Tiers...

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

since 2001, three of the top five fraternities have been kicked off campus.

Sorry, but this sentence made me giggle.

[Firehouse]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

Sorry, but this sentence made me giggle.

No irony here (three of the top five were kicked off) and no hidden message.
All three (SAE, ATO, SigEp) were booted for hazing, and in each case it was a mother who blew the whistle. One huge difference about this generation is that they share everything with their parents, including the details of their hazing. These were magnificent chapters, each in the 120-150 man range. Their loss disrupted the dynamic of the TopTier. Now, the system is stable again after other fraternities grew and took their place.

[banditone]

I couldn't imagine going running to my moms about something like that. Hilarious.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

No irony here (three of the top five were kicked off) and no hidden message.
All three (SAE, ATO, SigEp) were booted for hazing, and in each case it was a mother who blew the whistle. One huge difference about this generation is that they share everything with their parents, including the details of their hazing. These were magnificent chapters, each in the 120-150 man range. Their loss disrupted the dynamic of the TopTier. Now, the system is stable again after other fraternities grew and took their place.

I'm only 26 and find that strange too.

who would tell their mom about what they do with their fraternity??

I hope I'm not considered part of that generation.

/hijack

okay, now for the real question:

What if there are only 12 fraternties, not counting groups that aren't part of IFC? I still think that tiers might exist, but judging by my expierence, it changes every year. I don't want to give specific examples, but it almost seems easier to be good now if you are brand new, as opposed to when we came on and, well, no specific examples, let's just say that being frat#9 when only 8 or so were on campus doesn't lead to the warmest of receptions.

Also, is there a relationship between the founding date of the chapter and the social status/tier of said group?

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

I'm only 26 and find that strange too.

who would tell their mom about what they do with their fraternity??

I hope I'm not considered part of that generation.

/hijack

okay, now for the real question:

What if there are only 12 fraternties, not counting groups that aren't part of IFC? I still think that tiers might exist, but judging by my expierence, it changes every year. I don't want to give specific examples, but it almost seems easier to be good now if you are brand new, as opposed to when we came on and, well, no specific examples, let's just say that being frat#9 when only 8 or so were on campus doesn't lead to the warmest of receptions.

Also, is there a relationship between the founding date of the chapter and the social status/tier of said group?

Absolutely there's a relationship.

Oldest are almost always higher. (or at least have a greater chance of being higher.)

And no, having 12 fraternities does not mean the tiers change. Arkansas has that many and it hasn't changed. The middle switches up a bit but only because of a new house.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

Absolutely there's a relationship.

Oldest are almost always higher. (or at least have a greater chance of being higher.)

And no, having 12 fraternities does not mean the tiers change. Arkansas has that many and it hasn't changed. The middle switches up a bit but only because of a new house.

I think location plays a factor too, then.

As well as average chapter size. If you're at a big school with 12 groups and they have 90+ members a piece, it's going to be a different dynamic than at a school with 12 fraternities and the average size is 25-30.

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

I think location plays a factor too, then.

As well as average chapter size. If you're at a big school with 12 groups and they have 90+ members a piece, it's going to be a different dynamic than at a school with 12 fraternities and the average size is 25-30.

True.

I think that possibly if it was a smaller campus with that many fraternities at that size the tier system could be very fluid.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

True.

I think that possibly if it was a smaller campus with that many fraternities at that size the tier system could be very fluid.

Okay...

that makes more sense about what happened then, I guess.

You're right though, in that, no matter how fluid, some chapters will be considered "better" by rushees than others. However, who may be considered top will change rapidly, and even among different groups. Plus, at a small campus, sometimes it comes down to this: you pledge who you meet first, or you don't pledge at all. This is sad but true.