Voices is a community blog where Lambda Chi Alpha members share their fraternal experience with others. Create an account and begin telling your story.
This is my first post, so I thought it proper to introduce myself. I am a junior mechanical engineering student at Bradley Universtity in Peoria, Il. I am an associate member of Lambda Chi Alpha awaiting my initiation in early December. We, at Bradley, have recently begun the re-colonization of Lambda Chi Alpha at Bradley Universtity. We have already instituted the High Zeta offices of which I am High Beta. We also have the Executive Board set up, as well as, a social, recruitment, and education committee. I have been really impressed with all of the members of Lambda Chi Alpha which I have met so far. It is interesting to see how close complete strangers can become in just a few weeks.
I am very happy and proud of the way the colony is shaping up. We have a very diverse group of guys, that have been brought together to try to change the climate of fraternities here at Bradley. I am very excited to begin this adventure as well as to learn more about my fellow brothers here at Bradley University. If you have any comments that you feel may help us in our efforts for re-colonization feel free to respond. I will try to keep up to date on the progress of the colony. I am kind of pressed for time at the moment, I just wanted to give a quick background on what is going on here. Hopefully, next time, I will have more time to go more in depth in what we are doing here at Bradley.
In addition to my involvement in Lambda Chi Alpha, I am an active Freemason. I have served as the Master of a lodge, and will be the presiding officer is a Knights Templar commandery in the coming year. In fact, I have been a Freemason almost as long as I have been a Lambda Chi–the packages of 25-year pins are coming daily it seems right now (for you doing the math, I’m 46). In my fraternal work, I’ve done a lot in a few years, and have been involved in lodges and chapters in more than a dozen states and provinces. In short, I’ve been around the block enough to have some credibility in Masonic circles.
At a recent lodge meeting, I was sitting with some older brothers over coffee when one of them said to me, “Art, it sure is good to see a younger man like you involved. Trouble is, these kids today are joiners. What’s going to happen with the fraternity in the future, as all of us get old and die?” Read the rest of this story »
A former staff member recently sent me this Mike Wesch video about what its like to be a college student today, based on a collaborative survey created by college students (among other stats).
At the University of Maryland Baltimore County (at least until our president gets the name changed, as it is rumoured to be), we are in our second year of “deferred” rush. That is, no incoming student without a college-level GPA based on 12 credit hours or more can be offered a bid to join a sorority or fraternity. No other student organization is so restricted, interestingly enough.
This rule was put into place last year in an effort to “protect” new students from the eeeeevils of Greek life and the low GPAs that come with such involvement. It’s not unique to UMBC, of course, and on the surface, it’s not such a bad idea. After all, who can be against improving grades and academic performance? Read the rest of this story »
Brother Hebbeler, I can sympathize with on many points that you have broached.
But, we also must remember that any breach of a contract with either our IHQ and School is just that.
Now the crux on the problem centers on the what can and what cannot be done and when or by whom. In todays age of P C ness, it is impossible to totally live up to the dogma that is laid out for the Zetas. Here are young men in their prime who want to have some good times. They are constraind by a lease not neccessrly of their making but by legisation of those in power. Read the rest of this story »
