[lifesaver]

(We sit next to each other at GA - Ya'll good peeps.)

1) Pas the candle (tom calle dit pass the gavel) At least everyone is on the same page. If you think its a serious problem - thorn and rose. PM me for the details on that. Gurantee that by the end of it everyone will be huging. Very emotional. Shared emotional experiences bring people together.

2) Ya dont need a house. They are great and help facilitate interaction and brotherhood, thay are not the reason for it. Dont believe me? Go ask UCF. 120+ men and NO HOUSE.

3) Crack open the Phi Manual. Nothing in there about workshops you can do to bring everyoen toghether. "Cause its not in there. Its simple really. Have the brothers spend time together. Not at required functions, whatehave you.. Try calling EVERYONE up on a friday night and having them come over for a movie, or go to one, or go on a road trip to a brothers hometown a few hours awar, or do a brotherhood retreat where all yall go to a beach/lake house, do some brotherhod bonding (Candle pass, open ritual workshop, ZAX jeopardy or Get to know your brothers game (PM ME for this one - good stuff)) then cook dinner together (BBQ always a fave with us Texas boys), then sit outside on the dock or deck and kick back a few beers. Shoot the shit and spend soem time together where its just YALL. No chicks, no jobs, no high zeta planning, no pressure. Get the hell outta town and leave it all behind.

We just did this 3 weeks ago. A bunch of us (not as a chapter function,) went to a brothers guest ranch on the border, did some hard work digging ditches for his parents, had dinner, a candle pass then went to Mexico for a nite of fun. Not everyoen drank, didnt have to, but we decided its what we wanted to do and have a blast. We did have fun too. (*Of course getting your drink on in another country then having to get back across the border post sept 11 may not be in 100% accordance with Risk Mgmt policies) but most of us grew up here and are old pros at it - We were within gwalking distance of the border as well - so it was ok. Anyway, the point is that the road trip was a blast (the facilities were great and I have a ton of new memories with my brothers.)

Key is this: Spend time together. You'll be closer. You all can do laundry together. Play PS together. throw the football together. Pull a prank, go camping, rock climbing, ropes course, hell I dunno, but do stuff together. The bros will remember how much fun they had with each other and why they rushed in the first place. They'll feel better about the brotherhood, and be better able to sell the org this fall during recruitment as well.

Good luck man. I know what its like. We were there 4 years ago. Now a strong chapter. It can and will change. Jsut remember, "Naught Without Labour."

ZAX
lifesaver

PS: When you want to give up think of these two anecdotes: 1) I was Delta in Summer of 1996. We were abou tto be closed. I couldnt attend one more stupid Freshman Orientation. (Had already done about 30 that summer with abysmal results.) Tory stopped by the office I was working out of on campus (the IFC office) as rush chair and asked my why I wasnt setting up the table. I told him how burned out I was and was sick of it. He promised to go with me and heled me set up. I begrudgingly went and there met three people who would change my life and the direction of our zeta. a, my little brother who went on to become alpha. b, a brother who went on to become a SAC delegate and I am convinced will eventually be a GHZ member, and c, the best Delta we everhad who later helped sign 30 am's.

2) Warren A. Cole had sent out 108 letters (hand typed) to college groups across the country with no respoince or declined invitations. Had he stopped there, we'd all be Sig Eps, or TKE's (egad). But he decided to do a few more. Letter #109 went to a buddy of his brother's at Penn who had a buddy named Jack Mason.

DONT GIVE UP.

PS#2: Just because you are a recent initiate of LXA doesnt mean you dont understand whats up or see the whole pict. I have known members who were in for 4 years and were never like brothers. And I have known AM's who were in for 3 weeks and were like brothers. Former G.H.Gamma George McDaniel once told us at Leadership seminar that Ritual is a function of timing. If your brothers are living their lives by the principals it sets forth, the new members (AM's) know Ritual. They just dont know they know. Because they see it in the way you and your brothers carry yourselves. Thats why after initiation you understand that it was right there in front of you the whole time. You KNEW it, you just didnt know you did. I like to think of it as thats the reason I rushed. I liked what I saw - in the members - and their behavior. OK... I am rambeling now. Hopefully this helped. I am going to eat now. (sounding like Tom - always mentioning dinner....)