<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>I was wondering if anyone had any insights on this organization on campus? So far I've heard that it's a fraternity-like literary-society but I'm in the dark as to what else.</p>
<p>The Saint As? Largely irrelevant. </p>
<p>A literary frat that aspires to be Columbia’s prime “secret society”. Unfortunately, this is Columbia and no one cares about the interchangeable frats aside from their actual members. </p>
<p>They don’t have an official association to the Activity’s Board being a national thing so no one’s quite sure what it is they do exactly aside from throwing stick-in-your-butt parties. They’re really not literary I hear- you’ll get more from the creative writing department in terms of speakers, magazines, & contests.</p>
<p>All I know is that membership is $10,000 a semester (or possibly year) and you allegedly make “kickass” connections. A rich version of the hipster frat basically (yeah…we have a hipster frat). They’re not the Skull and Bones (in the sense that no one actually wants to join) though they really, really want to be.</p>
<p>Which fraternity is the hipster frat?</p>
<p>ADP. Alpha delta phi.</p>
<p>I went to their first recruiting event with a friend…I never heard the word ‘meta’ spoken so often in conversation. By androgynous guys wearing scarves. And sunglasses. Indoors. At night. In September.</p>
<p>Do not want.</p>
<p>You will only be admitted to Saint A’s if your family is well monied.</p>
<p>Sigma Chi is football
Sigma Nu is swimming
KappaDeltaRho is basketball
AEPi is jewish
Sig Ep is pretty chill (they don’t rush)
Pike is meat-head
Don’t know much about Beta Theta Pi
Same goes for Delta Sig</p>
<p>Beta is a more academically-minded group, they have a dry house (Although they’ll have events every now and then) and help each other out with tutoring and such.</p>
<p>Very different from the national BTP, which basically looks like the meathead frat from Animal House, from what I heard from a few founding brothers.</p>
<p>/was not in a frat</p>
<p>That’s too bad about St. A’s. When I visited, I heard that admission to St. A’s was contingent on buying a plane ticket to China–and then burning it (allegedly to prove that you have the money). That on top of $10,000 a semester? A little bit flagrant with our money here. Also, a bit of a non-sequitor, but are they co-ed as well? </p>
<p>Coming from a New England prep school, I’m a little bit worried about the preponderance of hipsters on campus and I heard St. A’s was a bit of a respite from that. I might have to look elsewhere. </p>
<p>Do you guys know anything about Pi Kappa Alpha? For some reason they’re not too high profile.</p>
<p>Not sure what’s going on with the top of my post–it should start after the first two paragraphs at “That’s too bad”</p>
<p>Pi Kappa Alpha is Pike. They’re certainly not meat heads though, I’ve got two friends in Pike, one of which is a really good/close friend, and he’s far from meat head, much closer to “lazy but really smart” (he starts studying the day before a midterm/final and still gets mostly A’s). I would think Pike would be the best to pledge for someone who wanted to join a frat, seems to be the most popular and fun, although I think they have a lot more mixers (exclusive to members and whatever sorority it’s with) than parties></p>
<p>My freshman year (2002-2003), Pike was busted by the Spectator, who published a document that Pike had been circulating to its members that was essentially a date-rape manual. A how-to guide, if you will. Got a few people in some SERIOUS trouble.</p>
<p>I saw nothing in my remaining years to change my opinion of that crew.</p>
<p>I have a friend, an ex-Pike, who went through the formal disaffiliation process at another school. From his stories, it sounds as though Pikes may be of the same stripe, regardless of location.</p>
<p>That is true, there are some kids in Pike currently that from what I’ve heard have done some…frowned-upon, Tucker Max-like things, but it’s certainly not everyone in the frat. I’ve heard about a few not-so-great things with Pike, but also I’ve heard about not-so-great stuff with just about every group or organization here, and I’m sure the same’s true about just about all colleges. For example, as a hazing ritual for freshmen during the 2007-2008 school year, the men’s tennis team had all the froshies go to a gay bar and each had to get a gay man to buy him a drink before they were allowed to leave. The difference is that didn’t get published in the spectator since they were smart enough not to get caught. Pike essentially was un-cautious and unlucky enough to get caught with the Spec article most likely.</p>
<p>I’d rather regal a gay guy with tales of my 18-inch c*ck until he buys me a drink than be associated, in any way, with a group that condones date rape. The former sounds like pretty hilarious hazing actually. </p>
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<p>Frankly I’d recommend you wait until you get there to see if you even need to join a frat. To say they’re a minority is sugar-coating it. This is not a frat/soro-centric school. A few clubs might just do the trick for you.</p>
<p>El Doucche is El doucche after all. Whether it’s in the hipster crowds, or the frats, or in the random populace. If your only reason for wanting to join one is to escape it, I would reconsider. </p>
<p>There are PLENTY of amazing people here and most of them aren’t that way because they know a handshake.</p>
<p>P.S. Sorry, I transferred from a school where one year pledges at a frat had to be sodomized by broomstick as part of their initiation. Frats to me are unnecessarily pathological environments…and just so damn homo-erotic. I mean damn. Though yeah, the Saint As are co-ed, I just don’t know the name for a co-ed frat/soro.</p>
<p>Thanks for the insight, LionHeaded. I guess it did seem like I was looking to the Greek scene for “escape” as you put it haha–not the case at all in reality, just wanted to check on a possible area of interest.</p>
<p>To continue the Pike bashing: I have a friend who is in it and is a really chill guy but almost everyone else I know in it is a complete d-bag. There were 3 girls on my floor freshman year who were roofied and barely made it home from Pike parties. I remember my freshman year they set up a rope like at clubs and tried to bounce people…during orientation week…when every other frat and group at school was having parties. Maybe it’s changed but that kind of d-baggery will forever color my opinion of them.</p>
<p>As far as hipsters go, they are definitely a presence but not like at NYU. It’s not like every person you see is going to start talking to you about Animal Collective or their sweet fixed-gear, brake-less bike. They are a minority just like every other group on campus.</p>
<p>I won’t give Animal Collective a chance because people like this keep suggesting them to me:</p>
<p>[Look</a> at this ■■■■■■■ hipster](<a href=“http://www.latfh.com%5DLook”>http://www.latfh.com)</p>
<p>I still can’t tell what the difference between a mustache and ‘ironic mustache’ is supposed to be exactly.</p>
<p>Haha, yea I was specifically referencing this pic:</p>
<p>[Look</a> at this ■■■■■■■ hipster - ?If I didn?t already know I was listening to…](<a href=“http://www.latfh.com/post/92350833/if-i-didnt-already-know-i-was-listening-to]Look”>http://www.latfh.com/post/92350833/if-i-didnt-already-know-i-was-listening-to)</p>
<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>I was wondering if anyone had any insights on this organization on campus? i am really interesting in joining one of these two fraternity, St. A’s or the Beta Theta Pi, so any insights would be good… </p>