Societal ideal?
March 8, 2007
Animal House? Van Wilder? Not quite.
| By Christopher Im, Contributor | |
| Thursday, March 8 2007 | |
| A Schulicher’s experience at one of York’s “unofficial” fraternities.
With fraternities, or “frats” as they are commonly called, what you see isn’t always exactly what you get. The sights you’ve seen in movies and on TV isn’t necessarily an accurate representation of what a fraternity is, nor what it stands for. In 1989, the president of York University declared that fraternities and sororities should not be granted official status. The reason cited was that the group’s commitment to exclusivity is in direct conflict with York’s general principles of inclusivity. Further, both fraternities and sororities are often associated with inappropriate conduct. However, there are currently both fraternities and sororities running at York, albeit unofficially. I had the opportunity to rush, pledge, and serve as a brother of Phi Delta Theta, one of York’s fraternities. While I am no longer with the fraternity, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t learn something and didn’t have fun in the process. Learning and having fun – at the same time! Here’s how it unfolds: It all starts with the rush period. Rushing is arguably the most fun part of becoming a brother. You go out to various social events to meet the brothers and learn about fraternity life. Said events range from poker nights to wing nights to parties, all of which are held on the coin of the fraternity. It’s actually loads of fun, being able to meet new people who you otherwise may not have met. All this culminates with the Phi Delta Theta “smoker”, a formal event where you get to meet a lot of successful alumni while enjoying a cigar – real sophistication! If you have a successful rush period, you are chosen as a pledge, or a “Phikeia” as it is called in Phi Delta Theta. During this eight week period, you are taught fraternity and chapter history, moral principles, personal responsibility and the principles behind the brotherhood. Granted, that sounds a bit boring, but it’s all actually rather interesting material. At the very least, they were readings that I didn’t mind doing. However, studying the aforementioned material isn’t the only aspect of your pledge period. You are also required to take part in a volunteer activity as well as a housing project. The former is self-explanatory. The latter is a day or two where you and your pledge brothers (those picked along with you) undertake a renovation project for the fraternity house. Yes, Phi Delta Theta does have a fraternity house (aka frat house) which is definitely cool. After the eight week period, I came out of the experience telling myself, “I learned a lot… I think.” In hindsight, I really did learn a lot. I mean, I can still recite the Greek alphabet, and how many people can say that? Once you do get through that pledge period, it’s like a whole new world is opened up. As a brother there are a lot of perks that you don’t get to see as a rush or a pledge. Of course, I can’t talk about that… I do have to explain why I left, though. The whole experience was fun and like I said before, you do learn a lot. However, it really isn’t for everybody. For example, the time commitment is something you should really consider before joining, as it is quite significant. Despite the fact that I am no longer with Phi Delta Theta, it is not an experience I regret at all. For more information about Phi Delta Theta, you can check out their website at www.ontariodelta.com or email them at
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