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Post by DFW HOYA on Feb 10, 2005 7:34:05 GMT -5
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Post by showcase on Feb 10, 2005 8:13:14 GMT -5
Personally, I don't think I missed out on anything that SigApe could have added to my college experience while at GU.
That said, aren't all the other fraternities that exist on the periphery of GU's community academic or service-oriented? I think such organizations are of a decidedly different stripe than SigApe or other 'traditional' fraternities.
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TBird41
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Post by TBird41 on Feb 10, 2005 8:21:38 GMT -5
I'm glad that there aren't "real" frats at Gtown. They don't add anything that we don't already have. I agree with the Voice that the clubs basically fill the role of a frat, only in a more friendly, open way-and they tend to have a purpose besides drinking. Even the service/club frats have a purpose besides a social life, which is the most important thing in my opinion. Why? Because in college, a social life is basically drinking and parties. Do we need a group specifically to do that (and that would probably be more exclusionary in doing so)? I don't think so.
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Post by DFW HOYA on Feb 10, 2005 9:25:05 GMT -5
There are 4-5 fraternities at Georgetown that I'm aware of: Delta Phi Espilon (since 1920), two or three predominately African-American groups, and Alpha Epsilon Pi, which according to the Voice article is primarily for Jewish students (link below). There was also a link a few years ago for a sorority trying to start up, but I do not recall if it was successful. saxa.georgetown.edu/aepi/ |
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tgo
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Post by tgo on Feb 10, 2005 10:36:19 GMT -5
when going to GU I thought I would be missing out not having Frats but I didnt. I tell everyone that asks about GU that it is a plus not having them because the social scene is more open and accepting. As a freshmand you can wander into a henley apartment of juniors or seniors and grab a beer and 9 out 10 times people are happy to welcome you in. My understanding at frat schools is that if you dont know someone you dont get in to parties, or you have to pay a cover.
I also liked that who my friends were wasnt pre-determined by who rushed my frat and i ended up having a bigger more diverse group of good friends as a result.
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TBird41
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Post by TBird41 on Feb 10, 2005 10:52:03 GMT -5
when going to GU I thought I would be missing out not having Frats but I didnt. I tell everyone that asks about GU that it is a plus not having them because the social scene is more open and accepting. As a freshmand you can wander into a henley apartment of juniors or seniors and grab a beer and 9 out 10 times people are happy to welcome you in. My understanding at frat schools is that if you dont know someone you dont get in to parties, or you have to pay a cover. I also liked that who my friends were wasnt pre-determined by who rushed my frat and i ended up having a bigger more diverse group of good friends as a result. That's one thing that, in my experience, is unique to Georgetown: people don't charge covers for their parties. It's understood that as an underclassman, parties are thrown for you and that once you're an upperclassman, you throw the parties for the new group. Every other school I've partied at has charged for cups, or beer or however they do it, but you pay for any party you go to. Maybe it's b/c of frats, or maybe it's just something that happens, but thankfully, it hasn't happened at Georgetown. And I definately agree with everything else as well |
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Post by showcase on Feb 10, 2005 11:30:33 GMT -5
For what it's worth, I made a few roadtrips to UPenn during my time at the Hilltop and did some serious drinking up there without paying a dime in cover (or other charge). That said, WE charged for a massive party that my Penn friend's house threw while I was up there one weekend, but mostly as a tool for crowd control (a popular campus band was playing).
I agree - I really enjoyed the "c'mon in" atmosphere at GU, and I think that passes quickly once fraternities get involved. I am fine with 'demographic'/academic/service fraternities, since I think they serve a particular need, but a fraternity as a purely social creature I think GU can do without.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Feb 10, 2005 11:32:06 GMT -5
Most of my high school friends went to frat schools, and most of them rushed frats. They had wild times during their first few years and some of it sounded like a lot of fun and definitely cheaper than going to Chadwicks 5 nights a week as I did. When I visited them it seemed less great, and the most telling thing was that almost to a man they were sick of the scene and ready to leave by the end of their senior year while I was hanging on to the Tombs for dear life and still making new friendships over the last month of school that have endured.
I remember particularly the experience of going to visit a buddy at Richmond for their big Pig Roast event in April of my senior year. It was supposed to be their biggest weekend of the year, and everyone was certainly getting drunk enough by the time we got there around 11 AM, but by the end of the day all I heard about was the fight his frat was in with another frat and how the administration had taken away their charter, so instead of enjoying the last month of school they were involved in fisticuffs and disciplinary actions. No thanks.
Georgetown has its cliques and its clubs like everywhere else, but they do not define your experience in the same way that Greek letters tend to do. If I had been confined to the rugby team guys I befriended early on my college experience would have been completely different and certainly not as worthwhile. Instead my circle of friends was able to grow and change as I matured. The experience of so many people studying abroad junior year I think was the other key ingredient. Those of us who were abroad met new people and had our minds opened up so that it seemed absurd to dislike people who lived in New South just because we had lived in Harbin. Those who stayed were forced to meet new people too just because so many other classmates were gone. When we came back senior year every was happy to see everyone else and all the groups coalesced at the Tombs. I don't know if it happens quite that way for everyone, but that was my experience at Georgetown and a big part of the reason I am still around the place now.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 10, 2005 12:03:34 GMT -5
No Frats is one of the reasons I chose GU.
Most of my Frat friends loved their frats, but to a man (and woman) admitted that it really stratified the campus.
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Cambridge
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Post by Cambridge on Feb 10, 2005 17:38:30 GMT -5
My brother is currently a junior at GW and is in a frat. While it seems to suit him, I have a few observations:
1) You pay a hefty fee to the frat as dues (often $500+). This is money you are paying to be friends with people. That is just odd.
2) They have a long history with alumni and therefor socialize with many past grads when they are in town. Unfortunately when my brother lived in the frat house last summer that meant random alumns would show up at 3AM on a weekday night and demand to drink and be entertained. Not awesome if you are working like my brother was.
3) You have to pay to get into parties and you rarely go to the parties of other frats unless you have really good friends there. Very different from the "i heard there was a party on the rooftop/33 and Prospect/Burleith etc. I'm going to swing by". In fact my two brothers (one a junior at GW, the other a freshmen at AU) go to GU parties pretty frequently and have made a bunch of friends on campus.
4) Its an obligation. There are certain events and traditions you HAVE to participate in. Doesn't matter if you have term papers, girlfriend, family in town, etc. Little chance you are getting out of it.
5) You have no control over the people you spend 90% of your time with. There are always people in the frat you can't stand. Sure, you have good friends in the frat, but there's always those guys you can't stand.
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Nevada Hoya
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Post by Nevada Hoya on Feb 10, 2005 22:17:47 GMT -5
I was mistakenly added to some mailing list, which seemed to talk about a frat at Georgetown. It was definitely not any type of organization of which I would like to be a part. Something to the effect of telling the girls in their organization that they could learn something from the ladies at some strip club they went to.  |
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FormerHoya
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Post by FormerHoya on Feb 11, 2005 11:42:05 GMT -5
How soon we forget the ASS house.
also:
I spent way too much time with you for this:
Unless the maturation process is speeded through the use of smurfahol...
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SoCalHoya
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Post by SoCalHoya on Feb 11, 2005 12:05:30 GMT -5
Like others, I loved GU because it had no sororities or fraternities. I can't imagine our utopia invaded with lame frat sweaters and chants. The "come one come all" atmosphere at Georgetown is second to none.
I wish I could go back again (minus the intense studying) to my old room in N/S. *sigh*
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Nevada Hoya
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Post by Nevada Hoya on Feb 11, 2005 13:03:23 GMT -5
Like others, I loved GU because it had no sororities or fraternities. I can't imagine our utopia invaded with lame frat sweaters and chants. The "come one come all" atmosphere at Georgetown is second to none. I wish I could go back again (minus the intense studying) to my old room in N/S. *sigh* I'm with you SoCalHoya (lived for three years in N/S - wanted to get to the cafeteria quickly  ). |
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Feb 11, 2005 14:24:14 GMT -5
You have to water the plants so they can grow, my man. My folks are coming for Titanic's senior parents weekend tonight- it won't be the same without ole Jay-bones ordering Caps to the Tombs at 4 AM.
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One
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Post by One on Feb 11, 2005 17:42:04 GMT -5
Jack:
I believe it was closer to 5 AM as that tasty garlic pizza is (or at least was) available til that wee hour of the morning. And no, I never saw "Liquid Sky" or whatever movie it was the delivery man tried to sell every time for a bigger tip.
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hoya01
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Post by hoya01 on Feb 14, 2005 0:18:16 GMT -5
Part of the lure of a fraternity is the prestige, the tradition, and the rivalry with the other fraternities. I cannot see SigEp lasting very long at Georgetown. Students will see that its not legitimate.
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Cambridge
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Post by Cambridge on Feb 14, 2005 11:47:04 GMT -5
Wow, prestige and fraternity in the same sentence...well, I've seen it all.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 14, 2005 12:07:32 GMT -5
It's not going to even get established, let alone last long. I don't see the admin allowing it. Thankfully.
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Post by DFW HOYA on Feb 14, 2005 12:56:15 GMT -5
It's not going to even get established, let alone last long. I don't see the admin allowing it. Thankfully. One does not need administrative approval for such groups. But the fact that SigEp already has 30 people on a list begs the question: what about the Georgetown experience is lacking that people want to get into frats? I was never in a frat and though I had a number of good friends in Delta Phi Epsilon, I had no particular interest in joining. The Georgetown campus was active enough that there was always something going on. Upon recent visits, however, it seems that the campus is eerily quiet at nights and students are either going off campus in greater numbers or are deep in the library. If Georgetown is simply an 8-5 campus, much will be lost..or has it already? Fraternities may be catching a second wind because people are seeing a gap in student life. What's missing, or has Georgetown simply bureaucraticized all the fun out of the place? |
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