Fraternities

<p>I was hoping someone could share some subjective opinions of Vanderbilt's fraternities and Greek life. Without this thread getting out of control, can someone describe the different fraternities on campus and what their members are like? (i.e. the studious, the partiers, the cool, the lame, the north, the south, the athletes, the nerds, etc.)</p>

<p>I'll attempt to share with you some of my experiences with the fraternities (some but not all) on campus in some order.</p>

<p>Sigma Chi - In my opinion probably the most well-rounded fraternity on campus. Great parties, cool brothers, run the gamut as far as the geographic representation. Not so many parties, but their parties are the best on campus. Brothers are generally pretty buff (just an observation), pretty athletic</p>

<p>Beta Theta Pi- Clearly great partiers but somewhat aristocratic. Mostly rich kids but pretty cool guys altogether. They were on probation last semester for some antics during the Spring semester of 2005, if that tells you something about their party scene.</p>

<p>Sigma Alpha Epsilon- Another great party fraternity with a lot of fun-loving guys. A great party scene made up of a lot of Southerners. From what I hear, it is Southern at most universities (established in the South as a fraternity for gentleman). Another well-respected fraternity.</p>

<p>Kappa Alpha Order- Can you say aristocratic? If you're not a Southerner, don't bother. They have a terrific beer pong table with a map of only southern states as sort of a Confederacy throw-back. Southern traditionalists. Someone compared it to being sort of a diluted Beta, which I wouldn't really agree with, but it gets across the message somewhat. They're Southerners at Vanderbilt (Drink, party, wealthy). Get the point. Well-respected.</p>

<p>Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE)- Partiers. Well-put. Sort of a motley crew of brothers that have one thing in common, their love of parties. Always have something going on and the doors are generally open most times.</p>

<p>Delta Kappa Epsilon(DEKE)- Somewhat like PIKE, but with another common trait, many of these guys are weight-lifters and play rugby (or something like it). Great beer-drinking house. Fun house but probably the one of the least studious (second lowest All-IFC GPA of 16 IFC fraternities).</p>

<p>Phi Kappa Psi (Phi Psi)- Another party fraternity like the last two. Good parties (I know it sounds repetitive) but not really as popular. Good fraternity that doesn't really have geographical borders. Last place in All-Fraternity (IFC) GPA last semester.</p>

<p>Alpha Epsilon Pi- National Jewish fraternity but not totally Jewish. They have a lot of parties but I never really had a great deal of fun. Lots of theme parties (I don't really like these). Good brothers (NEVER WILL I SAY ANY FRATERNITY IS BAD OR INFERIOR BECAUSE NO FRATERNITY IS SO). New house, which is impressive.</p>

<p>Alpha Tau Omega- Studious fraternity (BEST ALL-IFC GPA) that can still party. They have some good parties and have a pretty diverse population of brothers. Kind of off the beaten path but not really.</p>

<p>Phi Kappa Sigma- They party, but I'm not really partial to their parties. I'm sure they have a good brotherhood, which is what a fraternity is all about, but not exactly swimming in popularity.</p>

<p>Zeta Beta Tau- Another Jewish Fraternity that isn't really Jewish. Another lower key house with parties that are good. Pretty smart and studious from what I gather but in general, a more mundane (no offense intended) fraternity.</p>

<p>Lambda Chi Alpha- Not-so-popular fraternity with more good brothers. Great musical taste but parties are few and far between. I've never seen this house really rocking, but I never really gave this house a fair chance. Hard to say.</p>

<p>Kappa Sigma- Put on probation from the National Fraternity for some bad decisions (like playing beer pong outside). No parties for a while. Gotta feel sorry for them but...</p>

<p>There are a few other fraternities around, but these are the biggies. Something to bear in mind is that two of our houses got kicked off campus for hazing (Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Nu), both of which will be recolonizing in 2006-2007, or at least that's what I've been told.</p>

<p>I don't really like trying to say what fraternities are good and bad because each fraternity has something different to offer. Diversity is key. Still, I hope this is somewhat helpful. Sorry if I offend anybody, but I'm just giving my opinion.</p>

<p>Dores, thank you so much for your information/insight. It really helps a lot. Does any one else out there have an opinion? Come on guys, there have been 171 views; I know someone out there knows more than I do.</p>

<p>i was just at a sig chi party - for the end of derby days- im an incomming for next year.... it was pretty ridiclous, and fun. it was like a glow paint club party deal, and the buff comment is deserved many of the frat boys had no shirts on- ha. as a male it was wierd but i wasnt focused on them reallly. they seemed nice i met a few before the party
just my 2 cents they seem pretty sweet.</p>