Farmhouse/Acacia?
 

I'm sure if I did some deep searching and ended up tearing my hair out I would answer my questions, but I figured I'd just post and let the members answer them for me.

What are Farmhouse/Acacia... I know theyre Greek orgs without greek letters.. but why?

What made you join these orgs, rather than a a 'typical' GLO?

Are there any differences that come with the different name?

Where are these orgs large? We don't have FH or Aca on our campus, or any around here, as far as I know..


Hope I don't offend anyone with these questions, but it makes me curious, always has, always will. Thanks in advance for any answers you can provide!

-JJ

You can probably just look it up on Wikipedia or their national websites. They are both fraternities, and I believe they are basically the same as other fraternities with Greek letters.

In both respects, yes, they are fraternities. They are named such and not as Greek letters for their origins.

Acacia, starting as brotherhood restricted for Master Mason collegians, I believe, wanted to set themselves apart.

Farmhouse, as the name would suggest, was originally intended for Agriculture majors.

Why people join them today, I cannot answer.

I find that non-personal answers don't normally answer my question, which is why I asked :)

-jj

That makes sense... Thanks nate :]

we used to have farmhouse awhile ago. the were listed on the MU greek life website a couple years back. i think they were on east campus.

------
update:
http://www.farmhouse.org/asu.htm
found the info myself. the wonders of a quick google search.

Triangle is another fraternity without letters. They're specifically for engineering and architecture majors. They have a house here at KU.

Kansas State has both Acacia and Farmhouse. A friend of mine said Acacia was "very Christian" but I'm not sure if that's the nature of the group or just one person's opinion on the members of that chapter.

Wouldn't agriculture majors continue to join? This would explain why Kansas State has a chapter and KU doesn't.

IU has a rather large Acacia chapter - Here's their site.

I found the following in the FAQ on the Virginia Tech FH webite. I felt like it was worth copying and pasting as many won't bother to go to the website.

Both my husband and brother were in FarmHouse and had excellent experiences. If I remember right, FarmHouse only locates (or at least used to locate) at land grant institutions. That's why, for instance, K-State would have one but KU would not.

If anyone is interested, there is quite a bit of historical information on the FarmHouse International website. (just Google FarmHouse.)

I don't know anything about Acacia or Triangle.

FarmHouse FAQ
Q: Why don't you have Greek letters?
A: “Fraternities are accused of breeding snobbishness and exclusiveness, of seeking to cast a glamour over their operations by the use of Greek letters. The FarmHouse in the beginning adopted a name unique because of its originality and significance; striking because of the suggested relationship to the house that is vastly more than a mere building, the house that shelters the greatest and most democratic institution of the Western hemisphere, the American farm home—where the latch-string is always out, where the board is always full, and where hospitality is not gauged by the creed, station, or raiment of the traveler …”
—from the FarmHouse Annual of 1920

Q: Is FarmHouse only for Agricultural majors?
A: Until 1964 to be eligible for membership, one had to study agriculture as a major. While we remain respectful to and hold our agriculture history in high esteem, membership for the last forty years has been open to men of all majors and backgrounds. You will find men from both rural and urban areas studying in virtually every academic field. In our brotherhood we strive for unity through diversity.

Q: Is hazing involved with your new member education program (aka pledgeship)?
A: No. From the beginning our motto concerning hazing has been, "you can't build men by tearing down boys". All parts of our program are suitable to videotape and show parents.

In addition to K-state, FH has a great chapter at Nebraska. They're definitely a top 3 house, and I have a couple really good friends that are FH alums.

With them being one of our biggest competitors, I can confidently say that guys join them for the exact same reasons they join any other house - they like the members, they feel it's the best fit for them, and so on.

There was an Acacia chapter at Nebraska as well, but they recently went under due to lack of numbers. I imagine they'll come back eventually. They really suffered because their house was not on Greek row and about 5 blocks from the edge of campus. They built there because the University Master Plan has been showing that campus would be growing in that direction, but it hasn't moved fast enough to render it a good decision (house was built probably more than 30 years ago...)