What happened to my thread about fraternities?
 

I thought that thread had a lot of questions and answers about fraternities and it was very helpful for me and probably other ones who were thinking of joining fraternities. I don't know why that thread got deleted though. :confused: I don't remember seeing anything offensive or illegal in that thread. :confused:

Why is it that when there are 1000s of threads about sororities and I open 1 thread about fraternities my thread gets deleted?

Not sure there, but lets go ahead and continue it here. It's possible that when you weren't looking someone posted some crap in it.

By the way, we're totally cool with you asking fraternity questions, the only difficult part is that there isn't a universal standard for fraternity recruitment (like formal recruitment for NPC sororities) but people will give you the best advice they can. AND use judgement in what you believe.

I totally agree with you. I just wish there was one big thread about fraternities where all the questions and answers are combined together so whenever someone had a question he could ask it in that thread and also read the other answers as well. Then we wouldn't need to open a number of new threads for new questions. :)

They'll delete 90% of the things you write, offensive or not.

That would be a collective YOU meaning you the fratties. He's not included in the fratties.

Well, rename this one Fraternity Rush and if we make it worthwhile we could get a sticky.

I'm actually of the opinion that this forum could use a "Fraternity Rush" subforum, as the few fraternity-oriented threads seem to get pushed out very quickly by the overwhelming quantity of sorority discussions.

I think you might get a thread sticky...but there wouldn't be enough activity to warrant an actual sub-forum.

Can anyone explain the difference between formal recruitment and informal recruitment once more? I think sororities usually use formal recruitment while fraternities use informal recruitment.

Formal recruitment is extremely structured with parties lasting a certain length of time and each PNM visiting a specific house at a specific time. There's then a structured method of winnowing down PNMs and houses until you reach bid day.

Informal recruitment is "hey come with us to Hooters/ski trip/movie night etc." and then you hit a point where you specifically are invited back and voted on and potentially extended a bid.

Also, at some schools, there is no bid day. Some southern schools have almost their entire pledge classes before formal rush even starts.

Forgot to mention: you're right, sororities (NPC) use formal recruitment once a year, but some may use informal recruitment throughout the year to get even more girls.

Fraternities use informal, sometimes as informally as shinerbocks above and some do it strictly during the 2 or 3 weeks of fraternity rush.

I imagine however if you're rushing in california, you'll have some sort of bid night. I can't imagine a state school in california would have such an informal rush.

Thanks for the helpful information. How about advantages and disadvantages of both styles of recruitment? Which one is more rushee-friendly?

here is what the website says, so i think they are not very formal:

That doesn't sound too bad at all. I think informal rushing is the best for both rushees and brothers. Here are a couple reasons...

1) Informal rush is more laid back, and often less hectic. Brothers usually just hang out with you, rather than feeling like they have to meet every rushee in a certain period of time so that they can vote on you.

2)Similar to above, it is much easier to get to know a guy at a ballgame, a band party, at the beach, etc...You can't really tell who a guy is when he's in coat and tie and nervous. Its much easier when you're hanging out drinking beer.

3) Informal rushing allows rushees to consider more fraternities, and for fraternities to give out more bids. Some schools treat fraternities almost like sororities. They try and match the two up, rather than letting fraternities bid anyone and everyone they want. The way we rushed was to have events all over the southeast throughout the summer, and give bids whenever we found somebody we liked. I don't think you'll have a problem with this, since they can bid that entire week, but you'll have to move faster. In really relaxed rush systems, you can get a bid in July and hold until school starts if you want.

That's very cool. Thanks again!

A word of caution, in the age limit thread you said you were planning to rush all 16 fraternities. While I understand that you want to check out every fraternity and see what each has to offer, this can be overwhelming and extremely time consuming. My school has 14 fraternities, and I don't really know of any guys who rushed more than maybe three or so, but that's not to say that there aren't guys who have done this. But all school are different. Also, rush events tend to overlap from fraternity to fraternity, since each org. is in charge of their own recruitment. I would recomend doing a little bit of preliminary work and finding out a bit about each chapter,Find out what reputations each group has and determine whether or not those are the kinds of guys you want to hang out with. Then cut a few from your list, you don't have to cut that many, but just ask yourself, how many events do you think it would be possible for you to attend?

You are right but what if I rush to, lets say 5, fraternities and don't get a bid? Maybe the 6th fraternity was going to offer me a bid. :) I want to try my chances at as many places as possible so that I can get myself a bid from somewhere. :)

This makes you sound like you just want to join any fraternity that will have you? :confused:

People say it's very hard to get a bid when you are 22 years old and a junior at college so I'll have to settle with whoever recruits me. Who knows maybe i'll end up at a good place, or maybe not. We'll see. :)

Well, she is right to a degree. You don't wanna rush everywhere, it is a time waster and makes you look pathetic. If we have kids who are really house hopping, they usually are kinda...how do I say this...like flounder from animal house. Basically, they're way too excited to be rushing. Just save yourself the time and find out what houses to avoid beforehand. Now some on here will tell you not to count anybody out, etc, but thats just up to you. Personally, I would not wanna rush one of the fraternities with the worst campus reputation, but decide for yourself. That being said, I also don't think its wrong to have a "I'll go where they bid me" mentality. Now I don't know if I could do that at your school, but at mine the fraternities were all pretty good (based on what I like in a fraternity). Thus, I would have decided that a middle tier fraternity was better than being a GDI. So just scope out the scene and decide for yourself.

Maybe I'll get a bid from one of the best places who knows. :)

I have to reiterate what shinerbock said, it's usually best to find out what some of the house's reputations are before you go. If a house has a terrible reputation, chances are that you don't want to be a part of their fraternity. Rushing a fraternity where you don't feel like you fit in is usually just wasting time. If you don't feel like you fit in, chances are they feel the same way and won't extend a bid to you. Thusly, if you find out what fraternities you want to avoid before hand, you'll save youself a lot of time.

If you still decide to rush every fraternity on campus, you will find there are some chapters you just don't mesh with, no one can fit in with every fraternity on campus. If you don't feel comfortable somewhere, don't waste your time. Cross them off your list. Do you really want to hang out with guys that are completely different from you and feel like an outsider? You shouldn't just be thinking, "Will these guys give me a bid?" You also have to ask yourself, "Do I fee comfortable around these guys? Are these the kind of guys I would like to call my brothers?" These are the same questions the fraternites will be asking themselves.

I understand. Maybe I should visit every house once and then take notes about them and eliminate some of them before visiting houses for the second time. I also would like to eliminate those houses who haze harshly.

There goes all the cool houses.

I'd say check out DU, LXA, Phi Psi, Sig Ep, Sig Pi and Theta Chi.

:confused: I thought they didn't haze harsly in most californian fraternities :confused:

Thanks.

I wouldnt know. However, in my experience, the houses which make a big deal out of not hazing, generally suck. But like I said, I don't know how it is in CA.

On the other hand, what is good about checking out all the houses is that you're keeping your options open. I had a friend who went through fraternity rush this past spring, he rushed several fraternities and had his heart set on one of the lower-tiered fraternities. He was extended a bid from another, middle-tiered fraternity, but turned it down in hopes he would get a bid from his top choice and never got one, and thusly was fraternity-less.

But what do you exactly mean by hazing? I am fine with anything as long as it doesn't harm me physically. I don't mind wearing weird clothes, cleaning bathroom....etc.

Listen, despite what people on here would have you believe, most hazing doesnt involve you getting hit. It may involve you working hard, breaking a sweat doing yard work, etc...The most physical things our pledges did was conditioning for football. I mean, its tough, but it has a point.

I'm fine with all that. There are a lot of stories about hazing but most of those stories don't have a basis i think.

Other types of hazing would depend on how much drinking you want and are willing to do. From my experience at San Diego, the hazing meant drinking a lot having to wake up early to clean the brothers beach houses, getting smoked out, and taking care of personal favors from the brothers. There are houses that make a big deal out of hazing, and there are others who won't tolerate hazing but it doesn't mean that they suck. Most likely, there was an event in the past that forced the issue and strong anti-hazing sentiment

I have never seen the whole "you have to drink this much" thing. I think most situations like that are fun, and you're just chugging beer or something. Its not like you having to stop means getting kicked out or being punished. Most likely it'll result in brothers going "ohhhhhh, we've got a lightweight!" Personal favors are very true, and its fine. Thats pledgeship, lots of tasks and errands. My reason for saying the anti-hazing houses suck, is because they have in my experience. Now there is a difference between houses who make light of hazing "oh its really not bad, we have a national policy," and the houses who make it their main issue "we here at _____ feel hazing degrades the pledge and we never do it." The latter tend to be fraternities desperate for pledges, and the kind who long for strict anti-hazing don't tend to be the guys I'd want. If a guy's number one concern is joining a group that doesnt haze at all, I wouldnt want them in my fraternity. Plus, the guy my fraternity preferred were the ones who knew what they were getting into, new the traditional nature of fraternities, and desired to be a part of that. Guys who are like that generally know what happens during pledgeship to a degree and want to go through it, and those are the guys I would want.

Oh cool. How long does it take? I mean for how long would i need to clean the brothers beach houses? Like everyday for a week or so?

The mornings after any big parties, usually on the weekends until you get initiated. The whole drinking scene I was describing was more like being given a handle or expecting a pledge to drink when you tell him to. There are houses who assure new members that they will not be hazed, i.e., being beaten, forced to drink large amounts of alcohol, or partake in degrading activities.

I bet a lot of rushees end up having no bids.

That depends on several factors, such as how many guys are rushing, how many bids fraternities are willing to give out, and how well certain guys fit in with each fraternity.

Don't sweat it, the best advice anyone can give a rushee is to just be yourself. Try not to worry about getting a bid until rush is over. As long as you talk to the guys and be yourself, you'll have a decent chance. Don't go out of your way to buy fancy clothes or change your hairstyle or put on an act to impress the guys. Believe me, the guys will be able to see through whatever facade you try to put on. Just be yourself, that's the key.