<p>My son, who is a sophomore, and has been watching her older sister select colleges, asked me to pose this question. He is interested in Vanderbilt, and also the schools where his older sister got accepted. If he can be accepted at Vanderbilt, what is involved in the fraterniy rush? How long is the rush period? Will he be physically hurt - is physical hazing still being done in secret? Will he be forced to dring a lot of alcohol? Can a student rush without imbibing too much alcohol?</p>
<p>My friend's son (from the West Coast) found fraternity rush difficult because he felt that many incoming freshman already had hometown connections with actives in the houses. He's from a place that doesn't send many students to Vanderbilt, and he felt that it was an obstacle. His mom said in retrospect that she would have had him do more of the incoming freshman activities to meet more people before it started.</p>
<p>Doing any of the frats have a no hazing policy?</p>
<p>Every national fraternity has a no hazing policy. They also have policies forbidding underage drinking. There are houses at universities that disregard the rules. Hazing is NEVER acceptable, and young men need to understand that they do not need to remain in a group that forces them to do things that are uncomfortable, illegal, immoral, humiliating, unsafe, etc. There are many great greek chapters at universities all over the country. Unfortunately, the ones that ignore their own rules also exist. If you want to check out rush, go for it ... but if you find that things are happening that shouldn't be, don't stick around to see how it ends. My advice is the same for students considering rush at Vandy as it would be for students considering rush at any other university.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt has a history of enforcing the rules for fraternities as practicably as possible. There will always be those who get away with violations and I know of several fraternities (Sigma Nu, Phi Delts, others as well I think) who have been forced off campus in the last 6-7 years. Some of these frats have off campus houses as well and have remained viable while not being recognized by the university. Rules against use of alcohol during rush and bid day for sororities have also been enforced with punishments doled out when violations are detected. This was the case when there was a wreck on bid day involving both members and pledges for what is considered a "premier" sorority.
Of my two children, one is Greek and one was not. Bottom line, you can be happy either way. Like much in life, the experience will largely be what you make of it.</p>
<p>my son is Greek at Duke and we lived near Vandy many years...spouse has a grad degree from there.
I would like to chime in..that unlike other fratty schools that are somewhat isolated physically or set apart, frat life at Vandy has a high profile, yes..but in no way is the ONLY way to have a vibrant social life. It is not like you wander from frat party to frat party and there is only the cold and some village to hang out in.
Nashville is steps away...there is plenty for independents to do. Do not underestimate Nashville as a fun city and playground that many colleges would envy. Nashville is full of artists of all kinds playing for cheap..and every major speaker and talent passes through town or through Vandy itself.</p>
<p>Just to add, although fraternities such as Sigma Nu and Phi Delt have been kicked off.. both have been re-charted on campus and those are probably the 'best' to get involved in if you're someone looking for a fraternity experience without the hazing because since they just got back on campus they are adhering strictly to the no-hazing rules. I have a friend who rushed Sigma Nu last year and absolutely loves it; he rushed another IFC fraternity freshman year but dropped it because of the hazing.</p>
<p>Are there separate fraternity and sorority houses in Vanderbilt for its members? If so, since Vanderbilt will begin its "residential dorms" starting with Class 2012, what is the future of fraternity and sorority houses (if there are any)?</p>
<p>fraternity and sorority houses at vandy are smaller than normal frat/sorority houses because only top 6 officers are allowed to live in the house. vu has always wanted to keep all students living in residential housing on campus so they only allow 6 officers from each greek inst. in each house</p>
<p>Depending on whether you are rushing or pledging, students get a very different experience. While for sororities it's more about being judged in the beginning/trying to make friends/connections quick, there are gifts in the end - tons of gifts are given once you get into a house and it's all pretty "civilized" from there. Although, mind you the rushing process broke several people on my hall. There were tons of girls crying b/c the cutting process was a bit random (b/c such a large pledge class) and girls didn't feel "good enough" for the houses they were going for. Then they have their formals and initiations, etc.</p>
<p>For pledging, it's different. To be honest, yes there is hazing. In my opinion, nothing too severe - and every house is different. Some houses don't really do much of anything (one house made the pledge class have "like a virigin" as their ringtone and the brothers would call them during class and they had to let it ring 3 times before they silenced it, among other things), etc. However, other houses had the boys do an insane amount of pushups for answering questions wrong (they had to memorize all the facts about all their brothers, including birthdate, hometown, majors, full name, class, where they live etc. a friend of mine even ended of failing several classes b/c they were having to memorize so much - including having to memorize about a hundred rules that all started with the phrase "new b1tches must..." Besides this, if they messed up they had to go stupid things, which in some cases, yes, included drinking massive amounts of alcohol.) However, again, every house is different. Most guys I talked to said it sucked but it was "what they had to do" and they thought, in the end, they'd be a lot closer for it. The process finally just ended after "hell week" for them and they just spent this past weekend in Panama, FL getting wasted to celebrate 'initiation'. Everyone was required (including their dates) to bring a decorated cooler full of liquor for their group.</p>
<p>Every house differs as does every college. Only 30% of the males here pledge so it's not as though your son would be the minority if he didn't pledge and I personally don't know of anyone who dropped out because the "hazing" was too bad. I hope this helped....</p>
<p>I dont know if your question was answered but my son is a freshman and just completed being a pledge. Rush for freshman last all fall. There are many parties in the fall that are open to the whole campus. It is a time in which to get familiar with the Fraternities and get to know the brothers. There are large groups coming from the dorms that visit the houses all the time. My son had no one else there from his hs. Note there are over 1000 different hs represented, in the Class of 2011, with a class size of 1600 students. Your son will not be the only one that doesnt know anyone at Vandy going in. Right before the end of Fall semester, about all fraternities have a fall formal, if you get invited to this you are pretty much going to get a bid from that Frat. Being a pledge lasts about 8 weeks, anything over that is against University policy. As mentioned above several frat, abused this rule and were punished. I hope that answered your questions.</p>
<p>Personal choice, it is a free country. Plus you dont have to belong to a fraternity to fit in.</p>
<p>being in a good fraternity (sae, beta, ka, pike, dke, phi psi) will make your college experience way way more fun</p>
<p>abc, I haven't even gotten to Vandy yet, but I have a lot of friends that are there, and after having gone to boarding school, most of my friends are Greek. There are guys from my school in every one you mentioned except for Pike and Phi Psi so I don't really think they can be as "good" as you think they are. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, one of the big reasons I'm going to Vandy is the renowned Greek Life and trying to convince yourself that the social scene doesn't resolve around going out and "getting drunk" at Fraternity parts is a little naive and I bet a good number of those people end up transferring.</p>
<p>Palmettotree, perhaps YOUR social scene will revolve around going out & getting drunk. However, that is not the only thing to do in a decent size school located in a thriving city. There are enough people at Vandy who think there is more to life than being wasted to provide an alternative social scene. I doubt that the the 60% at Vandy who are not greek are crying in their rooms by themselves because they aren't part of the greek party scene --- in fact, I bet they actually have their own groups & they actually have fun, interesting social lives that --- gasp --- might not involve getting drunk at fraternity parties. I'll even go so far as to suggest that there might be greeks at Vandy who feel that way. </p>
<p>Imagine that.</p>
<p>BTW, I am not a teetotaler. I drank in college. I just thought then & think now that there is more to life than being wasted. I have known plenty of people who don't drink & still had/have social lives.</p>
<p>...what kind of logic is that? phi psi and pike are both predominantly northern frats so that may be the reason your friends didn't join either one. in a previous post you say you went to a southern boarding school. but lets keep the specific frat discussion to that thread. i completely agree with your second point though.</p>
<p>That argument makes sense to an extent I guess. Probably why only one guy joined BTP (i've heard they're mostly Northern too). Rush should be fun though.</p>
<p>You're from New Orleans? What school? My best friend was going to go to Isidore Newman before he came here.</p>
<p>"the brothers would call them during class and they had to let it ring 3 times before they silenced it"</p>
<p>And the other students who have to sit and listen to that over and over don't strangle the pledges?</p>
<p>If I were paying close to 50 grand a year for the privilege to attend that interrupted class, there'd be hell to pay.</p>
<p>If your kids decide not to pledge a frat, they at the very least should rush. Rush was the most fun I had freshman year, and its really great getting to meet people from all the different fraternities. Pledging is a personal commitment, and I have several friends who depledged their fraternities not because they thought it was too tough, but because the realized that wasn't where they wanted to be. Your heart has to be in it, or it probably isn't worth it. There are also plenty of guys who are independent but still find themselves welcome within the Greek scene and not pledging didn't hurt their social life. Also, I really hate this outsider impression that joining a fraternity is buying your friends. Couldn't be farther from the truth.</p>