Sorority/Fraternity Affiliation?!

houstongal (Trustee board) says on Jan 30, 2008, 21:25:

TravelinGirl was a Pi Beta Phi at Tennessee
RobertJorge was Sigma Nu at Ball State
I was a Kappa Kappa Gamma at Washington University in St Louis

Any others?

"It is now official: there's no place on earth where you will not find a Peruvian band." David Sedaris

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slguy says on Jan 30, 2008, 21:58:

Sadly, I listened to groucho ( i think?)

Any club that would have me as a member, I want no part of....

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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Robert Jorge says on Jan 30, 2008, 22:19:

Something else to add to the thread - What are some famous fraternity members from your organization? An example, David Letterman is probably the most famous Greek from Ball State - Sigma Chi. Jim Davis (Garfield cartoonist) is second from Ball State - can't remember the fraternity name. Phi Xi?

Sigma Nus have James Dean, Pat Riley, Paul Tibbets, Bob Barker, Harrison Ford, Trent Lott, etc.

"You can not take the barrio out of the girl you really can't." Oneforamillion

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Robert Jorge says on Jan 30, 2008, 22:19:

Oh ya, and Paul "Bear" Bryant for those Alabama fans.

"You can not take the barrio out of the girl you really can't." Oneforamillion

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kalder says on Jan 31, 2008, 00:51:

A system that doesn't exist in Britain and is looked upon with a mixture of disquiet and fascination.

"A piece of cheese may entrap a mouse, but a bicycle could ensnare the Imperial Chancellor."~~An Bai Kuang

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houstongal (Trustee board) says on Jan 31, 2008, 03:06:

LOL Kalder!

"It is now official: there's no place on earth where you will not find a Peruvian band." David Sedaris

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kalder says on Jan 31, 2008, 07:52:

Seriously HG, we regard them as bizarre. I'm not even entirely sure what they are. Are they elite trans-university clubs that offer certain benefits to their membership? What percentage of US students belong to them?

I'm off to Wikipedia...

"A piece of cheese may entrap a mouse, but a bicycle could ensnare the Imperial Chancellor."~~An Bai Kuang

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houstongal (Trustee board) says on Jan 31, 2008, 09:16:

jajaja Kalder! You go off and tell us what you find.

I believe that my university experience was heightened because of my affiliation with my sorority. My sisters were my best friends. I still keep in touch with many of them. I would guess that GL, RJ, and TG would concur.

Sorry GL....I didn't associate much with the SAE's either!

"It is now official: there's no place on earth where you will not find a Peruvian band." David Sedaris

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travelingirl says on Jan 31, 2008, 09:40:

I agree, Houston. Some of my best friends were (and still are) from my sorority. Kalder's comments were interesting though. I guess I didn't realize they weren't in the UK.

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slguy says on Jan 31, 2008, 10:03:

Near as i can figure, at least for my son at the Univ.of Virginia, it's an excuse for having a place to hang out with buddies and have wild parties. Maybe other fraternities are more businesslike. Sorry, I can't tell you which he belongs to. Those names are all greek to me.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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houstongal (Trustee board) says on Jan 31, 2008, 16:09:

Well yes slguy, it was a great excuse to hang out with like people and attend great parties. And the frat guys always seem to attract women...either sorority girls or their little sisters (if they had a little sister system).

But when he graduates you'll see that he'll still be in contact with his brothers. And when he meets co-workers who was in the same fraternity but at a different school, you have an instant connection which is pretty cool (like I have with my auditor). It's that secret handshake, silly songs, and other secret rituals that bond us together.

Certainly the greek life isn't for everyone, but for those who are looking for kinship while in college, it's a great way to meet lots of people and enhance their college experience.

"It is now official: there's no place on earth where you will not find a Peruvian band." David Sedaris

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slguy says on Jan 31, 2008, 16:16:

I was yanking your chain alittle, HG.

with my time off between high school and college, I was a little more serious about school than most of the frat boys at the time- especially since I was paying the tab.....so I really had little interest. Maybe I should have.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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houstongal (Trustee board) says on Jan 31, 2008, 16:27:

You probably would've had a blast!

"It is now official: there's no place on earth where you will not find a Peruvian band." David Sedaris

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msaucey says on Jan 31, 2008, 16:28:

I probably would have joined a sorority, but somehow or other my time constraints always prevented active participation in most groups.... The only group I participated was MEChA... But, that too was just too much....

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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houstongal (Trustee board) says on Jan 31, 2008, 16:37:

What's MEChA stand for?

"It is now official: there's no place on earth where you will not find a Peruvian band." David Sedaris

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msaucey says on Jan 31, 2008, 16:55:

Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán... aka "La Raza"... It's a movement organization primarily focused to get Chicano students, back out on the streets and fight for justice....

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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aztec says on Jan 31, 2008, 17:06:

msaucey is the following the "movement organization " you reference?

WHAT IS RAZA

"La Raza" (The Race) is a broad term which refers to those whose ancestry is indigenous to the area of Mexico (or "Aztlan"). MEChA members refer to themselves as "La Raza" or "Raza," but the term itself is used to indicate camaraderie among those in different organizations with the same objectives. There are a number of organizations who consider themselves to be La Raza.

The most visible of these groups are MEChA, The Brown Berets de Aztlan, OLA (Organization for the Liberation of Aztlan), La Raza Unida Party, and the "Nation of Aztlan" to name a few. Although the activism of these organizations vary from somewhat radical to extremely radical, they share the same objectives, the "liberation of Aztlan." Each follows the Raza manifesto "El Plan de Aztlan (sometimes called "El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan"). The Nation of Aztlan, tied to La Voz de Aztlan disseminates the exact same propaganda that MEChA spreads including antisemitic propaganda. Believers in the Aztlan legend insist upon the indivisibility of "La Raza" and their common goals, one of them being the need to abolish the border between the U.S. and Mexico. There is a myriad of Raza college newspaper. Some are El Popo, Aztlan News, Chispas, Gente de Aztlan (UCLA), Voz Fronteriza (U.C. San Diego), La Voz Mestiza (U.C. Irvine) and La Voz Berkeley. It is not uncommon for the writers of these publications to refer to the U.S., as "AmeriKKKa."

Apparently, these "Raza" cults are composed of people who unabashedly hate the United States and often support other groups and leaders who also hate America. Raza's hatred of America is so intense, that most make bedfellows to anyone else who also hates America, like dictator Fidel Castro; murderer of his own people Sadam Hussain; and the women hating Taliban -- and of course they sympathize with all Islamic Terrorists over the Israel/Palestine issue. Raza cults are the loudest and most insistent element of the immigration lobby in California. Inebriated with a sense of righteous victimhood, and entranced by myths of a heroic racial past, devotees of the Aztlan cults are rapidly extending their influence within California's Hispanic population, particularly among students in the university system.

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msaucey says on Jan 31, 2008, 17:25:

That's them.... I think I was recruited during my freshmen year in college... I went to a few gatherings, then realized that...
1. I did not have the time to continue going to the gatherings...
2. The direction they were going was not my direction...
3. I apparently wasn't Chicana enough!...

Don't get me wrong, I do know that they have done some good, the originators of the organization are the one's that pushed the Chicano Studies at the University level, helped in recognizing a lot of Chicano Artists.. I took the positive, not the negative...

They're the group that willing wear the Che shirts...

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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CatGirl says on Jan 31, 2008, 17:48:

Msauc: Did you go to High School in So CA?

Love and Time: the only two things that cannot be bought, but only spent

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msaucey says on Feb 1, 2008, 06:13:

CG, I did... I went to school in the San Fernando Valley... Granada Hills High School.. It's now a Charter High School...

You from So. Cal?

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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kalder says on Feb 1, 2008, 07:41:

Well- I've just done a bit of research HG. It looks like a couple of score Masonic lodges are available to US students to choose from and sign up with. It really, really isn't the British way of doing things.

Our universities tend to favour a melting pot ethos- all the kids mixing with each other in one big happy family. Well, that's the theory anyway.
I imagine college authorities here (and society at large) would consider the fraternity/sorority culture a scandalously elitist thing.

"A piece of cheese may entrap a mouse, but a bicycle could ensnare the Imperial Chancellor."~~An Bai Kuang

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CatGirl says on Feb 1, 2008, 09:48:

Msauc: No - Mostly Northern - Lived in N. Hollywood for a short time- I was just a kitten when my mother was modeling..Other than that the farthest south I ever lived was San Jose - Lots o' Cholas - Sharks! Barrio Horse Shoe - Shooow!

Love and Time: the only two things that cannot be bought, but only spent

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msaucey says on Feb 1, 2008, 10:52:

LOL... Funny description of North Hollywood....

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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CatGirl says on Feb 1, 2008, 11:24:

Msac: No...that's San Jose - East Side. Maybe I was not clear enough (sorry). Hey - for some reason I have always thought San Fernando was more "central" (although south central) - but then again, I hand glide. jajaja

Love and Time: the only two things that cannot be bought, but only spent

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aztec says on Feb 1, 2008, 18:19:

msaucey, Fifteen or 20 years ago we had no Hispanics in this part of the United States. This is now what we are dealing with!!!!!!

"La Raza" is "one of our bigger gangs in the county."

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/main.asp?SectionID=6&SubSectionID=84&...

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Dan says on Feb 1, 2008, 19:28:

I never did the Fraternity thing... Well, I guess going to college would help that.

God Bless America!

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CatGirl says on Feb 1, 2008, 19:38:

Dan - you can always say you belong to Phi Beta Happa = PBH

Love and Time: the only two things that cannot be bought, but only spent

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Dan says on Feb 2, 2008, 05:52:

JAJA

God Bless America!

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msaucey says on Feb 2, 2008, 23:49:

Sorry Aztec, it sounds like those members, adopted the "La Raza" name, I mean, it's just a name and chances are that they are NOT affiliated with MEChA...

Primary, reason is that MEChA is primarily organized by Chicanos, meaning that they tend to be 3 to 4 generations Mexican-American... If they get deported, they end up in Texas... You'd be amazed at the amount of discrimination that there is between Chicanos and True Mexicans... Cesar Chavez is a great example of that... He was big on the deportation of undocumented farm workers....

MEChA works normally at university levels and within the community... Not an actual gang...

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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aztec says on Feb 3, 2008, 06:02:

We in this State now have a large migration from California.
In effect this export of gang violence is now affecting towns and cities all across America. It was bad enough before their arrival!

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msaucey says on Feb 3, 2008, 13:06:

Aztec, I can't debate on gang violence, because I'm not involved in any way and don't approve of people joining them.... I believe it is a sad state of affairs that their is so many gangs in the states, and I do sympathize that you've had an increase in your community...

All I know about gangs is that I grew up in L.A. and was smart enough to know when not to get involved in a gang... I also know that they move in, cause some havoc and eventually move out of the area... They used to come in waves.... I grew up in a HIGHLY diverse area of Los Angeles, which consisted of Hispanics (Mexican, Salvadorean, Guatemalan, Honduran, Colombian), Filipinos, Caucassians, African-Americans, Armenians, Korean, and Russians... The sporatical gang activity I saw was either the Hispanic, Armenian, or African-American gangs...

As for MEChA, like I mentioned, I went to a couple of gatherings and realized it wasn't my thing.... Again, I was not Chicana enough to truly participate in the organization and understand the plyth of the Mexican-American community and things like that... Even though my father is 5th generation chicano, go figure...

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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