It's kind of funny...
 

Was up at the old stomping grounds today, Umass-Amherst. A lot has changed, but so much has stayed the same.

I remember about 1.5-2 years ago a group of alumni got together to try to restart Gamma Zeta. They had about 300 names of alumni willing to donate time and money to get it started.

HQ was aware of this and replied that the "climate" at Umass-Amherst wasn't right, that the greek system was "on the decline". That there was "no chance" of a successful recolonization effort and that we shouldn't waste our time.

The disheartened group of alumni bought into that argument.

It's kind of funny.......

I remember about 5 months ago in the spring reading an article about Pike coming back to the Umass campus in Spring of 07. It was a basic article about the start up of a new Pike chapter at Umass. 7 years ago Pike had been thrown off campus for some, well let's just say severe illegal activity. They continued for several more years after that operating as an underground chapter with success.

Anyways, I was talking to my friend who was an alumni of Pike. He said he was involved in their recolonization, that they wanted to do it "the right way" and not relive their troubled past....kinda like what we alumni wanted.

Anyways, they started recolonization just LAST semester, Spring 07.

Today I drove by the old Gamma Zeta house.

Guess who is the new inhabitant? Pike....with about 50 guys.

It's kind of funny....

I guess our HQ forgot to tell Pike that Umass-Amherst greek life was "dead".

I thought the house was torn down?

Nope. Not yet at least.

Bunch of new fraternities have begun colonization at Umass. Huge push during the first weekend, doing very well I hear.

Guess they didn't get the memo.

Disheartening isn't it?:(

Need I say anymore?

That sucks. Had a little pain in my stomach when i read your post. Sometimes it seems nationals can't get out of its own way. Well hopefully we'll be back some day.

Who is in charge of expansion? What did he say regarding re-colonization at UMass?

Several of the alumni have gotten responses from different levels of HQ, that HQ didn't believe/or supported the idea it could be done at Umass. Why? I don't know other than what I have mentioned.

I personally talked to a "higher up" in a phone call about two months ago. He said there would be no greek area at Umass in the near future and that "there is no possibility that Gamma Zeta will ever be recolonized at Umass." Stupid me, I bought into it.

I just KNOW that if we were given the chance, just a CHANCE, that the Gamma Zeta house would have LXA's in it right now.

All the alumni were asking of HQ was an "ok" to try it. No financial support. No employee resources. No contributions.

Just an opportunity to see if we could get it started again.

We had a pretty good spark. I truly believe we could have had a fire started by now.

It just made me a little sad to see a fraternity, less than a year old at Umass, being successfully recolonized, and in our house. Pike and LXA aren't that different, especially at Umass.

The alumni group had some serious backing; partners at major law firms in Boston, real estate tycoons, even a general manager of an NFL team.

Do not lose heart.

Get some of these high profile Alumni to contact IHQ.

I think it may stem as we have talked about one person who who was not for it. It maybe the same hold over from that.

It would be great to see Gamma Zeta return as is such a big part of our history.

HQ is aware of the high profile alumni support.

I don't think that HQ is going to change their minds either, no matter how much evidence, support or proof is provided. We've been trying for years.

Pike isn't the only new successful fraternity at Umass either. There have been several others. HQ has simply decided to not acknowledge the possibility of recolonization.

It is sad, but that's the way it is. At least I know that the blame will no longer fall on the alumni of Gamma Zeta for lack of a new colony.

Pike is a great fraternity, but I think we are better than Pike. I think we have more to offer than any other fraternity. I think we give the most opportunity for success. I think with those factors, we should be able to out recruit any other fraternity. HQ doesn't seem to think so.

Brother Gamma, I know you are down right now about your chapter but hey, one day your chapter is gonna be a jammin like this again....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI-y4sxmiLE

In ZAX, Brother....

Zeta Phi 708

Thank you. I'm not so much down about no longer having a chapter. I have accepted a long time ago that the continuing friendships I have built is better than any physical chapter.

I'm down because of a missed opportunity. I met a few of the new Pikes while walking around campus during move-in last weekend. Great guys. The type of guys that LXA looks for. They should have been wearing purple, green and gold. That's what really got me down.

Thanks for all the pm's of support guys.

It was especially nice to know that Gamma Zeta was not the only chapter to get totally screwed by HQ.

Seems that by all your pm's, HQ refuses to acknowledge facts and the truth and makes most decisions based on chapter status by using personal vendettas, illusions and outright lies.

It really gets me down when I see Pike starting their "10,000 by 2010" campaign (or something like that) and here HQ pisses away about a dozen different opportunities for recolonization.

The thing is, WE CAN DO BETTER! I don't see why we can't have a campaign that will help us get our average chapter membership nationwide to 100 men.

Gamma Zeta may be lost. But I'll be damned if I let it happen to another chapter. If any brothers in New England need a helping hand, LET ME KNOW!