why do pledge classes get smaller as the years go by?

[BigRedBeta]

The other thing is that any group of that many people is going to have small divisions or cliques. Certainly some of these "mini pledge classes" will be more involved in the house, other groups are very close, but as a group drift away from the house.

My pledge class had 24 guys, and by the time we were seniors there were only about 12 of us that were very involved in the house. There was a smaller group of about 4 guys who were all roommates together but would skip chapter, only go to the biggest parties, and were otherwise pretty absent. A 2 other guys had grade issues, one guy transferred, and 2 guys drifted away on their own, 1 guy was a sophomore pledge and graduated, and 2 other guys were around, but were also doing their own things.

The other thing is that some people end up being better friends with members in older and/or younger classes, to the extent that they might sacrifice their friendships with the people in their pledge class. If they are particularly close with an older class, then as seniors, they might feel a little lost...