Biggest Rush Mistakes at any institution

[pbear19]

To sasquatch or anyone else who thinks similarly about chapter vs. National: If your chapter goes through a big change over say a 5 year period, and the group of members 5 years after you are very much unlike your current brothers, would you not consider them brothers then, because they aren't like you and you don't know them? Or does the chapter itself lend enough importance to the brotherhood that internal chapter shifts are inconsequential?

[sasquatch]

Originally Posted by pbear19

To sasquatch or anyone else who thinks similarly about chapter vs. National: If your chapter goes through a big change over say a 5 year period, and the group of members 5 years after you are very much unlike your current brothers, would you not consider them brothers then, because they aren't like you and you don't know them? Or does the chapter itself lend enough importance to the brotherhood that internal chapter shifts are inconsequential?

Well, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "big change", but if you mean in personality of brothers...I just can't see that happening. I know that's pretty vague, but we're over 100 years old so I doubt any major changes are gonna come around within 5 years, or even 20 years.

[pbear19]

Originally Posted by sasquatch

Well, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "big change", but if you mean in personality of brothers...I just can't see that happening. I know that's pretty vague, but we're over 100 years old so I doubt any major changes are gonna come around within 5 years, or even 20 years.

Well, he did reply to my question here, which I was going to get into a bit more but it seemed a little pointless since you guys were going in a different direction. I'd be curious if anyone else was as surprised as me at the insinuation that a chapter would attract more or less the exact type of member for an extended period. Seems to me that individual chapters have more variance than that, but perhaps that is just at the universities with which I am familiar...

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by pbear19

Well, he did reply to my question here, which I was going to get into a bit more but it seemed a little pointless since you guys were going in a different direction. I'd be curious if anyone else was as surprised as me at the insinuation that a chapter would attract more or less the exact type of member for an extended period. Seems to me that individual chapters have more variance than that, but perhaps that is just at the universities with which I am familiar...

In my limited experience, some fraternity chapters really do stay consistent over time. Barring being kicked off campus or serious problems and punishments from the university, they really can expect to keep getting the same type guys. It's kind of based on a hometown feeder system in which so many guys from certain high schools grow up with relatives in the chapter that they don't have much to worry about.

Some of the chapters are really old and have pulled the same type guy for most of their history.

Now, I can't say if they'd keep getting them if they weren't affiliated nationally. I think many of the guys are a little more interesting the ideals of the founders than sasquach

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by pbear19

Well, he did reply to my question here, which I was going to get into a bit more but it seemed a little pointless since you guys were going in a different direction. I'd be curious if anyone else was as surprised as me at the insinuation that a chapter would attract more or less the exact type of member for an extended period. Seems to me that individual chapters have more variance than that, but perhaps that is just at the universities with which I am familiar...

Individual chapters tend to get the same kinds of members if that's what the actives look for. Also, alum come back to many chapters and are very involved in the decision making processes.

It takes a complete overriding of the structure of chapters for there to be changes. Depending on what types of changes there are, this often results in alum "disowning" their chapter because "it's not like it used to be."