Preston's Fall 2009 Fraternity Recruitment

[Preston327]

So, where to begin? Well, I suppose I'll begin at the beginning.

Ever since high school I've wanted to join a fraternity, even though I wasn't really sure what they were/did. I had been duped into believing that fraternities were just greek-lettered drinking clubs, but to teenage high school me that seemed just fine. It wasn't until about second semester of my senior year in high school when I started really examining fraternities closely. What I saw, I liked. Fraternities, it turned out, weren't just about parties; they did philanthropy, were huge sources of school spirit and helped create lifelong bonds between their members. Of course, that all sounded pretty good to me, so I began digging deeper.

Before I go into more detail, allow me to explain a bit about my university. It's a medium-sized school in Florida but not a particularly old one, and most of the GLOs have only been there since the mid-'90s. There's no Fraternity Row either; we're "supposed" to get one by 2011. None of that really mattered to me though; after all, age and houses don't make a fraternity, the people do.

Anyhow, I started looking at the various fraternities and found two that I really liked. I'll call them Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer. Tom Cruise was initially the one I thought I was sure to go with; their facebook portrayed them as the stereotypical "Animal House" and they always seemed to have something going on. I kept Val Kilmer in the back of my mind, but I was sure that come fall I'd be rushing Tom Cruise.

Then, the fall semester started. I was finally in college! I took every opportunity I could to learn about the various organizations, both GLO and otherwise. I made it a point to show up to every event the GLOs did on the housing lawn and try and socialize with some of the members, figuring that rushing was an important decision and I had to check out what everyone had to offer before committing. None of the other GLOs seemed to fit with my personality though, and so it was still the Tom Cruise-Val Kilmer decision with Tom Cruise firmly in the lead.

Over time though, Tom Cruise's lead started lessening. The members, despite being one of the largest chapters on campus, were never around. When they were, their conversations with me seemed to revolve around "we have the best parties with the hottest girls." In addition, the more I held my ear to the ground the more I heard about them, and it wasn't all good. Re-enter Val Kilmer. They had a table set up one day on the covered walkway, and I went over to introduce myself. They all seemed genuinely interested in me as a person and seemed impressed with my goals for school and life in general. A few days later, I got an invitation to the chapter President's labor day party. There I got to meet most of the guys, and it was sealed: I was rushing Val Kilmer.

Rush week is the 21st and I'll be sure to keep this thread going with stories and experiences as much as I can.