anyone here in a fraternity @ UTK ?

#2
#2
I would like to to read some war stories posted by anyone who'll admit to being a Pike at UTK in the mid-1980s.
 
#6
#6
My son,freshman,is teetering on it.He seems to do okay with the girls without it so I doubt it.Plus good friends hang out with their buddies either way.Not against fraternities, just the crazy initatiation stuff his brother went through is WAY out there.
 
#7
#7
Plus UT is big enough where greek life isn't the end all be all....like it is at some other schools...namely Ole Miss and MSU....greek life is huge there.

never really found i HAD to be in one at UT....
 
#9
#9
No fraternity during my stay at UT. I was an "older then average" student as the university called me. Any spare dollar I had went to supporting the strip and Old City.
 
#12
#12
I played basketball in college so that was my frat. we didn't get along w/ the frat guys on campus, some of them were alright but its almost embarrassing to just watch these guys go somewhere. they think they are as cool as it comes, and i just shake my head half the time. like i said not all of them are bad, but the majority at my school are a bunch of rich punks who run their mouth and then get pounded at the parties by the different athletic teams due to them trying to talk smack. i enjoy seeing frat boys get jacked after they talk smack
 
#13
#13
i pledged a frat my freshman year, but they all acted like 20 year old drama queens. they were some of the most immature people that i have met in my entire life. i will always strongly discourage joining fraternities.
 
#15
#15
I was a legacy and never really questioned if I would pledge. Also, my college claimed to be over 70% greek among undergrads when I was a freshman. Those numbers have declined in the past 15+ years which is probably indicative of a down swing in fraternity/sorrority membership in general. If I had gone to a bigger school, like UTK, I'm not sure I'd have had nearly the same experience. I probably would've still "gone greek" due to family ties, but I'm not sure how "into it" I would've been.

Addressing the "bought friends" comments, from my own personal experience I must say that I'm very close with many of the guys that were in my pledge class and I still consider them to be among the closest and most trusted friends that I have. Although those guys are spread out all over the South everyone stays in touch and we travel to see one another fairly regularly.

I can also say that any guy who approaches me as a fellow fraternity member (meaning my frat) is going to receive my full attention and sincere consideration, whether said person is seeking a job, advice, trying to sell me something, or whatever. I do not give that same attention and consideration to the average pedestrian unless they demonstrate to me that they merit it. I know a lot of guys in my alumni organization who feel the same way. So, I guess I'm saying that membership does sometimes have its privileges.
 
#16
#16
when i depledged, 90% of the guys in the frat disowned me... i really didn't care since, obviously, they weren't true friends llike they said they were anyway. fraternities DO have benefits, but the whole job-connection benefit is pretty weak. Unless you are insecure in your skills or knowledge, attaining a job should not be too difficult. very rarely do you see a high promotion or impact hire come because of fraternity affiliation. yeah, the brotherhood may be good for an entry-level position, but that is about as far as your connection will take you.... its very unlikely that a high level offer will be given to a brother over someone who has no party affiliation -- that's grounds for discrimination. regardless, as i said, if you are having trouble finding a job out of college, fraternities may help.
 
#18
#18
thanks for hijacking the thread Domer

I enjoyed my time and wouldnt have doen it any other way, to each his own, liek some have said I have some life log friends. The best men in my wedding where all strangers to me until I joined up.
 
#19
#19
domer, it sounds like the people you were affiliated with were a bunch jerks. I can only speak to what I experienced but I think most of the brothers in my house recognized that guys depledged for various reasons (finances, trouble with academics, start dating a hippy chick who hates "frat rats", etc.) and therefore it wasn't taken personally when someone made that decision. We had several brothers who depledged as Freshmen and then came back as Sophs or Jrs seeking to re-up because they thought they'd missed out on something. I also agree with your assessment connections for job purposes. I'm not aware that being in a fraternity ever got me a job but it definitely opened some doors and probably made things a little easier.

I'm not going to be drawn into a debate on this subject but seeing as how a lot of college aged men probably visit this site I think it is important for people to know that being in a fraternity can be a positive experience.
 
#20
#20
Duckhunting VolFan said:
thanks for hijacking the thread Domer
Just asked a simple question, and you know most of the time people who dog cuss fraternities are the ones that couldnt get in one to begin with.
Click to expand...
? i know in my case, i just didn't see the need.....but on the same token, i'm pretty sure i haven't "dog cussed" any fraternaties either. My brother was a Delta Chi at Mississippis St...and it seems to have worked out for him...but as i stated earlier, MSU and Ole Miss are two schools i've visited that the majority of the student population was greek, and that seemed to be the "think to do".

whereas at UTK, it didn't seem like it was that big of a deal one way or another.

Add to that, i was also a transfering Jr, and at 20 yrs of age, i didn't see the need to subject myself to being hazed by a bunch of 18 year olds.....lol.

it, for me, boiled down to personal preference.:thumbsup:
 
#22
#22
i know that my fraternity experience isnt the same as others, but i was just sharing my memories. in no way does my history clearly portray all frats, but i just thought that frats arent all grapes and roses.

as per the "people that dog frats can't get in them" comment: i've never seen anyone get denied from frats all together... chances are that someone, somewhere, will take them (at my school, it was TKE)... getting into a frat isn't a life-achievement... it's something that can be done with an average personality and some money, honestly. as long as people somewhat like you and you can contribute to the cause, then you are a hit.

sorry about hijacking your thread =)
 
#23
#23
I was a multi-frat pledge during my undergrad days...

GTK: Gotta Tappa Kegga
IFT: I Felta Thigh
GDI: G-D Independant
HKY: Hockey Team

The hockey team actually has a house now...might as well be a frat.:salute:
 
#25
#25
I am a brother of the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity at UT and it was the best decision of my life. I don't know how it is in other fraternities, but I feel like I have group of brothers that if I called them at any time they would be there to help them me.
 
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