Fraternity Rush at Kansas

ThetaDancer · #1 05-12-2008, 01:12 PM

My cousin is a senior in high school and he will be attending Kansas next fall. He's interested in joining a fraternity and has already checked out the websites of the chapters there. Everyone in my family tends to go to the same handful of schools, but no one has ever gone to Kansas so he's not sure what to expect as far as recruitment goes...so I thought I'd ask GCers! If anyone has any insight or helpful information, I would appreciate it! Feel free to pm me. Thanks!

Kevin · #2 05-12-2008, 01:32 PM

The Sigma Nu effort there is a recolonization. They have an amazing alumni base. The chapter house, I hear is pretty remarkable.

BigRedBeta · #3 05-12-2008, 02:34 PM

Chapter houses at KU are all pretty amazing.

Lawrence is a pretty hippy town, though a lot of fun. There's a fair amount of anti-greek sentiment on campus according to a few of the people I know who were in chapters. It's not intolerable but definitely there.

Rush is pretty much done through the summer. and IIRC most freshmen guys will live in the chapter from day one. Pretty laid back. He needs to register with the office of greek life so that his name gets on the lists and such.

Most of the partying is done in the chapter houses. Most of my friends did not join chapters and I definitely heard about it when they guys couldn't follow their girlfriends into parties.

Lawrence is pretty lax on fake id's - some bars more than others for sure, but if he plans on partying, he'd be wise to get a believable fake ID (I've had some experiences when the fakes weren't even believable and I or people I know got in).

SigNuKU · #4 05-23-2008, 03:03 PM

First off, Tell your cousin congratulations for picking KU. Funny enough, I'm a member of the Sigma Nu House which was mentioned above. Everything he said is true, and if your cousin is interested in Sigma Nu specifically then pm me or something and I can definitely give you more info for him.
Here is a website with many helpful items on it.
http://www.kugreek.org/ifc_join.html
It has:
Summer Formal Recruitment Registration Sheet (in case he hasn't signed up yet, the link is on the right of the page)
The IFC recruitment guide (Which includes Bio's of all the houses and an overview of what Formal recruitment schedule is. This link is also on the right)
If there are any more questions let me know!

Tom Earp · #5 05-24-2008, 01:29 PM

K U has a very good greek system with a huge Basket Ball folowing and now even Foot ball is stronger.

The houses are fairly spread out and the campus on big hills! LOL!

Knowing only the LXA house, I have looked at many others there including Male and Female GLOs through their web sites.

His best bet is to look at as many as he can. Ask people on campus what they think of each one considering hazing (yes, it will go on in some) unfortunatly.

Having the largest house or members does not mean it would be the best fit. The members as individuals are the main thing and since most are of National scope that would be a minor item I would feel.

At least Kansas City is near for weekend trips even though Lawerence has a pretty big social area except for the age requirments for any alchohol consumption!

exlurker · #6 06-20-2008, 04:31 PM

Recent June 20 '08 article about fraternity rush at U of Kansas (this is about a "formal" rush with events primarily for potential new members living far from Lawrence, apparently). There's also some info about Sigma Nu's progress in recolonization and pledging:

http://www.kansan.com/stories/2008/jun/20/rush/

Kedzman · #7 06-25-2008, 09:08 AM

I don't want to turn this into a Sigma Nu thread, but hazing is a big issue when considering a fraternity. SN was founded in 1869 as a protest movement to hazing at Virginia Military Institute. Because of our herritage and history, if there is a hint of hazing at a SN chapter, Headquarters will shut them down. That's what happened a few years ago at Kansas.

That being said, Sigma Nu is a fresh organization with new people committed to our founding principles. I think it is fair to say there will be no hazing there. So a new member would have the benefits of a mature chapter alumni backing (going back to 1884 I think) and living in the old governors mansion, yet it is a new organization with a fresh attitude. That will be a good experience for the right young men.

nate2512 · #8 06-25-2008, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedBeta

Lawrence is pretty lax on fake id's - some bars more than others for sure, but if he plans on partying, he'd be wise to get a believable fake ID (I've had some experiences when the fakes weren't even believable and I or people I know got in).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

At least Kansas City is near for weekend trips even though Lawerence has a pretty big social area except for the age requirments for any alchohol consumption!

Tom, there ya go, I made that easy for you. And learn how to spell.

And to the rest of you, how about sending to the biggest rush mistake thread http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=92507, instead of using GC to recruit your members.

PhiGam · #9 06-25-2008, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kedzman

I don't want to turn this into a Sigma Nu thread, but hazing is a big issue when considering a fraternity. SN was founded in 1869 as a protest movement to hazing at Virginia Military Institute. Because of our herritage and history, if there is a hint of hazing at a SN chapter, Headquarters will shut them down. That's what happened a few years ago at Kansas.

That being said, Sigma Nu is a fresh organization with new people committed to our founding principles. I think it is fair to say there will be no hazing there. So a new member would have the benefits of a mature chapter alumni backing (going back to 1884 I think) and living in the old governors mansion, yet it is a new organization with a fresh attitude. That will be a good experience for the right young men.

Not everyone would look upon this as a good thing, especially the fact that your chapter there is a colony (i.e. they are going to suck for 5-10 years.)

banditone · #10 06-25-2008, 02:02 PM

I'd usually agree with you on re-colonization timelines. However, I dont' think it will apply to that chapter. They have some built in advantages.

Should be interesting to watch.

FSUfiji · #11 06-25-2008, 04:07 PM

obviously **looks at his sig**

just pointing out that his example......wasnt a good one

62231 · #12 06-25-2008, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSUfiji

obviously **looks at his sig**

just pointing out that his example......wasnt a good one

I agree, I thought you were responding personally to him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSUfiji

just bc you have a huge house full of 200+ brothers who dont know each other that doesnt mean that you're top tier

exlurker · #13 06-25-2008, 04:20 PM

Recent (June 25, 2008) article about Delta Tau Delta re-colonizing at Kansas. They will be housed, and reportedly met their goal for chapter GPA last semester:

http://www.kansan.com/stories/2008/jun/25/delta/

FSUfiji · #14 06-25-2008, 05:18 PM

well it seems like we have come to the conclusion that just bc you've got trophies, it doesnt mean that you're one of the best. So Theta Dancer....you can tell your brother that when the fraternities start filling his ear full of "we've won this" crap to just let it run out the other ear and actually rush for the right reasons.(ie. if he feels comfortable at the house, gets along with the brotherhood, if they have things that appeal to HIM, etc)

RU OX Alum · #15 06-25-2008, 05:21 PM

winning awards from your inter/nationals doesn't mean anything, positive or negative