Quote:
Originally posted by bolingbaker
I don't remember who made the statement, but he's correct. There were a number of old line national fraternities that dominated the scene in the 19th Century. The most well known, the most prestigeous names were fraternities like Zeta Psi, Psi Upsilon, Chi Psi, Sigma Phi, Delta Psi, DKE and others. Those fraternities fell back into relative obscurity in the face of furious and aggressive expansion by Beta Theta Pi, SAE, Sigma Chi and Phi Delta Theta. In some cases, Psi Upsilon for instance, the national organization simply decided to not provide leadership, and let each chapter basically fend for itself. Going into the turn of the century, those four (Betas, SAEs,etc) began to assert their dominance. DKE remained strong through the 1960s, but has since fallen away. DKE still has a few spectacular chapters, and they are a feisty national, willing to take on legal challenges that effect all of us. But DKE probably fell further than anyone else based on their exalted national status in 1900.
So, to say that "Chi Psi imploded" is not meant (I'm certain) to be critical of a particular chapter. The writer was just stating the truth, which is that Chi Psi was once a grand national that has now very nearly desappeared as a competitive force.
Once again, the "rankings" supplied by Heller were never meant to be used as a basis for speaking to rushees. They are tools that allow leaders to see where their house stands within the competitive environment. There are plenty who don't care to compete at all. All the better for those who do. The history of the fraternities is instructive as to what happens to those who do not recognize the competitive nature of the system. Chi Psi serves as a pointed example of that principle.
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again, you express it well...
unless the dear readers have read Heller or Baird's, or the histories of the varied groups, it is indeed hard to follow what
we have been saying. There are individual chapters on campi
which have experienced great successes. I am sure you can
find a strong Zeta Psi chapter somewhere outside of Canada...
We are not trying to hurt feelings, and those who feel bruised
simply do not understand and obviously are unwilling to do the
homework necessary to follow along. Sorry, we did not take you
to raise.
That S. Carolina president of Chi Psi likely knew little history of
the Chi's when he joined...this in no way detracts from him being a darling or a friend...We are discussing organizations, leadership, planning, salesmanship, things a good outfit ought
to teach. We have become a bit more than Mark Hopkins on one end of the log. We are now somewhat with a trade school mentality trying to fit into a once-elitist concept. There are a lot
in college who do not belong, and further, tsk, tsk, fellow Greeks
look at your lousy grades...are we still getting the leaders?