Frat Rat

Oh how I resent the judgement that takes place every time I say "I'm in a fraternity". No, I'm not a "frat rat" as my grandfather (who's not affiliated) teases or a member of Iota Tappa Thigh as my aunt would say (also not affiliated). I'm a fraternity man belonging to an organization with principles and standards extending beyond the normal student org at OSU.

I've had to learn to overcome one of my major weaknesses: caring too much about what other people think. Even while visiting high school teachers I've noticed a difference: the ones that respected me that weren't greek seem different, more judgmental- making assumptions. While visiting one teacher, a student asked "did you have to do anything to get in?" before even letting me answer she quickly said "even if he did it'd be a secret and he couldn't tell us" WHAT? No. #1. I'd like to answer the question directed towards me #2. I have too much dignity to belong to an organization that would require me to do anything that makes me uncomfortable to become a member. In fact, SigEp is the only IFC organization on campus that grants full membership upon accepting a bid (not trying to imply that pledging chapters haze but SigEp provided that extra safeguard in their balanced man program as extra reassurance for me). I mean- I don't know all of the ritual and do have to interview to transcend through the levels of Sigma, Phi, and Epsilon after proving my dedication through involvement in the chapter and displaying improvement of Sound Mind and Sound Body...

but I digress...

It has been nice talking to teachers who WERE Greek though- they seem to be 1000x more interested in what I'm doing in college than other visitors that come along with me. That's one of the main reasons I've joined- an instant connection to people of ALL ages just because you're greek: I worked with a SigEp this summer without knowing it! One of my grandparent's friends saw my SigEp sticker on my car and commented that he too was a SigEp. It has even brought me closer with my father. My father is a member of Phi Delta Theta at Akron- in fact, he's the treasurer of their Alumni Board. He never once pressured me into joining a fraternity, and in fact, never really discussed his organization until after I had joined. Joining a fraternity has opened up a whole new avenue of discussion with my dad, and that is perhaps the most rewarding take away (in addition to the 113 upstanding brothers as mentioned in blog #1) of joining.

But again- I haven't answered the question.

I did not want to join a fraternity at OSU- so I'm guilty of what I complained about earlier (I was narrow-minded, I admit). At the beginning of my freshman year- I came to realize that I had missed leadership opportunities (the LC in particular)- my high strung personality panicked. I didn't want to become "just a number" and wanted personalized help to become the leader that I was in high school- after looking at a few leadership opportunities, I noticed a common name- Jen Pelletier, an associate director of the Ohio Union. I e-mailed her right away to schedule a meeting to talk about leadership and she quickly responded. I walked over to the Shunion from Lincoln tower to meet in her office- we discussed what I did in highschool and she addressed a few of my questions about Leadershape and Student Leadership Advocates. I ended the conversation with: "what other leadership opportunities are there on campus?" She suggested I look into greek life. I laughed at her. She addressed my doubts and skepticism. She gave me the names of a few organizations and I began sending out emails to the brothers she directed me towards. I only did it because Jen seemed to know what she was talking about and I really appreciated that she took the time out of her day to meet with me, reassuring me that I wasn't just a number. I was still extremely skeptical. I met with a few brothers of a few different organizations but was most intrigued by Andy Delong, an AWESOME guy (even though we both sat, waiting for each other for 45 minutes at Oxleys b/c we didn't know what each other looked like- we eventually found each other after I was about to give up and head back to Lincoln). He passed my name along to the Vice President of Recruitment, and I attended my first chapter in November. I was blown away. Every brother that spoke was so articulate and seemed so successful. I was hooked.

I accepted my bid January 15th, 2010 and have been a proud brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon ever since.