Question for Greeks that are not in the Divine 9

[Dionysus]

Fight fight, a black and a white!

[Tom Earp]

Only if it is made so!

[greekalum]

Tom, are you advocating race war here on GC?

[mulattogyrl]

Originally Posted by Dionysus

Fight fight, a black and a white!

LOL. You're insane.

[shinerbock]

I'm not advocating a race war, but I do like it when drama comes up on here sometimes. Its a refreshing break from the whole "We're all greek, I love all of you, we're all beautiful," stuff. So in other words, carry on, please.

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by greekalum

Tom, are you advocating race war here on GC?

Hardly. But some seem to want to and I am not sure why?

[tunatartare]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

I'm not advocating a race war, but I do like it when drama comes up on here sometimes. Its a refreshing break from the whole "We're all greek, I love all of you, we're all beautiful," stuff. So in other words, carry on, please.

LMAO

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by ucfpnm

My favorite high school teacher, who is a KD, told the class one day about how she met her husband, who had been in a fraternity, but she didn't mention which one. At the end of the year we did a little show for parents (that sounds really lame but it was a Shakespeare class, don't hate), and he came. I asked him, "Which fraternity are you in?". He looked at me like I was retarded and said, "I'm not in a fraternity, I'm not in college anymore...but I WAS an SAE." I was like, "Um, ok."

Every person in my entire family is/was Greek in college, and all of them refer to their respective fraternity sorority involvement in the past tense. They, like me, I think find it rather humorous and lame when a middle aged person talks like they are still active in a chapter and that it is probobly the greatest thing to ever happen to them in their life. There comes a time when you should let it go and move on. College is over. Enjoy it and share it with your children........but for Christ's sakes, don't act like its a big deal that someone says yeah, I was an SAE, etc. etc. etc.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by LenBias

At my old job one of my co-workers came up to me and inquired about my Sigma key chain. So he goes "Yeah I was a frat boy in college too". Just about every Greek I have met outside of the Divine 9 who has gradated from college refers to their respective organizations in the past tense. Why is that? I thought your commitment to your organization was life long. I am not trying to start anything I just want clarification on this.

And when I hear a D9er say it in the past tense, my perp antenna goes up. LOL

[Dionysus]

I'm in a non-d9 org and I don't understand it either. If this is supposed to be a life time thing, then why do so many people associate it with college only? Yeah, when you're 35 and still doing keg stands and chasing around 18 year olds that's weird. But, in "graduate" or "alum" chapters your role in your org changes, it is nothing like being in undergrad chapters (from what I understand here on GC). Greek organizations, no matter if you're NPHC, NPC, IFC, or special interest, have a lot to offer regardless of your age (and you have a lot to offer too).

[shinerbock]

My version of post-grad involvement will probably involve using the fraternity house for parking on game weekends, fall tailgating, writing checks, and getting undergrads out of trouble.

[macallan25]

^^agreed.

[AOII_LB93]

Speaking from what I have experienced, it depends entirely on the person, not the conference (NPC/NIC/NPHC). I've got co-workers who have said "I was a (insert letters here) from the NPHC. It's not just NPC/NIC people who say it in the past tense. I also have co-workers who have said "Oh that was back in college, I don't do that anymore."
It's a personal preference one way or the other. Every organization has members who are "financial", members who give time, those who look at it as a college experience only, or those who give $$ and time. Sure we could all make generalizations based upon the type of organization it is, but we all have international/national officers and alum advisers, so obviously some people live the lifetime commitment.

ETA: You can't force alums to be active, and we all know of some who it would be better if maybe they had other things going on in their lives as well.

[shinerbock]

One reason I will choose not to be a constant presence post grad is that I hated that as an undergrad. I mean we needed people to set things up for us sometimes, but weve grown the organization far more than they could have, and it was annoying when they tried to run the show. One thing I loved about greek life was that in essence, you were running a small business. It was a great learning experience, and it truly develops college students into men with responsibilities. Therefore, Ill be happy to support the fraternity financially, organize interviews, write recommendations, or provide advice, but I wont be that guy telling you how to develop the brotherhood. From another perspective, im ready to start my professional life, and while I attribute some of my personal growth to the fraternity, it is far from something that defines me. I dont keep in touch with fraternity brothers because of brotherhood, or because of the fraternity, but simply because they are my good friends who I wish to keep long term contact with.

[Adelphean]

I think the reason most non-NPHC members refer to themselves by saying I "was" an XYZ is because most (certainly not all) orgs do not place a big enough emphasis on alumni involvement. For most NPC/NIC members, our greek life as we know it comes to an abrupt halt after college.