Not initiated yet, can I rush another fraternity?

[gottaquestion]

Okay I'm looking for a couple viewpoints on members of greek organizations would think of these actions.

A new fraternity was invited to our campus, they arrived last spring and are set to become fully chartered this upcoming spring. I joined this fraternity because I thought it would look good to my credentials and I would have the opportunity to meet a batch of 60-70 new people. On a resume, founding father must look impressive (and a little badass) and because of my love of meeting new people, I thought this would be a good opportunity.

I was wrong. Almost every single person who rushed this fraternity was quite different from myself. I find it quite difficult to enjoy their company... to put it politely. Also I hate to mention this, (and I wish I had had the insight to realize when i first joined) but it seems that everyone that did not receive a bid while rushing, joined this fraternity. I never got a chance to meet all the brothers before I joined and now I regret it.

So the fraternity is a colony. We become official brothers when it is fully chartered. My question is: Is it "legal" to unaffiliate with this colony and rush another fraternity? Do I count as an actual brother of the fraternity I am a colony member of..? Therefor making it illegal for me to rush another fraternity? We have not completed the ritual, but we are paying dues. (Other people are paying, I have not, on the basis that I do not want to be associated with it)

I have talked to many people in my year in different fraternities (im a sophomore) and I know I have at least two bids waiting. I plan to drop this fraternity no matter what, I'm just wondering if I can rush another.

thanks

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by gottaquestion

Okay I'm looking for a couple viewpoints on members of greek organizations would think of these actions.

A new fraternity was invited to our campus, they arrived last spring and are set to become fully chartered this upcoming spring. I joined this fraternity because I thought it would look good to my credentials and I would have the opportunity to meet a batch of 60-70 new people. On a resume, founding father must look impressive (and a little badass) and because of my love of meeting new people, I thought this would be a good opportunity.

I was wrong. Almost every single person who rushed this fraternity was quite different from myself. I find it quite difficult to enjoy their company... to put it politely. Also I hate to mention this, (and I wish I had had the insight to realize when i first joined) but it seems that everyone that did not receive a bid while rushing, joined this fraternity. I never got a chance to meet all the brothers before I joined and now I regret it.

So the fraternity is a colony. We become official brothers when it is fully chartered. My question is: Is it "legal" to unaffiliate with this colony and rush another fraternity? Do I count as an actual brother of the fraternity I am a colony member of..? Therefor making it illegal for me to rush another fraternity? We have not completed the ritual, but we are paying dues. (Other people are paying, I have not, on the basis that I do not want to be associated with it)

I have talked to many people in my year in different fraternities (im a sophomore) and I know I have at least two bids waiting. I plan to drop this fraternity no matter what, I'm just wondering if I can rush another.

thanks

Assuming you're talking about an IFC fraternity -

If you've been fully released from the current fraternity's I/HQ, you are eligible to rerush.

That said, that does NOT mean that a new fraternity will take you, as you'll have a history of jumping ship. Your friends saying "Oh yea, we have a bid sitting here for you!" does NOT mean that a bid will be extended, as it usually only takes one "no" for you to be declined.

Sidenote: If you have been guaranteed bids, why weren't those bids offered to you before you sought out your current fraternity?

[jazing]

You can never be so sure about what a few members of another group tell you. Bids are dealt with differently per organization, and their voting process might not even involve the person who told you that.

I suggest trying to make that group the best it can be. Phi Delta Theta started at my school the same way, but they are really awesome dudes. Probably one of the top productive on campus for sure.

[gottaquestion]

to answer the sidenote: I didn't really go out and meet people outside my freshman class last year. So I didn't rush, then all my friends joined fraternities (i don't see them for 8 weeks, so I try this new one starting up - bad idea).
All my friends become brothers and I then meet most people in a couple fraternities just by joining them at parties all the time.

But the point isn't whether I'll receive a bid or not - I'm certain I will. I'm asking if this is possible and if anyone has joined another fraternity in a situation similar to this, or has anyone heard of someone doing this?

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by gottaquestion

But the point isn't whether I'll receive a bid or not - I'm certain I will.

This type of thinking will set you up for disappointment.

If you were certain of the bid(s), you wouldn't need to come here asking your questions -- you would've already quit your fraternity.

[DubaiSis]

I guess nobody gave you the memo that starting a chapter of a fraternity or sorority is a LOT of work. And the colony class is not going to necessarily be the makeup of the organization in a few years. However, you have to be willing to put in the work, and part of that work is making up for what you see as a deficit in member quality.

If you don't like this group of guys or don't have it in you to do the work, quit. Hopefully you're right and some other group will pick you up. But do them a favor and get out now. The longer you are an albatross around their neck the harder time they're going to have determining the identity they want to make for themselves. Someone consciously or subconsciously telling them they're a bunch of dorks who couldn't make it anywhere else is not going to help them get where they're going.

[MaggieXi]

If you don't like the organization - then leave. Check with your advisor or the headquarters person in charge of the colony. You can ask them if you are eligible to join another fraternity - just be polite about the question.

And as for thinking that being a colony charter member is "badass" for your credentials - it only would be to people who are greek. If you have your resume in front of a non-greek who went to a school without greek life, they probably wouldn't care.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

This type of thinking will set you up for disappointment.

If you were certain of the bid(s), you wouldn't need to come here asking your questions -- you would've already quit your fraternity.

Yep, exactly. The guys who have "assured" you of these other bids may be a small minority in their fraternity or perhaps just pulling your chain to see if they can get you to jump ship. I would have a couple helpings of humble pie if I were you.

Quit the colony ASAP, though. It's not for you.

[lucgreek]

Ha. Whenever someone comes on here saying their friends have "guaranteed" them a bid or are "certain" they will get one, usually end up not getting that promised bid. If you're guaranteed this bid you wouldn't be posting your dilemma on GC.

Short answer: If you have gone through a ceremony or ritual that you cannot openly discuss to non-members of your fraternity, you were probably initiated and would need to be released by your headquarters before you could rush again.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by lucgreek

Short answer: If you have gone through a ceremony or ritual that you cannot openly discuss to non-members of your fraternity, you were probably initiated . . . .

Not necessarily. At all.

While the pledging ceremonies/associate member ceremonies/whatever-they-may-be-called-ceremonies of some fraternities are open, not all are. In fact, without doing a study of it, I'd guess that the majority of pledging ceremonies are secret. So the mere fact that one has been through a ceremony that cannot be discussed with non-members doesn't mean one has likely been initiated.

And given that the OP is a member of a colony that will be chartered this spring and said the colony members become "official brothers" when the colony is chartered, he probably hasn't been initiated yet. Again, I haven't done a comparative study, but it is common in my experience that colony members are not initiated until chartering.

[jazing]

I'll give a semi example of why you should theoretically be able to do it. A few years back, a guy pledged us and dropped after a week (his pledge class was a bit wild I've heard). The same semester another group was just colonizing, so he went to join that. Our pledging ceremony is secret and only brothers are allowed in. Yet he is in a colony now waiting to become a chapter (he could if he wanted drop the colony as they don't get initiated until after chartering)

Very few groups initiate colonies. I still don't even know for sure.

[lucgreek]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Not necessarily. At all.

While the pledging ceremonies/associate member ceremonies/whatever-they-may-be-called-ceremonies of some fraternities are open, not all are. In fact, without doing a study of it, I'd guess that the majority of pledging ceremonies are secret. So the mere fact that one has been through a ceremony that cannot be discussed with non-members doesn't mean one has likely been initiated.

And given that the OP is a member of a colony that will be chartered this spring and said the colony members become "official brothers" when the colony is chartered, he probably hasn't been initiated yet. Again, I haven't done a comparative study, but it is common in my experience that colony members are not initiated until chartering.

I might have been overgeneralizing a little.

I'd be interested in knowing if other fraternities (besides DU, which is open) reveal confidential, secret information prior to their own initiation ceremony. In my GLO, for example, secrets are only revealed at the initiation ceremony. So if you knew secrets, you were most definitely an initiated member.

Slight derail but: Say a colony dissolves after two years but never gained its charter, are those members who were in the colony not considered members and never initiated? Or does the national organization initiate those guys? Seems like a raw deal if the national org just up and dumps them. (Not sure if there are general guidelines or if each GLO views this idfferently)

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by lucgreek

I'd be interested in knowing if other fraternities (besides DU, which is open) reveal confidential, secret information prior to their own initiation ceremony. In my GLO, for example, secrets are only revealed at the initiation ceremony. So if you knew secrets, you were most definitely an initiated member.

Alpha Kappa Lambda's ritual is also open.

Then there are other fraternities that have closed initiation rituals but open pledging (by whatever name they use) ceremonies -- Lambda Chi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Order, Theta Chi and Delta Chi come immediately to mind (some of these fraternities publish these ceremonies on the web), though I think there are others. I know a Phi Mu at GreekChat once said that their New Member Ceremony is also open.

As for the second question -- how many orgs reveal secret info prior to initiation -- I guess no one could know this without knowing the rituals of specific orgs. I can say, though, that I've had the definite impression over the years that some orgs do reveal some secrets in their pledging/new member ceremonies (perhaps related to things like the meaning of the pledge/new member pin, for example?), though I would suppose that they save the "bigger" secrets for initiation. As far as that goes, I know that some at GreekChat have said that their orgs have a ceremony for those transitioning from collegiate statuts to alumni/ae status at which still more secrets are revealed.

Another example of different orgs doing things in different ways.

[AlphaFrog]

The OP said he was not initiated, so I'm not sure where the debate about that is coming in...

There might be a format depledging process, but after following that protocol, and campus rules allowing, he should be free to rush again. Whether any group would take him is really campus spesific. I believe I have heard of at least one group with actual by-laws against taking someone who has ever pledged another group, but that could have once again been campus specific.

Bottom line is that no one here can give the OP a set-in-stone answer. Doubt he's coming back anyway.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

The OP said he was not initiated, so I'm not sure where the debate about that is coming in...

Oh, who reads the thread titles?

But yeah, it's also pretty clear from what he said in his post that he hasn't been initiated yet.