Can one join another fraternity if they are deactivated?
 

This has been a topic of heated debate in my House; whether you can "de-pledge"or "expelled" from a House after you are initiated and go join another one.

Everything I've heard and been told by my family and elder Greeks is the answer is no. If you get kicked out or decide you don't want to do it anymore, you are pretty much S.O.L.

The problem is, we have a Brother who has serious personal issues (many beyond his control) and rather than try to support and help him, the guys are thinking they would much rather just expel him and a few guys are saying, "Well, he can always join another House," despite my protests that he couldn't, even if he wanted to.

I just wanted to clarify this and use it as proof as to why we should keep and support the Bro in question, rather than expel him as being a "sh!tty bro."

Thanks. I know it sounds like a stupid question, but it has been bugging me.

You certainly can't "de-pledge" after you've been initiated.

I don't think any national fraternity would accept a person who has been initiated into another -- even if it was not the persons own decision to leave.

I think there's an underlying problem with a chapter that will expel a brother... I thought the purpose of brotherhood was to support each other? if this guy is experiencing hard times that AREN'T his fault, I think the rest of the chapter needs to shut up and support him, they'd ask no less.

What sort of numbers do you need to expell someone? I think in my chapter it has to be unanimous.

actually i know of a case where a guy was initiated into one house, dropped, and joined another. i know it can happen, but i'm pretty sure both sets of nationals has to approve it. obviously i don't know all the logistics, but it can happen. however, i think it's probably pretty rare.

on a side note, i agree with phoenix

With regard to NIC (and similar fraternities,) it goes like this.

If a man
1) resigns,
2) and that resignation is accepted from that fraternity's appropriate (inter)national body in writing,
3) then there are no (inter)national rules of any fraternity, of which I'm aware, that would prevent him from joining another fraternity

Such circumstances are very rare, but it happens.

Locally, most fraternities would be very hesitant to pledge such a man, but it wouldn't be because of (inter)national rules.

If a man joins one fraternity, doesn't properly resign, and then joins another, if he is exposed, he will be expelled from both.

There's a few threads that really got into this, they might be a good resource for you. It seems to vary by NIC org.

Thank you for the replies. Just as I thought. I will continue to be an advocate for my Brother's continued membership.

Even I get fed up with crap and want to leave from time to time, but I worked hard for this and I'm going to stick by my House and my Brothers, no matter what.

this is really interesting. I'm aware that once you join a sorority, there is NO WAY you can join another, even after disaffiliation.

This is only true for NPC and NPHC sororities.

This universally applies to NPC [added: and NPHC] orgs. Once you initiate into an NPC, you are not longer eligible to join another NPC. NIC rules vary by org; there is no universal rule on the matter. But I do agree with the above posts- the brotherly, couragious thing to do here is to stick with your brother and help him through this.

Good Luck...

I once posted about a frined of mine who was initiated into two different NPC sororities at FSU in the 80s. She resigned from one, and she was recruited by the professional staff of another that was colonizing at FSU. This sorority's staff knew that she had been initiated.

Another fine example showing that despite the strictness of many of our rules, they are not universally enforced or followed. I am sure there are many examples of this.

Despite the heated exchanges on GC over this issue, the simple fact is that there are no GLO police scrutinizing the nation's chapter roles to look for duplicate names... Your decision to follow your org's rules is largely your own responsibility.

Rumor has it that the UN will perform this role, and that Belgium and Japan have volunteered troops. ;)

Co-sign one 1) and 2), but I think there are some fraternities that do prohibit knowingly pledging a man who had joined another fraternity, even if his resignation had been accepted by that other fraternity. I stand to be corrected by a member, but my understanding from past threads is that Kappa Sigma (which, of course, withdrew from the NIC) has such a policy. It is also my understanding that in SAE, approval higher than the chapter level is required.