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Lauren Galyen Professor Pihakis Intermediate Comp 13 December 2013

ΑΣΦ

Oh fraternity, oh fraternity, how frequent are your parties!Don’t go to class, just stay asleep. Tonight’s party will wait for thee.

Oh fraternity, oh fraternity, how crazy are your reasons!Dues and fees are just for friends. Without them friendship will surely end.

Oh fraternity, oh fraternity, how sadly we perceive you!

When you hear the word fraternity, what comes to your mind? For me, I would have

to say parties, dues, delinquency, and truancy. Can it get any more negative? I decided to

shed my belief in this common stereotype and determine the truth once and for all. I turned to

my best friend ZM who happens to be a part of the University of Cincinnati’s Alpha Sigma

Phi (Alpha Sig) chapter. He agreed to teach me the ways of his fraternity with specific limits.

He vowed not to share “classified” information with me, as you have to be an actual member

of the fraternity to learn these things. Through his stories and my own observations, I became

aware of the processes and purpose of the fraternity. I even answered some of my own

burning questions such as: are you just “paying for friends,” are the brothers mainly focused

on partying, and does everyone in a fraternity get along? In brief, I found that fraternity life

was not totally congruent with the stereotypes.

The Alpha Sig group at UC became a chapter in the spring of 2013. Prior to that, they

were only a colony meaning that they were still in their “trial period” which obligated them to

gain interest and members and establish themselves as a prominent fraternity on UC’s

campus. After doing so, they chartered and became a chapter. Curious as to why they were

such a new fraternity at UC, I inquired about it to my dear friend ZM, a brother in Alpha Sig.

He explained to me that in 2011, Nathan Fliger transferred to UC from Akron University.

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Being a member of Alpha Sig at Akron, he was surprised to discover that UC did not have a

chapter. After examining UC’s history, he learned that there used to be an Alpha Sig chapter

at UC. He then contacted National Headquarters (HQ) and inquired about restarting the

chapter at UC (DiTullio). ZM also gave me a copy of the chapter’s history. Upon receiving

the document and realizing its format, I was quite surprised. I expected a narrative explaining

the ethos behind the UC chapter and the problems that they have faced. Instead, the format of

DiTullio’s “The Continuing History of the Beta Sigma Chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi” was

purely chronological, listing officers and members by name from 2011 to the present. This

was my first run-in with the secrecy aspect of the fraternity.

The Latin motto of Alpha Sigma Phi is “causa latet vis est notissima.” Translated, this

means “the cause is hidden, the results well known.” I asked ZM and NW, another brother,

what this meant to them, and they said that this information was also classified. This

“classified” term was thrown at me a lot more during this study than I originally expected.

This element of secrecy has been a part of fraternities since the beginning of fraternal

organizations in America. Around the year 1845, Americans that did not participate in

fraternal organizations were intimidated by this secrecy element, assuming that it implied

black magic or devil worship. To ridicule the secrecy of the fraternal organizations, the

fearful outsiders began using a goat to symbolize them. This was specifically designed as a

tool to scorn their use of secrecy, associating them with the devil who is often depicted either

as a he-goat or a demon riding a goat. Much to these outsiders’ surprise, in the early twentieth

century, the fraternal organizations embraced this goat symbol and made it their own. This

recognition of the goat symbol demonstrated the strength of their organization that stemmed

from their perseverance in the face of challengers and their endurance in their vows of

secrecy (Moore 161-164). This specific symbol faded overtime and each fraternal

organization began to take on symbols and mascots that were exclusive to their group. For

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example, Alpha Sig’s mascot is the phoenix which symbolizes their unique history. Around

1864, Alpha Sigma Phi had died down to just one remaining chapter due to the Civil War.

This “Mother Chapter” at Marietta College began spreading and creating chapters at other

colleges. Today, Alpha Sig consists of over 160 chapters nationwide. Due to this “rising from

the ashes”, the phoenix became their mascot.

Although the goat specifically does not seem to be a symbol in today’s fraternities

(ZM was utterly confused when I asked him if he knew about it), it serves valuable

importance in understanding them. The secrecy and silliness surrounding the goat and the

fraternities in general is used to form a community within the fraternity. Being an outsider, it

was easy for me to feel somewhat excluded when “confidential” things came up in the

meetings, interviews, and events that I attended with the brothers of Alpha Sig. I quickly

recognized, however, the bond that the brothers had as a result of this confidentiality. It was

like a big “inside joke.” Growing up, we all had “inside jokes” with our friends. For example,

“SPEEEEEEECH!” is one of Alpha Sig’s. It originated at one of their “fireside” meetings, an

event that I was not permitted to attend in which they disclaim very personal stories and

feelings to their brothers. During one meeting, a few brothers shared long-winded stories that

were very similar to speeches. For some reason, this struck a humorous chord with them and

they began shouting “SPEEEEEEECH!” whenever someone gets elected to office or

succeeds in any task. To any outsider, this may seem like it is done out of mockery, but rather

it is done from the heart to signify a bond between the brothers. Likewise, when confidential

material is addressed, the other brothers recognize it and react to it accordingly. For example,

there are many rituals that surround events in fraternities. A ritual is a ceremony with a

deeper, often confidential, meaning. A theoretical example would be if a brother gets

married, the Marshall would be required to direct the appropriate rituals. Perhaps he is to

shout something and then all of the brothers are then required to sing a song or make a toast.

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This would seem a little nontraditional to outsiders, but to the brothers, this would be

essential and extremely sentimental.

With all of the secrecy and bonding, joining a fraternity is a very complex and time-

consuming process, involving multiple steps. The process prior to becoming a member is

called rushing. This step denotes attending their rush events to meet the brothers and learn

about the fraternity’s values and norms. The actual process of becoming a member is called

pledging. The first step of pledging is to attend the rush events, but it may also begin through

simple acquaintance with some of the brothers or invitation to their other, non-rush events.

After attending either of these types of events, the brothers and the pledge separately

determine if they are a match. If the brothers do, then the pledge will receive a bid, a formal

invitation to pledge to the fraternity. If the pledge also does, then they will accept the bid.

This specific step is controversial because it is perceived by outsiders, such as my previous

self, as active exclusion. It seems as though the brothers would only accept the “cool kids”.

On the contrary, after seeing some of the pledges to Alpha Sig and hearing the brothers talk

about options, they hardly ever turn down a pledge. In other words, if someone is interested

in Alpha Sig and they begin the pledging process, then they are almost guaranteed a bid. The

only example of a bid-less pledge that they could even fabricate was if a pledge was to

assault a brother or be convicted of a serious misdemeanor or felony.

After the pledge accepts the bid, a pledge ceremony is held to give them the official

right to pledge and join the fraternity. This marks the beginning of the pledgeship period.

This period requires them to attend a class that teaches various things about the fraternity.

The class requires a little red book named after their motto, the “To Better The Man Book,”

and is taught by the New Member Educator (NME), an H officer position held by one of the

brothers. The class teaches the pledges the national and local history of the fraternity, the

Greek alphabet, their five values (Silence, Charity, Purity, Honor, and Patriotism), some of

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their history including prominent Alpha Sigs, and the brotherhood creed. While taking the

class, each pledge is also prompted to conduct an interview with as many brothers (preferably

all) as possible. These interviews allow pledges to get to know the personalities of their future

brothers and help them make friends and connections within the fraternity before becoming

an official brother. The interviews also demonstrate the pledges’ abilities to handle projects

and deadlines. This helps the fraternity to determine how the pledges may react if they ever

run for an officer position. Each interview must be set up and recorded by the pledge, and it

must be done face-to-face. After the class, Alpha Sig takes the test score and combines it with

how many interviews they have completed. If the score is not high enough, then they will be

removed from that semester’s pledge class and will be asked to pledge again the next

semester. For example, this past semester, a pledge, known as SP, failed the test. Planning to

pledge again next semester, he still goes to lunch and other events with the brothers. I can tell

that ZM and NW really want him to pass the test because whenever I attend lunch with the

three of them, the conversation always turns into a pop-quiz in which they fire off test

questions at SP. They hope that this constant quizzing will help him learn the information and

pass next semester’s test. After the test is past, the brothers must vote unanimously to initiate

each pledge. After the pledges have been accepted, an initiation ceremony is held to turn each

pledge into a brother.

Alpha Sig consists of brothers and a variety of officers. There are two types of

officers, H officers and Non-H officers. When I asked ZM to explain why they are called H

officers, he told me that that information is classified, but H officers are essentially the

positions that make up the executive board of most clubs. These include president, vice

president, secretary, treasurer, marshal, new member director, recruitment director,

scholarship director, new member educator, and alumni director. Most of these roles are

pretty self-explanatory. The marshal is one that is a little different than most other

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organizations. The marshal is the director of rituals. Rituals are ceremonies with special

significance. An example would be if a brother gets married, has a child, passes away, etc.

Each event requires specific action from the fraternity according to the bylaws or written

rules of the fraternity, and it is the responsibility of the marshal to ensure that these are

followed accordingly. The Non-H officers are more nontraditional roles and include

philanthropy chair, risk management chair, social media chair, fundraising chair, social chair,

intramural chair, brotherhood chair, and sweethearts. The risk management chair is in charge

of supervising any event that involves a risk such as a party with alcohol. The intramural

chair is in charge of organizing the fraternity’s intramural sports teams. Sweethearts are

especially interesting. They are women that may or may not be a part of a sorority, and they

act as sisters to the fraternity. They are exempt from paying dues, and they are also excluded

from most of the secrets. They are allowed to wear Alpha Sig’s Greek letters and attend

general meetings and other events that the fraternity hosts. Sweethearts benefit the fraternity

by contributing female perspectives and by serving as their female face. Although many of

their officer positions are similar to other fraternities, Alpha Sig is also very different from

others at UC.

Unlike most other fraternities at UC, Alpha Sig does not currently own a frat house.

For this reason, their weekly meetings are usually located on UC’s campus, most commonly

in the Rec center. If they do not meet on campus, then they meet at one of the brother’s

houses or apartments. There are many brothers that still choose to live together in houses,

dorms, and apartments. Like most other fraternities, they do host parties. While their parties

seem to occur as often as other fraternities, they are not as large-scale or rambunctious as

other fraternities’ parties due to the current housing situation. Whenever they have a party or

any other kind of event where a risk may be involved, the risk management chair is required

to be present. For example, if there is alcohol at a party, the risk management chair is

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obligated to make sure that none of the brothers are getting too out of hand and that no one

under twenty one years of age is drinking. For me, this was extremely intriguing because as

an outsider, I assumed that fraternities served primarily as party groups. The fact that they

have someone to keep parties under control really changed this perspective for me. It seems

like rather than being a focal point of the organization, partying is simply a form of bonding

and is more of a luxury. Of course some members party more than others and a lot of the

brothers hang out and party together, but overall the majority of the brothers seem to be

responsible and not party in excess. This speaks to how seriously Alpha Sig abides by their

five values and adheres to their motto. Even though they may enjoy partying, they do not let

it become a priority or overtake them.

As an outsider, I also perceived dues and fees as superfluous to membership. A lot of

times when a club or organization has a high priced entry fee, we regard it as a “scam” or

“not worth it.” On the contrary, I have observed that the dues and fees of a fraternal

organization are very important and crucial to its function. “The dues go towards any events

that we do as a fraternity, such as formal (dance) and other events such as a trip to the

national headquarters and ‘family dinner nights’. A lot of people try to say that frats are a

way to ‘buy friends,’ but it’s not about that at all. It’s basically as if you planned what you

were going to do with your friends for the next year and then you paid for it all in advance,”

ZM explained to me when I asked how he felt about paying dues. He was trying to explain

that it is easy to see exactly where your money is going and to monitor that you really are not

being scammed or anything like that. I think that this is important in relation to their value of

honor. As they define it, honor is obtained through integrity; therefore, it is respectable that

they are honest about how they use the dues and fees, demonstrating integrity.

With all the dues and fees committing one to the organization, you would expect all of

the brothers to get along all the time. This is not always the case. However, all of the brothers

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are at least acquainted with one another and they can all get along and enjoy each other’s

company. Originally, I thought that there may be cliques within the fraternity, but I quickly

learned that although some brothers are closer than others, there are no real cliques. For

example, my two friends from the fraternity, ZM and NW, are best friends and some other

brothers, JS, NM, CC, and MT are also very close, but all six of them can hang out

interchangeably and they also know when they need to get along. “Like every community, we

have our ups and downs, but generally we get along. In fact, I can’t even remember a recent

conflict off the top of my head,” ZM replied when I prompted him to tell me a recent conflict.

Even while observing, I did not witness any conflicts. So what about removal from the

fraternity? Once initiated, you are an Alpha Sig for life. This means that you can never be

“kicked out” of the fraternity. At the most, you may be put on permanent suspension which

just means that you are still a brother, but not an active member. This is an extremely rare

occurrence. The only time that it has happened in the UC chapter was when a brother

voluntarily asked to be on permanent suspension due to other time commitments.

Although secrecy and confidentiality often seem scary to outsiders, they can play a

crucial role in communities. It is really intriguing to me that fraternities are “often referred to

as ‘secret societies’…” while still maintaining “visibility in the public sphere by participating

in civic parades, displaying symbols on the exterior of their meeting places, and wearing lapel

pins and other emblematic jewelry” (Moore 162). Although we may never truly know the

values and goals of a specific fraternity without joining it, it is easily observable that they

strictly abide by secret texts and codes. The conduct of the Alpha Sig brothers is very

impressive. Whenever I attended their events, I felt comfortable and respected. Overall, their

purpose of “bettering the man” is evident in their demeanor. While most of the deeper

information is confidential, I have definitely been convinced of the logic behind joining a

fraternity. Brothers gain more than just lifelong brotherhood; they also learn leadership skills,

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expand their problem solving skills, and acquire communication skills. I am very intrigued by

this community and I think that it contains many valuable experiences. The life-long bonds

and the professional skills that are created through fraternities are lasting and beneficial in

many different aspects of life. In fact, I am hoping to gain some of these bonds and

experiences myself. Therefore, next semester, ZM and NW are planning to nominate me to

be their sweetheart so that I may officially join the Alpha Sigma Phi community.

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Works Cited

DiTullio, Nick. “The Continuing History of the Beta Sigma Chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi.”

2013. Print.

M., Z. Personal Interview. 10 Nov. 2013.

Moore, William D. "Riding the Goat." Winterthur Portfolio 41.23 (2007): 161-88. Print.