The (Hopefully) Changing Influence of Fraternities

Before watching the movie "W." the other night, I had remembered hearing that George W. Bush had been a member of a fraternity. I was interested to see how his fraternity system would be portrayed. During the movie, the only mention of his fraternity experience was a minute or two of him being hazed in what looked like the fraternity's basement and being forced to drink with his pledge brothers when they failed to answer questions thrown at them by the brothers.

It was a shame to me to see the fraternity system portrayed in this way although I do not doubt that it was accurate. Movies like this were the sole source of information I had on the fraternity system for the first 18 years of my life. When traveling on a college campus as a high school senior, the tour guide spoke of the prevalence of the Greek System on that particular campus. At that time, my mother asked me if I thought I would ever join a fraternity and I quickly dismissed the thought with a "No Way." Famous last words.

In my first semester as a Cornellian, I got a new and much more diverse view of the fraternity system. Although I definitely came across some fraternities on campus that fit my preconceived notions, with over 40 fraternities on campus I found many chapters with personalities that I felt at home with.

Still, I was reluctant to associate myself with a fraternity. Partially because I knew my family and friends at home would have the same negative stereotypes as I once had and partially because I was afraid that I would see a different side of the fraternities if I started pledging. On top of that, I was reluctant to take on another time commitment even if hazing was not involved. Luckily, I found a fraternity with guys that I could trust to have a good pledging experience. They assured me that they would be flexible to the schedules of the pledges. Even so, I wrestled with the decision for a long time. One of the things that finally sold me was hearing about the leadership experiences available. Never before had it even crossed my mind that I could gain that type of experience as a member of a fraternity.

As with most things in my life, once I committed to joining, I gave it everything I had. I was elected pledge class president by my pledge brothers and learned a lot trying to keep everyone on top of their pledge work and school work. After serving as assistant social for my first semester as a brother, I made the leap to Vice President (which we call Grand Procurator). I held that position for two semester-long terms before taking on my (calendar) year long term as President (Grand Master) which I am currently serving.

I know that if a movie were to be made about my life (or in a far more likely scenario, when I tell people about my life) my time as a member of Kappa Sigma would highlight the rich leadership experiences I was able to have and the subsequent role it played on my growth as a person. The fraternity scene is changing. It is my highest aspiration to continue the momentum towards fraternities being positive life changing experiences for men in my chapter, my fraternity and in the fraternity system as a whole.