UTM's famed "IFC Rush" is next week. I'm reminded of an up-and-coming freshman who at the time was quit possibly the most anti-greek person I knew. He never had a nice thing to say about them, mostly because he had been inundated with rumors, loose facts and other various half-truths. He started off his time with the newspaper as a lowly ANE. During that time, he wrote this little gem.
Of course now you know how the rest of the story goes: Kevin joined SigEp at the end of rush week. I saw very little of him thereafter, because between the fraternity and his surprise internship in Nashville in his first semester of college, he was a very, very busy guy. He still is.
As this time approaches, I myself am reminded how I approached that week. As a sophomore, I didn't see a reason to be there, but I told myself I would do it just to say I had. I was sure it wasn't for me.
I signed up and went around to all of the houses (not enjoying any one more than the other). I fulfilled my obligation to get the signatures from each of the respective presidents on the formal nights, and skipped the informal nights. I didn't even bother to make note of the time you were supposed to go pick up these "bids." I wasn't a fraternity man, and had not intention of being one.
The only thing I knew about fraternities was what the news told me. I wouldn't see Animal House until this past year, but even so that movie summed up my collective opinion. Fraternities seemed like a group of boys that didn't want to grow up, or were too scared to venture outside of their own social structure
Fraternities to me seemed like nothing more than socially acceptable gangs. They have their own signs, colors and secrets. They want everyone to be "just like them." If you had friends that were sworn against greeks, you would lose them. Academics dismiss greeks as rebellious partiers with no future other than using the "good old boy" system of having connections. Religious people see them as godless, some to the point of sacrilegious. And both have their relative merits. It doesn't take much to formulate an argument against greeks.
And of course, there's the pledging. I'm a very strong willed person. My mom swore that I'd argue with a brick wall if I thought I had a chance of winning. The thought of being screamed at by some guy that should have graduated years ago simply didn't appeal to me. There's a reason the pledge system is still around, but it just wasn't my style. I figured if I didn't already have the qualities a fraternity was looking for, then they needed to look elsewhere.
Here at UTM, homecoming is catered towards greeks. They even get a week in the spring to compete for bragging rights. Some even think that historians hundreds of years from now may say that American universities will be said to have had two classes of people: the rich and powerful fraternity and sorority members and the lower class of academics.
I get an IM from a friend in SigEp telling me that they had missed me on Thursday (preference night that year), and I should go pick up my envelope anyway. I put it off for a few days, but finally went and retrieved the index card-sized piece of cardboard. I put it on my desk at Austin Peay Hall, and went back out, never giving it another thought. I suppose I should have felt honored that a group "wanted" me, but that concept alone scared me. What kind of group actively seeks out new members? Isn't the fraternity world just for those who want to join it?
I didn't do anything with that bid for months. I didn't even tell anyone outside of the fraternity that I had it, except for my parents. Their reaction was something along the lines of "Why pay for your friends, but do what you want." I went to a few parties after that, every time noting that I was never on the guest list. So much for keeping tabs on me.
I accepted my bid after a few relationships outside of the greek world went sour. I was generally disliked in the Student Government Association (my previous stint before working for the paper). Also, a lot of my freshmen studies peers transferred for one reason or another. I was holed up in my room for the most part, doing Web design and putting in long hours at the newspaper. I needed a change. I picked up the bid, and composed an e-mail to the SigEp rush chairman.
In the e-mail, I didn't say much about why I wanted to accept the bid. I just asked if I could. A rather quick response told me that it was good for a year, and all I needed was to dress formal and be over at their Scholars House that Sunday night.
Since that time, I won't lie and say that my life has been great. A lot has happened both personally and to our chapter that has been very difficult to deal with. But through it all, I found that simply finding a way to live my life in accord with Sigma Phi Epsilon's principles has made the struggles worth the while.
This fraternity will be different, it will be based on the love of God and the principle of peace through brotherhood.
-- Carter Ashton Jenkins, in response to Richmond College's claim that they did not need another fraternity. (1901)
I didn't find identity with SigEp, I just learned more about who I was. And for that, I have discovered why "It is Great to be a SigEp!"