Rush at Mississippi State
 

Alright so I'm going to be starting my freshman year at Mississippi State soon and I want to pledge but I'm coming from New Jersey and I see that practically all the brothers are from Mississippi or neighboring states and so far I've seen none from any northern states. Am I going to have a hard time getting a bid? Do you think I'm going to find it more difficult to find a home in a frat?

Fraternity.

edit: There's a kid from Jersey in Phi Delt here, but Miss St. is another animal.

You can rush but they are going to look down upon northerners there. Read my rush mistakes thread and you should learn a lot.

Unless you come across as a southerner who for some reason was stuck up north, yeah, cracking the good houses is going to be tough. State goes beyond being a "southern" campus, it's a redneck school.

Believe it or not, at my fraternity's convention, I actually met a bunch of decent kids from Ms. State. I am from a northeastern chapter and they were very cool and somewhat curious as to how things went up north.

Well you have to be cordial at national gatherings.

by the way nate, i downloaded that Better than Ezra song.. I had never heard it before...pretty good stuff. I like the fact that he goes "Sarah was a Kappa from Tulane"... I think that's pretty southern...to say she's a "XYZ" from a certain college instead of saying what major or anything else about her.

This is my new signature!

Kevin Griffin has written a few Southern songs -- Southern Girl, A Southern Thing, and King Of New Orleans -- He has been through a lot too, and really writes his songs based off his experiences --pledging a fraternity, his friend committing suicide and just the way he grew up.

Oh, absolutely. They were more then cordial though, we went out with them one night and got absolutely belligerant, very cool down to earth guys. Then again we were very different then other northern chapters represented that week. We spent our whole trip with the southern guys because some of the northern chapters were a straight up embarassment, with one or two exceptions.

You've seen the light, son

It's how I feel when I go to the nationals gatherings.

The SEC schools are usually the only ones worthwhile to hang out with though there are always exceptions.

I am a student at Mississippi State and a member of ATO. First, yes the south is its own place that is for sure. But don't knock the school until you know a little bit about it. There are a bunch of northern people in fraternities and sororities here. We don't look down upon you just because your from the north, that is for sure. There are rednecks everywhere you go. My family has a house in Michigan and there are the same kind of rednecks there that there are here at MSU.

In response to Brendan; the ATO house has its doors open and would like to invite you over as soon as you move in on the 9th. My name is Joel and if you are interested in more info about ATO and greek life here at state I would be happy to help. Please let me know if you need anything at all Brendan.

Joel Verdon
ATO Epsilon Epsilon

What is the deal with douche bag chapters recruiting on GreekChat!??

I didn't realize MSU even had that many guys from anywhere but MS, but you have to be careful with rushing at State, a lot of my high school friends went there and state does not have that many strong chapters, it's like the big 2 and everybody else... or at least that's the way it's represented at Ole Miss.

I think its just that ATO chapter, cause if you go look at the ATO guys website, it'll tell all.

Aw, come on now, leave 'em alone. I did look at their site and hey, I saw sperries and croakies and polos and khakis and collared shirts and even guys shooting guns. So that passes the mustard, right? And they always seem to have cute girls around them so they can't be doing too bad. If he wants to make a rushee feel welcome to come by during rush, then more power to them. That's called opportunistic marketing, not a bad thing for an organization in a competitive market seeking growth, and skills he'll use later in life. Go on about your business there, ATO, good work, don't let the fratties at other schools get you down.

I, also, saw hilfiger polos, cargo shorts, and big sausage fest on a water slide.

LOL. See? Different audience, different prism, I guess.


ETA: I also meant to put in my post above that they seem to do a lot of service and philanthropy, which is commendable. I'm not sure where that falls on the "fratty" scale, but regardless, it's impressive and it's what groups with manpower and brainpower should be doing, in addition to being awesome and revered and dressed right and all that.

Whatever happened with ATO at State?

Yes, I've seen the thread. :confused: Are you trying to equate the "nationals and their awards are useless" with my statement that a group of healthy, able and fortunate young people are right to put that combined power to good use for their fellow man? Because I think they're two different things. Not caring about your national's policies or end-of-year awards has nothing to do with giving a group credit for contributing something. And to try to make that seem "uncool" would reflect poorly on those doing so.

As far as service. A chapter can win every accolade possible, but at the end of the day, they could still be a group of social misfits.

Since we're quoting me, I'll chime in on this. Doing community service isn't what makes a chapter good, and it doesn't make a chapter bad.

Most/all IFC houses weren't formed to be community service groups (I know some other groups are, but that's not what we're discussing), so no, performing community service isn't one of the big things to judge them on.

On the other hand, as a man of character, you should see some responsibility to do something benefiting the community, particularly if it is something as easy as getting drunk and going to a philanthropy event where the $5 you pay to get in and the $12 you pay for a t-shirt go to a good cause.

Balancing the two, yes, it is possible to be a top-tier house and not participate in community service, and no, doing a lot of community service will not make up for other short-comings with a house.

So to conclude, if you feel that it is your responsibility to do something good for your community, you should probably do it for the good attention it brings to you if nothing else, but no it is not at all one of the things that defines what houses are top-tier.

This is what I was talking about.

Not this -
or this -
I'm not assigning "tier" to anything service-related, just pointing out that doing good for your fellow man is a good thing no matter what, and while it may not make someone 'cooler' in your eyes, it certainly shouldn't make them 'less cool'. And the next time one of you bristles in your ultra-conservative views at the idea of the government using taxes to fund agencies to provide human services and gives the argument that private citizens can donate directly and provide those services themselves, I'm going to remind you that you have a house full of healthy, smart and apparently well-off guys that could be out there making a difference and showing the government how it could privatize social services.

And one last thought, I get why you guys go after others that go after you, your school, your region of the country, your dress code, etc., but why go after a chapter at a school other than yours that has nothing to do with you or your brotherhood and who didn't come on and say something untoward first? We get the tier thing, really, we do. And everyone knows it's awesome at the top and all that, but keep in mind, there'd be no "top tier" without the other tiers to compare it to. So just because you're where you want to be doesn't mean the other guys aren't where they want to be, because they obviously wouldn't do well with you guys in your houses anyway. But why spit off the balcony for sport? (and yes, Nate, I'm talking to you)

I see.

To brendan10013, do not be afraid to rush at Miss State. I am well acquainted with the greek system and know many of the people involved. While many of the Greeks there are from MS and the surrounding states, you have to take into account that the majority of the student body is from that area so naturally many of the greeks are local. The best advice I could give you is go in with an open mind. If you have crackerbarrel's mentality that it is a redneck school, then I would have to say that your chances are slim. Who would want to pledge someone with that attitude? If you are a cool guy and are genuinely interested in going greek, I really think you will have no problem finding your place in the greek system.