Quote:
Originally Posted by PhiGam
There are not five top tier fraternities at Florida State... Lambda Chi is the only one that would be considered top tier at an SEC school (other than UF).
|
With respect, of course the fraternities at FSU conform to the III Tier system just as they do everywhere else. There are 20 IFC fraternities here, and there are currently five in the Top Tier as predicted, although - and this is important - the recent losses of ATO and Sig Ep and even Pi Kappa Phi along with the earlier loss of SAE has caused an instability in the natural order. The top of the list is still unsettled, and with a little effort this is an opportunity for the second tier groups to advance.
And regarding Lambda Chi, it's a mistake to assume that a Tier I chapter at one school would be Tier I at another school. Different cultures, different standards. You have to consider each campus separately. The Tier I fraternities at Penn State couldn't compete one-on-one with the Tier I chapters at Texas due to size, but it's wrong to assume that they're all not superior fraternity chapters. I'm not overly impressed with LXA at FSU but what I think doesn't matter becasue there's no doubt that they're Tier I here.
Remember, the tiers are determined by the perception of rivals, sororities and other peers. The Wilson Heller Survey standard was: "prominence, power and prestige". That might be measured differently on different campuses, but it's a universal standard to determine perception.
What's Tier I on one campus doesn't necessarily transfer from one school to another, but the dynamic remains predictable and constant. When you get below, say, 8 fraternities, a different dynamic comes into play but no less predictable. For instance, in a system with only five fraternities, the breakdown is 2-2-1. Two rivals on top, two in the middle and one on the bottom.