Comments for The Fraternity Advisor

Comment on 6 Interesting Fraternity Articles by Dennis

Dennis — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:06:10 +0000

Solid article Cole. Really enjoyed it. Some other very good links too. Thanks Pat.

Comment on How to Hide Undesirable Brothers During Fraternity Recruitment by Dennis

Dennis — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:05:06 +0000

I get putting your best foot forward, make a good first impression, etc. Those are good things, do that. Pick out a crew of about 6 rock star closers. Don’t take up all your quality rushers. Then divide everyone else up into small rush teams of 3-4 guys with one as a rush captain. Put the guys you want to put in the limelight as the captains, but match them up with a couple other guys they can work well with. Then each team can teamwork rush individual guys & bring in the rock star closer team for backup. The guys you want up front are pushed out there. The guys that don’t project the image you want are still visible and actively participating, but they can gravitate more to a support role if they choose or at least be close at hand to one of your team leaders. It’s not hard to figure out.

What you don’t want to do is hide brothers in the kitchen. Don’t be dishonest with rushees. If you sell them a BS bill of goods and the day after they take a bid they realize the chapter is not what they were sold on, half of them will drop and your reputation, momentum, direction, etc will all go to hell. People want to be part of success. Show them you have momentum and are in the middle of a break out that will put you back on top. That’ll attract guys that want to work hard and be part of the solution, not just ride the coattails of an already successful chapter.

Comment on 6 Interesting Fraternity Articles by Cole Kennedy

Cole Kennedy — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:51:54 +0000

Hey! Glad you liked my Lessons from Augusta article, and thanks for linking to it! If you have time, I also wrote a piece about pledgeship, and the meaning I felt it had. Not necessarily something people agree with me about, but interesting nonetheless. Here’s the link:

http://wp.me/p1D7s9-4r

Comment on 3 Steps (and 3 Tips) to Engaging Your Fraternity Alumni by Thom Cook

Thom Cook — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:30:41 +0000

As an alumnus of Theta Chi, I’ve worked with countless chapters and even more undergrads over the past decade. One thing drives me crazy and that’s the rampant misuse of the words ‘alumnus’ and ‘alumni’. The first is singular and means only one; the second is the plural form and means more than one alumnus. The above article has several usage errors (ie Step 3, #1 should read, ‘Pick an alumnus…’. Another is ‘Which alumnus should I interview…’ #5 should read, ‘Reach out to the next alumnus…’)

Trust me, your alumni will not take you seriously if you cannot differentiate between these two terms. Take the time to proofread any and all correspondence before mailing/e-mailing/posting. Your alumni will thank you and so will countless grammarians.

For usage examples, you may want to check out the website I built for my chapter alumni: http://www.deltakappaalumni.webs.com

Fraternally,
Thom Cook
Theta Chi/Delta Kappa ’83

Comment on How a Fraternity Survives a Membership Review by Dennis

Dennis — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:35:33 +0000

Solid answer.

9 guys is tough. After a review, it’s common to lose a few extra guys. They each have to figure out for themselves how to manage those relationships. Their group of friends is broken up. They aren’t getting out of it what they did before. It’s normal that some will walk away. Joe’s right too that you have a whole lot of work ahead of you. You’re essentially a colony starting over from scratch, albeit without the excitement of being new to campus & already have a charter on the wall. When your remaining guys actually come to realize what that really means, some of them may not be as committed. Holding those guys together and buying in to what you have ahead of you is critical. I would spend a lot of time talking to your national office’s expansion staff. They’re good at this stuff.

The recruiting suspension bothers me. Was that a school thing? Cause I’ve never seen a national office prevent recruiting. And, I have a big problem with schools interfering in recruiting – freedom of association and all that. That being the case though, you’re in a tough spot. You aren’t going to pour straight into recruiting, even though that’s what you desperately need. You’re going to have to spool down social cause you aren’t going to have any money, but you still have to do some stuff to keep it fun, especially with the increased work load. It would seem your reputation is tarnished in this instance. It’s probably a good idea to do a lot of visible philanthropy and make sure you pull solid grades. Set the foundation, in perception if not reality, to show you’re a new chapter coming out of this situation. Summer & the first half of Fall have to be about foundation. After Fall rush is over though, you need to be recruiting hard to land a huge Spring class. Again, the expansion staff should be able to help you.

Good luck!

Comment on How a Fraternity Survives a Membership Review by pat

pat — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:39:45 +0000

Great answer Joe. The only thing I would stress is to make sure you focus your efforts. It is ok if you can’t do everything that a ‘normal’ chapter would do. Be sure though that are exceptional at the things you do do.

It will be a tough road to get back to the status you were at before the review. However, if you dedicate the time and effort to get there I promise it will be worth it.

Comment on Recycling Cans Fundraiser by CansCount

CansCount — Fri, 04 May 2012 01:08:06 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. If you are looking to earn some money for your group or want to start an individual recycling effort, check out CansCount.org and start turning other people’s trash into cash!

Comment on Marijuana Fraternity House by pat

pat — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:53:05 +0000

I couldn’t agree more with the points Dennis made. You have to address this issue swiftly and decisively.

As the president of my chapter, I had to evict a guy for smoking in the house. He threatened to make up hazing allegations and report them to the university to get back at us. To protect the chapter and our charter, we had to turn him into the university.

While this was incredibly difficult, it was the right move. This was a key turning point for my chapter.

It takes character to do the right thing when it isn’t easy. Deep down you know what the right move is. Don’t be a sheep that follows the crowd. Be proud and do the right thing.

Here is an old article I wrote that details the drug issues I had with my chapter: http://thefraternityadvisor.com/fraternity-drug-problem/.

Good luck!

Pat

Comment on A Fraternity President Needs to be a Visionary by pat

pat — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:35:10 +0000

I wish I was lying in this article. Most people lie and say they were good. I think I’d be the first to lie and say I failed…

Regardless, the point is this – if you want your brotherhood to have a great sense of accomplishment, then they have to have a part in setting the vision for the fraternity. If they don’t have ownership of the goal, then they won’t really care if it is achieved or not.

Unfortunately, I had to learn this lesson the hard way. I hope others don’t make my same mistake.

Comment on A Fraternity President Needs to be a Visionary by Fratenity brother

Fratenity brother — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:57:05 +0000

Literally anyone who has been in a fraternity knows you are lying about all these points. Being part of a brotherhood is dear to me and it is highly disappointing you are tryin to approach the experience from a first person point of view.