Pledging for a frat

<p>I'm a freshman here at cornell and I was planning on rushing, and hopefully, if i get a bid, pledging for Delta Upsilon. </p>

<p>If anyone knows anything about pledging here, I was just wondering what the pledging process is like generally. I heard from one of the brothers that I have to come to the house every night to eat dinner and do the dishes afterwards, but I'm sure there's a lot more to it than that. Leave any comments related to this subject too, thanks.</p>

<p>lol... there is a LOT more to it than that- much of which they are not allowed to talk about and will force you not to talk about. you will have to spend some significant portion of time being abused, dehumanized, and stripped of all dignity before becoming a brother. enjoy it, 'bro!'</p>

<p>Here's an in-depth testimonial of hazing at Cornell.</p>

<p>Hazing</a> at Cornell: Testimonies</p>

<p>My roommate pledged a frat and for one 3 week stretch, I think he attended maybe 3 lectures. They woke him up at 3 in the morning one day and made him lie down face in the ground for 3 straight hours. There's plenty more.</p>

<p>But let's be honest. You live as a complete biznatch w/ no balls for a whole semester and you get your whole college social life made for you. So there's a trade-off. I guess you'll just have to decide if it's worth it.</p>

<p>Also realize that not every frat is the same, as much as some people outside the greek system would have you believe. Don't pigeonhole yourself into one fraternity during rush - at least try visiting a handful of other houses that seem cool and get to know some of the guys. You may find yourself in a place that you wouldn't have expected.</p>

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you will have to spend some significant portion of time being abused, dehumanized, and stripped of all dignity before becoming a brother. enjoy it, 'bro!'

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</p>

<p>There are some houses that don't enjoy such a reputation. But they tend to be the more low key houses on campus.</p>

<p>Does anyone know anything about delta upsilon? I'm thinking of rushing there and the guys I've met so far are really sincere and laid-back. </p>

<p>Also, thanks dontno for that link, but I highly doubt that the majority of frats on campus haze as harshly as they do. Well, i hope not, at least.</p>

<p>i actually pledged at a non "low key house" and it really wasnt that bad. i think on this website a lot of people who havent experienced it just talk about it based on rumors. that website above is a list of the worst hazing violations at cornell, but i can say i experienced nothing like that. i had heard it was going to be an awful process, but for the most part you are just asked to learn history of a house and need recognize you are going to get yelled at. to be honest, i made some of my best friends running around doing stupid stuff, and it helps bring you and your pledge class together.. </p>

<p>i am sure there are other great ways to bring people together, all i am saying is that for many, it is a great experience for bonding etc..but i would never want to do it a second time through. </p>

<p>most houses really dont have terrible pledging, so keep that in mind. also, even though you like DU a lot now, keep an open mind and go to a bunch of houses especially at the beginning. make sure at the end of the week you are still going to 2 or 3 just in case. a lot of people think they know what they want to join ahead of time, but i know a bunch of people that joined other houses.</p>

<p>well I've been to a bunch of parties and DU definitely isn't the only one I'd be interested in, but I'm worried that jumping around from frat to frat during rush week will prevent me from really getting to know the brothers at a frat and thus decrease my chances of getting a bid. I'm also going to rush for lambda chi and maybe zeta psi, but I felt the most comfortable at DU when I went for the thanksgiving dinner. Also, the president is a PAM major, like me, so that's pretty cool.</p>

<p>also, does pledging take a big toll on your grades? i'm thinking about taking 17 credits next semester plus TAing for a 3 credit class... is that too much?</p>

<p>
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Does anyone know anything about delta upsilon? I'm thinking of rushing there and the guys I've met so far are really sincere and laid-back.

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I don't like to talk about specific houses, but I've never felt good vibes from DU. They do tend to throw solid open parties though.</p>

<p>At almost any house pledging should be pretty miserable though. That's the point. At the same time don't believe everything you read on the internet. If every brother was able to make it through the process, you should be able to also.</p>

<p>is pledging for a sorority as intense???</p>

<p>why do people do this crap again?</p>

<p>Something about our primordial origins being in herds. Nothing like peer pressure to turn you into something you may not be.</p>

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If every brother was able to make it through the process, you should be able to also.

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</p>

<p>Man, this is making me think twice about pledging at whatever uni I end up at. How are the more Jewish frats at Cornell like (ZBT, etc)? Are they hard on the hazing, too?</p>

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is pledging for a sorority as intense???

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Not at all.</p>

<p>
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why do people do this crap again?

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It creates unity among pledges. </p>

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How are the more Jewish frats at Cornell like (ZBT, etc)?

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Mainly they're just more Jewish. The houses with better reputations (SAE, PIKE, TEP) will tend to haze more than the less popular ones (ZBT, Lambda Chi, AEPi, Sammy). But really the entire process is secretive. Brothers can't talk about hazing, and anything else will mainly be speculation.</p>

<p>Is it just me or do Jewish, black, and hispanic frats reek of overt tribalism? And why isn't there an Italian=American or British-American frat? Is it really necessary in 2008 to form exclusive groups based on ethnicity?</p>

<p>Everyone always complains about Ujumma and other program houses, but I've never heard any rumblings concerning ethnic themed fraternities. I understand, let's say the Center for Jewish living as a practical issue regarding religious observance (tho I don't think the university should fund religious institutions). But the whole idea of official groups basically only inviting a certain ethnic group to participate disturbs me.</p>

<p>Oh and if there was an Italian frat, that would be wrong as well.</p>

<p>A little off topic, but Chandler brought it up.</p>

<p>Wow there is way to intense of a generalization happening with half these posts. A good amount of frats aren't horrible for pledging, and I know of none that are like that testimonial. I absolutely recommend rushing and you should definitely look at different houses. If u stay at one house all day every day it will get sort of weird. Also rush is split by campus halves so that will almost force u to look at different ones. Also you should move around a bit at night for the parties b/c all of them will be throwing different events. One of the main things that will make u move around is that you will be rushing with friends. You will eventually narrow down ur choices as the days pass and travel with them less, but it is definitely a good idea to travel with them at first because it helps you be much more comfortable and natural around the frats which is what you want. I'll also message you for further info since I don't want this to become a copy of last years' controversial thread. </p>

<p>I'll make one part public tho: </p>

<p>1) DU says they do nonhazing pledging (altho I'm not sure how true that is) because they used to have problems with hazing
2) SAE and Lambda Chi aren't Jewish frats lmao. Funny that you thought that because I'm pretty sure SAE used to be pretty damn WASPy (altho they aren't now).</p>

<p>In response to dontno: The Jewish frats as a whole aren't known for hazing (altho some are). It's the black and asian frats that are most well known for it I think. And there pretty much are British American frats...look at the WASP houses! And do we really want a house full of guidos? I respectively decline lol</p>

<p>The houses are rather open to other ethnicities. I know the Jewish houses are definitely not for Jewish kids only. I'm pretty sure if ur friends with the multicultural brothers you would get in...especially for the black frats. I'm rather unsure about the Asian frats tho...</p>

<p>I hope none of this was insulting for anyone! Just my opinions and what I've seen around campus. Feel free to disagree but don't get mad! I have friends in Jewish and multicultural frats and they all like it so I'm not saying these things as an insult</p>

<p>wow dontno. way to be really racist and offensive. calling jewish, hispanic, and black frats TRIBAL?!? talk about being rude and ignorant. this is 2008. wake up.</p>

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2) SAE and Lambda Chi aren't Jewish frats lmao. Funny that you thought that because I'm pretty sure SAE used to be pretty damn WASPy (altho they aren't now).

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<p>SAE and Lambda Chi defiantly are Jewish frats. Maybe not nationally--but then again PIKE isn't Jewish nationally and you would have a hard time arguing it isn't Jewish at Cornell.
Also there really aren't any WASPy houses in the traditional sense of the word. If you look at the last names of brothers at houses with that reputation you will find the majority of them are Irish, Italian, Eastern European, etc.</p>