Case Study: What Fraternity Would I Join at the University of New Mexico?

Last year, I received an off-the-wall question from a reader asking me which fraternity he should join at the University of Idaho.  My first thought was to hit delete and move on.  However, I got to thinking about it and realized it made a great case study.

I would pretend I was a student looking to rush a fraternity at Idaho.  I would try to determine the chapters I would rush by following the advice I wrote in my book – How to Join a Fraternity.  Then I’d write an article about it.

I have been blown away by the popularity of the Idaho article.  I still get emails about it from Idaho students.  Last month, nearly a year after it was first published, over 1000 people read it.

So I’ve decided to make it a weekly article.  I will post on a new school every Friday.  If you want your school picked – send me an email requesting it.

Please note I am making my opinions based on what I find online about the different chapters.  I have no idea what the chapters are really like, and I have no agenda promoting or slamming anyone.  My goal is for the article to serve as a tool for chapters to see how the outside world sees them so they can improve their online image.

Where to Start – University of New Mexico – Oct 2014

The very first thing I did was Google “New Mexico Fraternity”.  This pulled up the New Mexico Greek Life Page which included a description of every fraternity.  I read through all of those quickly to narrow my list of who I would investigate further.

Here are my quick thoughts on the write-up of every fraternity at the University of New Mexico:

Alpha Tau Omega — Facebook — Twitter

I’m pretty sure these guys got their act together.  Their website is very impressive – especially their list of accomplishments.  I like how they seem to emphasize leadership in their chapter.  That is their identity and that is what they are all about.  It is also backed up by the several leadership conferences they attend.  Lots of repetition on the FB page regarding pictures, but it seems like they have a pretty good time.  I’d be shocked if these guys weren’t one of the top houses on campus.

Hard to figure out what these guys are about online.  Their webpage and FB doesn’t tell much.  I did notice a few military pictures which is something that is important to me.  From their FB pictures its seems like these guys have a good time, but I have no idea what they do.  I wish they shared more.

I really like how they did the #whyweneedphidelt twitter campaign early in the semester.  The way their messages where shared really made me feel their sincerity.  You can tell that theses guys love their chapter.  I also read on their website where they have the #1 fraternity GPA on campus.  That is pretty awesome.  Loved the pictures from their formal last fall.  I hope it was a 1920s theme, otherwise some of the outfits were a little odd….

Phi Gamma Delta — Facebook — Twitter

Pi Kappa Alpha — Facebook — Twitter

Again, not much information out there on these guys.  Their website is very outdated so it didn’t tell me much.  From their FB page it seems like they are pretty active on campus.  I have no idea what Connect is but I want to be part of it.  I also saw where they are the oldest fraternity at UNM – which means they have to be doing something right.

Sigma Chi — Facebook — Twitter

I started on their website and saw pictures of their house.  Pretty friggin awesome.  It was the only picture of a fraternity house at UNM I saw.  Then I went to their FB page and Holy Hell, these guys have a boxing night.  They must be nuts which means they are probably a hell of a lot of fun to party with.  From their twitter account it looks like they had the #mixerofchampions with Alpha Chi Omega.  I have no doubt these guys are a good time.

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