24 & pursuing PhD - fraternities?
 

Hi,
I'm a new member on this forum. I'd like to join a fraternity, but I'm 24 and I'll be doing a PhD. I was wondering which fraternities would accept me.
Regards,
Rob

There's no master list of Ph.D. accepting fraternities. You're going to have to get that information from members of the GLOs on your campus.

Just be sure you'll be comfortable with 1) the time commitment and 2) the fact that 18-20 year olds will be "in charge"

I see. Is it possible that I may get hazed by 18-20 year olds? I think this may become an issue if I teach, like a lot of PhD candidates do.

It could happen. If you're being hazed, though, your Greek Life office should have resources to report what's going on.

I'm not afraid of getting "hazed". Most hazing incidents are nothing but antics blown out of proportion in the media. University administrations also tend to blow them out of proportion, unfortunately. This is why I may be at risk of getting fired/kicked out of the PhD program if it gets out. But this is an extreme situation.

Would there be particular fraternities/schools that would accept me?

Extreme or not, if the organization is hazing and gets found out, it's going to cause a shit storm for pretty much everyone involved.

And no, there are no organizations or schools that lean toward pledging grad students. Like I said, this is something that has to be discussed with members of the organizations at whatever school you end up at. I do hope that you pick a school based on how it's going to help you in your academic pursuit and not based on how easy it is to get into a GLO.

What would be considered them being in charge rather than hazing?

Think of it like having a boss who's younger than you. Some people can deal with that, some people can't.

I don't think I'd have a problem with that. I'm just wondering what would be acceptable behavior -- them being in charge -- and what would be reprehensible?

QFI

What does that mean?

Oh for fucks sake. Any 24 year old PhD candidate who has even a passing thought of joining a fraternity needs to see a shrink. No one wants to play beer pong with the old dude who's going to be conducting their lecture at 7:40 the next morning. Really. Grow up.

*And yeah, I know it's a troll but still feel the need to lay it out there for any future dullards who might do a search on this topic.*

My one point of contention with this would be to mention that a 24 year-old PhD candidate considering joining a fraternity through the traditional means (i.e. rush/undergraduate membership) needs a shrink. But then again, my fraternity is fairly open to alumnus initiates.

ETA: If we're going to make general statements for future dullards.

His other posts in the RM forum talk about wanting to move into a fraternity house. He wants to be an active.

And I forgot to mention what a sorority girl magnet the old dude is going to be. But at least the pledge class will have someone legal to buy their beer.