My college frat
 

While responding to the usual 'Skull and Bones' type thread in politics, I was reminded of my frat.

We had the same type of stuff which makes people who weren't in frats think we have some weird ass secret occult crap going on. At any rate, we have official robes for official meetings. We blacken the windows and put on our robes. The officers wear different colored ones based on the office. Well the archon (president) wears a white one.

At any rate, these are also worn during initiation and it’s the first time a pledge will see them.

In part of it a pledge it brought before the archon, blindfolded, who says something I forget and I'm sworn to secrecy not to tell you about, the blindfold is removed, and the pledge does some stupid shit, and comes back, and does more stupid shit and comes back. Part of it has you in a coffin (its some death/rebirth thing) yadda yadda yadda. Spooky. It’s the kind of thing that freaks out one or two lessor minded people, but all you had to do is look at the members, pick out the weakest one and think 'if that wimp did it, I know I can'.

Anyways after initiation we realized just how far we have come.

You see one of the pledges was black. He was brought before the archon, his blindfold is removed and what does he see? Some guy wearing a white robe. Did I mention it had a pointed hat? We of course were clueless. This guy thought he was dead. Well he goes through initiation and points out the potential conflict (heh) and said laughing 'Well I figured I was dead, but I was going to take some of you with me.' Being he was also a cop, I'm rather glad he waited to see what happened first.

I suppose it’s a credit to us that we didn't think there was anything odd about a black man (oh did I mention he was basically in his underwear? He had on a toga but not much to it) brought before a guy in a white robe and pointed hat, and we are completely oblivious to what would seem a horrible racist event to someone outside looking in. We just saw another pledge joining our fraternity.

Very South Park flag of us.

Waaaaay back when, I looked at the Sigma somethings when I was first going to college, but I just wasn't impressed. I guess the whole thing that Frats encourage, the networking and schmoozing is something that I just don't like doing.

I did end up joining a service Fraternity and we did a "secret ceremony" which honestly was pretty silly. I couldn't even hear the "secret" that was whispered to me and don't even ask me to repeat the secret handshake.

I get the feeling you were an SAE?

Phi Alpha, if so.

Nope, but my guess is a good number of fraternities do the same kinda thing.

I am sure that all fraternity have some simlar ritual that is shared through out the individual brotherhood.

A lot of my brothers feel that the ritual is ineffective and stupid and the passing on of the forgotten secret has just become unimportant.

I disagree with this notion though. In my opinion the ritual should be view as a unifying element with all memebers of the brotherhood.
Know this we can also respect other fraternities and make the greek system the way it was orginally supposed to work.

The secret is only there to be a unifying factor.
*end rant*

I would have been as freak out as your new brother, but it is good that you guys didn't even consider it. I would rather you make an error because you didn't see someones race as different. Then make a judgement because of someone's race.

Mmm not to downplay the importance of the ritual, but I am looking at it as a 35 year old father looking back at things he did as a kid. I thought it was a bit silly at the time but it did unify and that was the point of it. At this point I haven't spoken with a frat brother in about 7 years, and much of it does seem quite silly. Its the sort of thing you take VERY seriously your first year, but after a while the 'magic' wears off, and you are just a bunch of teenagers wearing robes and getting drunk. Other things become more important to you, and while I look back at my time there fondly, hell I met my wife at a sorority pledge party there, the brotherhood aspect fades.

Secret Handshakes and Forgotten secrets...why won't you let me climb into the treehouse and join your secret club?

Hehe when I was a pledge, a member mentioned the 'secret handshake' and I thought he was joking. He wasn't :lol:

Damn Stonecutters!

This stuff is just WIERD.

I can't understand it at all. It seems to be a wholly American affair?

What's the point?


Mr Mephisto

Yanks are all mad, Mephisto.

All I joined at college was the Rock Society, the Role Player's Guild, and the Ski Club.

I nnever went Skiing either.

But I was elected "Master of Bestial Ceremonies" for the RPGuild...

(it was just social secretary really, no bestiality involved)