[boz130]

The "top-tier" theory works...to an extent. At Illinois State, we've had a large influx of new GLOs (male and female) since I left Normal in 1977. Most of the houses came to campus in the mid-1980's-early 1990's.

At the time I graduated, our Lambda Chi chapter could've been considered "top-tier" because of numbers, as could a few other chapters on campus. In the years that have followed, though, things changed for some of the fraternities.

Due to various factors (primarily the type of individuals that were recruited), some of the "top-tier" houses have now fallen upon hard times. Risk management issues have reared their ugly heads in every chapter on campus.

They've been a factor at LCA/ISU, and it's been a long, hard struggle. However, the chapter is back in that aforementioned tier. The current officers even came up w/the idea of sending their parents a newsletter 2x/year...smart officers, eh?

In some instances the biggest (and many would argue best) chapters have now been suspended or have left campus entirely. A few fraternities are just now staging a comeback.

I think it's extremely important that the alumni be made aware of what's going on w/the chapter when they receive their annual/semi-annual/quarterly newsletter. By the same token, it's even more important for them to find out how their buddies are doing, so each newsletter should include a healthy dose of "Alumni News/Notes".

In my work w/various chapters I've seen instances where alumni take a great deal of pride in their membership and come back to Homecoming in droves. During one memorable Homecoming weekend I remember watching a chapter holding a pig roast on their front lawn, complete with a tent and band.

The guys I was visiting were throwing some frozen burgers on the Weber and watching the fraternity across the street in awe (maybe it was shock AND awe).

I'd love to find out what it is that's kept the pig roasters alumni coming back each year...if I get the chance I'll share the info here.

I hope we can keep this dialogue going! I'm taking copious notes.

Thanks-
Bill F.