Shoedog112 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 1 hour ago, azdr0710 said: back in the early 80s when blow-dried hair was a thing, Sig Ep (Sigma Phi Epsilon) was nicknamed Sigma Phi Hair Salon by all the other fraternities on my campus.....of course, each house had a rep for having certain types and, obviously, Sig Ep was known for well-coiffed, preppy, good-looking, WASPy guys....(no, I wasn't Sig Ep!) and we always reminded our rushees/pledges that it's a fraternity, not a frat, because would you call your country a c**t??!!..... We had the same reminders about not calling our fraternity a frat…. Everytime I hear that word in public, it makes me cringe a bit. I had to teach that to my sister…and tell all her Alpha Phi sisters not to use the word frat. + Just Sayin and + azdr0710 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Unfortunately, those stereotypes were damaging. One of my brothers, a very popular leader both as an active and alumnus, came out later in life—mid-30s—just as he was hitting his stride. Acceptance was very important to him. I thought the brotherhood was supportive, but soon thereafter he died by suicide. It was devastating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pubic_assistance Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 10 hours ago, Shoedog112 said: Each house had sort of a reputation. Exactly. Need to find your "tribe". I was a Lambda Chi. No hazing / great parties / laid back mix of guys . Everything from pot heads to Army ROTC. Even though we were officially a "Christian" organization 1/4 of the guys were Jewish. The consistent quality was that everyone had everyone's back 100%. The rituals leading up to membership assured that only the most dedicated personalities made it into the house as Brothers. I really enjoyed having such close friends from so many different backgrounds and viewpoints Shoedog112, Kauaipres, thomas and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borgerback Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 I was; lived in the house for 3 years. Glad I did it; still some close friends (although generally still regularly closer to friends from high school). My father's best lifelong friends were his fraternity brothers, which is what lead me to join. We were not the jock house, but we were the 'cocaine connection' for our Greek system for sure. We were a 'mixed' house, e.g., 50% wasp, 50% Jewish. Most of the guys were normal-looking and subdued, but lots of under-the-radar wealthy guys. Went to some amazing parties at their parents' estates. Our hazing was funny, rather than harsh, although there was a lot of calisthenics (and drinking of VERY cheap beer; I still can't stomach Meister Brau or Mickey's Big Mouth). There was a semi-closeted, very small gay contingent; they were more 'tolerated' rather than celebrated, but as I neglected to say above, it was the mid to late 80's. The only thing close to guy/guy action I witness personally was a three-way with a very attractive woman, and I did not participate and was present for less than a minute (although invited to join in LOL). One of our brothers was the first person from our school to die in the AIDS epidemic - or at least that was acknowledged he died of AIDS complications. I never connected with anyone in the house in a physically intimate manner. One brother of mine is now living with me off-and-on. His wife keeps kicking him out of the house. I was in their wedding and know her, and it's 80% on her IMHO. He's straight and we are not physically intimate (for those inclined to speculate LOL). pubic_assistance, thomas, + Charlie and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoedog112 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 On 1/5/2024 at 3:24 PM, borgerback said: I was; lived in the house for 3 years. Glad I did it; still some close friends (although generally still regularly closer to friends from high school). My father's best lifelong friends were his fraternity brothers, which is what lead me to join. We were not the jock house, but we were the 'cocaine connection' for our Greek system for sure. We were a 'mixed' house, e.g., 50% wasp, 50% Jewish. Most of the guys were normal-looking and subdued, but lots of under-the-radar wealthy guys. Went to some amazing parties at their parents' estates. Our hazing was funny, rather than harsh, although there was a lot of calisthenics (and drinking of VERY cheap beer; I still can't stomach Meister Brau or Mickey's Big Mouth). There was a semi-closeted, very small gay contingent; they were more 'tolerated' rather than celebrated, but as I neglected to say above, it was the mid to late 80's. The only thing close to guy/guy action I witness personally was a three-way with a very attractive woman, and I did not participate and was present for less than a minute (although invited to join in LOL). One of our brothers was the first person from our school to die in the AIDS epidemic - or at least that was acknowledged he died of AIDS complications. I never connected with anyone in the house in a physically intimate manner. One brother of mine is now living with me off-and-on. His wife keeps kicking him out of the house. I was in their wedding and know her, and it's 80% on her IMHO. He's straight and we are not physically intimate (for those inclined to speculate LOL). Great to hear about your experience. The way you described your house sounds like the reputation of ZBT at my school. 🤣. How did you handle 3 years living in? I could barely handle one year but was happy to find some roommates who were also ready to move out of the Fraternity house with me. + Charlie and pubic_assistance 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borgerback Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 11 hours ago, Shoedog112 said: Great to hear about your experience. The way you described your house sounds like the reputation of ZBT at my school. 🤣. How did you handle 3 years living in? I could barely handle one year but was happy to find some roommates who were also ready to move out of the Fraternity house with me. Well, I remember reading an article in grad school and doing a forehead palm-slap with the realization I was way beyond the technical definition of an alcoholic for two of those three years (I'd be walking to the chapter room to study and the pledges would call down to me "Hey XXXX, Wild Turkey Shots!" and the studying would go right out the window. My senior year I had to get serious and got to live in the 'nice' apartment building near campus; I was ready for the break from 40 roommates to 4. thomas, Luv2play, + Charlie and 2 others 2 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 I get that; a lot of guys moved out senior year. For me, I loved it; I lived in all three years. So much going on. And we had our own cook and meal plan. I would have signed up for a fifth year but my dad put his foot down lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ WilliamM Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I went to Catholic college ( Boston College) that didn't allow a fraternity + Vegas_Millennial and pubic_assistance 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becket Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Was in a frat. Could have done without the hazing, but the parties and dances were great fun. It's fun as a sophomore, but by my senior year I was wondering what the point was. pubic_assistance, marylander1940 and Luv2play 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pubic_assistance Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 12 hours ago, WilliamM said: I went to Catholic college ( Boston College) that didn't allow a fraternity Those Catholics hate anyone having a good time ....😉 Luv2play and borgerback 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ WilliamM Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 1 hour ago, pubic_assistance said: Those Catholics hate anyone having a good time ....😉 I was too busy studying marylander1940 and pubic_assistance 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ Pensant Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I really didn’t enjoy my time in Kappa Sig. There was bad chemistry among the brothers, as well as cliques. At my school, KS wasn’t considered an elite house. I really wish I had never joined in retrospect. My senior year after I resigned was by far the best time of my college years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2play Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I belonged to a fraternity at McGill in Montreal that was part of a chain of fraternities in Canada and the US, Zeta Psi. It was considered an elite fraternity. I joined in freshman year and only remained active two years. It was incompatible with my studies in the toughest faculty (engineering/architecture) I was enrolled in. I did much better in completing my studies after dropping out. This was all in the 1960’s or prehistoric times now. + Charlie and Shoedog112 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoedog112 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 On 1/13/2024 at 8:22 AM, Pensant said: I really didn’t enjoy my time in Kappa Sig. There was bad chemistry among the brothers, as well as cliques. At my school, KS wasn’t considered an elite house. I really wish I had never joined in retrospect. My senior year after I resigned was by far the best time of my college years. What school did you attend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchal Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 Recently found out the one of the co-founders of Scruff, Johnny Skandros, is a fraternity man from USC. pubic_assistance, Shoedog112 and + Just Sayin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoedog112 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 On 2/5/2024 at 9:45 AM, dutchal said: Recently found out the one of the co-founders of Scruff, Johnny Skandros, is a fraternity man from USC. looks like he was a member of Delta Chi at USC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchal Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 On 1/13/2024 at 9:02 AM, pubic_assistance said: Those Catholics hate anyone having a good time ....😉 Some Catholic schools allow fraternities and some don't. + Vegas_Millennial 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylander1940 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, dutchal said: Some Catholic schools allow fraternities and some don't. Decades ago, being Catholic was similar to being a Mormon nowadays, and there was no need for a fraternity when you were already in a group. I can't help thinking of fraternities and the culture of rape in our colleges. pubic_assistance, + Vegas_Millennial and + Charlie 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylander1940 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 On 1/13/2024 at 12:12 AM, Becket said: Was in a frat. Could have done without the hazing, but the parties and dances were great fun. It's fun as a sophomore, but by my senior year I was wondering what the point was. even though you had to dance with women.... + Charlie, pubic_assistance and Becket 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudynate Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I went to college in the 70s - when the popularity of fraternities was at a low point. They might have existed at my school, but I wasn't aware of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTJOCK Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I was, it was an awesome time. I enjoyed serving as “social chair” and working up all the plans! Shoedog112, + Vegas_Millennial, marylander1940 and 1 other 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2play Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 11 hours ago, Rudynate said: I went to college in the 70s - when the popularity of fraternities was at a low point. They might have existed at my school, but I wasn't aware of them. Many local chapters of fraternities closed at McGill during that period. Including mine and they sold off the house. It would be worth millions today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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