Old(er) Traditions
 

What old(er) traditions does your Chapter still follow?

Do you have formal meals each night? Meaning suit and tie.

Do you have a house mother/father/supervisor?

Anything else?

Why and why not?

Do you think it would make your chapter a better place with or without this tradition?

Formal dinner is on Monday nights at 5:30 - this is system wide at Nebraska, every chapter does it, and then follows dinner with chapter meeting. Our chapter is still coat and tie 95% of the time, but other chapters aren't as formal. Apparently the newest tradition from Alpha Tau is "No Pants Chapter" held once a semester or so. This is after my time though. Some of the sororities have "pajama chapter" so I guess it's okay we go pantless.

House director is required as part of our agreement with the University to be considered University-Approved Housing which allows us to house freshmen. We actually have a House Dad though - Big Erv, he's about 6'5" and goes about 375 lbs, and loves to drink really fruity cocktails when at the bars which is hilarious.

We also have a party called Biltmore which has been going on since the 50s. It's an easy thing to get alumni talking about, and to be honest, it sounds like it was way cooler back in the day. Now it's just a regular party except that the pledge class throws it for the active chapter so it's interesting to see their creativity. Way back it was a date party (still paid for and planned by the pledge class), was held in the chapter house and had a "wedding" theme, in which you and your date would enter the house, get engaged, get hitched and so on. There are lots of stories of elaborate slides being constructed down the main stairs and so on. Seems much cooler than just another massive 500 person party.

Definitely think the house is better off for having these sorts of traditions, because they're always the first things alumni ask about, so having them in place fosters connections across the years. My supervising resident in january turned out to be an old Alpha Tau from the early nineties and one of the first things we started talking about was Dynamo stories.

Other traditions of varying length include the annual pledge/active football game (which has caused it's fair share of broken arms and collarbones), Sneaks to nearby and not so nearby Beta Chapters, and a camping party called Dynamo (which has been on hiatus for about 5 years, but supposedly making a comeback this spring).

My chapter in the past year has really made a full scale effort to return to our traditions of song. The actives know pretty much all the songs- when I got to meetings I sometimes don't know all the words they do.

This is a great thing. It not only sets a good tone for chapter meeting, but all the serenading they now do in coat and tie is a chance to show all the sororities they are true gentlemen and will be good stewards of the world in due course.

Most of my life I have rebelled against social custom in many forms, but as I get older I have more appreciation for it- and I welcome and encourage a more formal approach to the Beta experience at my chapter.

Unfortunately, the EA chapter hasn't been around long enough to have too many "traditions".

The only two that come to mind is that we always extend bids to new members at our university's cupola, which sits on the center of our campus. The President always drinks last during the Loving Cup and has to finish what remains after the circle is complete.

I liked the way the ISU recruited. It was modern RUSH standard but included historic patterns.

They looked at guys during the normal fall RUSH and selected a few. I went to a few RUSH events but did not like process and could not gather the information I felt I needed. So I opted not put my name in the draft.

Then in the spring, they looked at guys that were recommended. This is how I found Beta (or Beta found me). I got a knock on my dorm room door. They three members presented themselves in a very nice manner. They explained they knew I opted out of Fall Rush and asked why. They further explained someone recommended me. I asked more questions and they answered honestly (as my plede education proved later on).