It's funny to me that after somebody graduates, they still talk badly about frats. Can't we get over it. The frats had parties where they drank a lot and had the bulk of the hot girls at those parties. Are we a little pea green with envy.
For the record, I was not in a fraternity.
I just like to pick on DD and HD. HD and I stayed up one night til 2 arguing about this. I don't think it's right though that F J Taylor asked us not to fly our GDI flag at the football games! For those of you in engineering, Dr. Melvin Corley was in our group when we flew the GDI flag.
I'm not real sure how this thread got so off topic, nor do I want to make excuses for the actions of a few neanderthals (which by the way, I don't condone, nor would most of the greeks that I know) but damn some of you people need to grow up. If paying for your friends is part of being in a fraternity, then I'm still waiting on my check. Come to think of it, I remeber putting on many a party that non-greeks attended and caused more trouble than other fraternities. It's just sad that there are so many people that are too ignorant to see past the stereotypes that they miss out on an opportunity to be part of something. I'm not denying that I did my share of stupid shit, but I also learned alot of things that you will never get in the classroom or most other student organization.
Don, I never had to pay any of my brothers to be my friends. I guess you have never belonged to any organization that required you to pay dues? You chose not to be in a fraternity, good for you. For me it made my college experience better and I made friends both in my fraternity and outside. I don't understand why independents feel the need to put down fraternities. I guess that is your choice too but you should understand that when you do you put down a whole lot of good Tech people.
I only know 2 frats, Dirtydawg and Hogdog, and I just like to pick on them. Sorry, if I hurt your feelings. I did not have any friends that were frats when I was at Tech. There weren't many frats in engineering. I didn't have the money to join a fraternity even if I wanted to.
Gonna have to disagree with you on that one. I'm sure it happens, but I've been in the working world for over 15 years now, and NOT ONCE has anyone asked what fraternity I was in, nothing , zip, nada. Frats are a great way to meet life-long friends and to have a great time at college, and I'm sure for some, benefits in getting that first job (from a contact standpoint). But honestly, once you are out of college, and you have a couple of working years behind you, it's a point of interest, but nobody... but the guys who were in the fraternities... honestly cares in the working world. It's not about what frat you were in, it's all about how good you are at what you do and what you can bring to the table.
Not slamming anybody who was/is/isn't/wasn't in a frat or sorority...to each their own...just a fact of life that I've learned.
How are you going to disagree with him yet state that you're sure it happens? Besides, he didn't say the person asked him if he was in fraternity and which one. More than likely, during the interview process after having looked at a resume in which skills and experiences are listed, the interviewer probably saw that he had experience in a fraternity and that's how the discussion came about. Since you didn't have fraternity experience listed in a resume or on an application, the subject wouldn't have come up.
Dirty, he said that one of the four reasons other than those listed for joining a frat, were you could make 20,000 more right out of college and, "A job you would have no chance in hell of getting if you weren't in a fraternity." That's told to a lot of young men to get them to join. And I don't find that to be true as a generality. Nobody I have ever heard of got $20,000 extra in pay JUST for being in a frat, and I for one have never seen "Need Frat's Only...Others Need Not Apply" in any want ad. Therefore, I disagree with his statement.
However, I'm not too blind to know that somewhere, some owner of a company was a Sigma Nu for example, and his son is a Sigma Nu, and hires a friend of his son that was a Sigma Nu brother. Which I understand happens, and I believe what he was trying to get at. The contacts for initially getting established in the business world through frats are very important. That's what I meant by "I'm sure it happens."
But come on, it's not the magic key into a the secret business world. It may get you the interview, but it's your own merits/skills that get you the job...and allow you to keep it.
That's exactly my point. Being in a fraternity is fine. There are good and bad. But being in a fraternity means NOTHING to those who weren't in the fraternity system as should be blatantly obvious to everyone. This is in contrast to, say, being an Eagle Scout.
So while I'm glad it can get an interview since the HR guy was in the same house or whatever, other than those few circumstances, being in a fraternity is meaningless.
And I agree with tigtoo on the point that it gets you the initial interview for your first job out of college, but it won't keep you there. Only hard work and a good education which would be attributed to Louisiana Tech will. No business person would disagree with that.
Yeh, my sister got her foot in the door because she was in sorrority, but it didnt get her any more money. It also helped that she had an MBA and an accounting degree. She came out making a little more than me with an extra degree 5 years before, but in Houston not Alexandria. I would say if you weighted it, I probably came out ahead. Of course, she advanced quickly at Enron, but it had more to do with the MBA and her skills than her sorrority. I dont think the sorrority got her any extra money, but I think it helped get her the job because her boss was in the same sorrority years before. Hard to say, though, because she did have an MBA.
I think some of you are missing the point. Having a brother or sister to help get your foot in the door is always a plus, but it's more about what you learn, not who you meet. The leadership, management, and social skills you get are what makes greeks more appealing candidates alot of times. I have a Master's from Tech, but my Fraternity involvement was just as important when I interviewed for my job, specifically for those reasons.