You will not last long if You dont.:(