NROTC - Fraternities & Sororities

Can NROTC mids join a fraternity/sorority?
Thanks in advance!

No "legalistic" reason they can't. I know, from what I've read on the forum, that some do. However, I think most MIDN find NROTC to be their fraternity/sorority. There are many similar aspects to it. DS is planning on getting an apartment next year with 2 other MIDN. They "party" Friday evening by doing Spec Warfare workouts. They hang together a lot and obviously have some shared interests.
 
My DS enjoys his MID friends and his frat brothers. There is alot of extra time involved if you join a frat but if you can budget your time well its nice diversification. I was not totally in favor of the frat so I told my DS I would pay his dues according to his grades. I had to pay 80% since he had 4 A's and a B as a math major and similar grades the preceeding semester.
 
My DS enjoys his MID friends and his frat brothers. There is alot of extra time involved if you join a frat but if you can budget your time well its nice diversification. I was not totally in favor of the frat so I told my DS I would pay his dues according to his grades. I had to pay 80% since he had 4 A's and a B as a math major and similar grades the preceeding semester.

I have a question, is the Frat your son is a member of have a live in house in lieu of living in a dorm or is it a club type Frat. When we were looking at schools with my younger son some had Frats that were just an organization that you joined while still living in the dorms.

My son'sFrat is a live in house, his scholarship pays for tuition and we pay R&B. We were surprised when we found out that the Frat cost including dues at his school was $2500.00 cheaper per year then the Dorms R&B cost. I have noticed that Frat costs vary widely between schools.

I might have to try that grade scale payment plan, a 20% ding for a B, now that's tough love..HaHa.
 
DS's frat does have a house and he plans on living in it next year and is running for VP of the frat. It is cheaper than the Universities room plan. DS knows not to screw up as he is trying to get side load scholarship and is interested in pilot slot.
 
We were surprised when we found out that the Frat cost including dues at his school was $2500.00 cheaper per year then the Dorms R&B cost. I have noticed that Frat costs vary widely between schools.

Have you been inside the house yet? Most of the Fraternity houses deserve to be $2500 cheaper. :biggrin:


@OP a good number of people in my AROTC unit have joined fraternities and I almost did too (my best friends from HS are all in them), but it can detract from your committments with ROTC, which if you are on scholarship, comes first. Plus, I hang out with them on weekends anyways. Additionally, at my school, fraternities don't discriminate agains ROTC cadets because they consider us a fraternity as well.
 
DS's frat does have a house and he plans on living in it next year and is running for VP of the frat. It is cheaper than the Universities room plan. DS knows not to screw up as he is trying to get side load scholarship and is interested in pilot slot.

Good luck to your son. My son was in a Frat, lived in house the first 2 years and then moved to an apartment with 3 other Frat brothers, Has had a great time. It is very doable if he remains focused, son managed both and received an Aviation slot.
 
Have you been inside the house yet? Most of the Fraternity houses deserve to be $2500 cheaper. :biggrin:


@OP a good number of people in my AROTC unit have joined fraternities and I almost did too (my best friends from HS are all in them), but it can detract from your committments with ROTC, which if you are on scholarship, comes first. Plus, I hang out with them on weekends anyways. Additionally, at my school, fraternities don't discriminate agains ROTC cadets because they consider us a fraternity as well.

I agree with Bull, make sure you look at each house, of the colleges and houses we toured we saw Frats that varied from Animal House to the White House. A lot depends on the university and the Greek System they have. My son's house is a very early 1900's brick tudor 16000 sqft Mansion, after he checked out the dorms it was no contest. Of course there are others that you feel the need to get a tetanus shot after leaving.

Select a Frat that pushes academics, my son's Frat has a average GPA that is about 1 point higher then the school average.

It takes focus and time management to do both a Frat and ROTC but in can be done. Son did both and will commission at the top of his class, top 10% and an Aviation Branch. Just keep your priorities straight and you'll be fine, and stay away from Beer Pong.
 
Quite an interesting subject. These comments pertain to Army ROTC.

It is true that ROTC *can* be like a fraternity... much less so like a Sorority. Depends on Unit size, the culture of the ROTC group at each school, etc.

However, there is a HUGE difference, and that is the issue of drinking/drugs. A cadet will need to be well grounded, and needs the support of his fraternity brothers, to fully participate without breaking the underage drinking laws. It can be as simple as "hey guys, I have taken an oath to uphold the law, and that includes drinking... I could lose my commission if I break that oath. So I'll be the permanent designated driver and sober partier -- if you accept me on those terms, we're good!" Those groundrules really have to be set up during Rush, not after the fact, so that the House the cadet joins has picked him with that understanding. If the brothers of that house can't handle that, then they won't offer him.

Anyway, my DD joined a sorority with the full support of her cadre. The cadre actually gives extra points in the EC evaluation portion of the OMS for the intramural sports and community service she participates in with her sisters (shoutout to Kappa) , and the cadre also appreciates the potential influence she may have on the over one hundred sisters in the House. Cadre also generally supports and encourages participation in student government, student Clubs, etc. to the extent that it does not materially interfere with GPA and Battalion involvement/leadership. In a way this kind on-campus organizational participation furthers one of the goals of having ROTC on a campus -- to influence students who may have never met a peer who values "service to country". I'm sure it helps recruiting of non-scholarship ROTC participants. At the same time, her Sorority sisters understand that she has certain FTX, Ranger Challenge, PT, etc. commitments with ROTC that preceded and supercede her commitment to the House, and that there will be an occassional weekend where she is off at ROTC training, or an ROTC fundraiser at a football game parking lot, that she must choose in preference to a House mandatory activity.

*edit* I found this helpful Thread after writing the above... seems to agree. http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=89709
 
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Quite an interesting subject.

It is true that ROTC *can* be like a fraternity... much less so like a Sorority. Depends on Unit size, the culture of the ROTC group at each school, etc.

However, there is a HUGE difference, and that is the issue of drinking/drugs. A cadet will need to be well grounded, and needs the support of his fraternity brothers, to fully participate without breaking the underage drinking laws. It can be as simple as "hey guys, I have taken an oath to uphold the law, and that includes drinking... I could lose my commission if I break that oath. So I'll be the permanent designated driver and sober partier -- if you accept me on those terms, we're good!" Those groundrules really have to be set up during Rush, not after the fact, so that the House the cadet joins has picked him with that understanding. If the brothers of that house can't handle that, then they won't offer him.

Anyway, my DD joined a sorority with the full support of her cadre. The cadre actually gives extra points in the EC evaluation portion of the OMS for the intramural sports and community service she participates in with her sisters (shoutout to Kappa) , and the cadre also appreciates the potential influence she may have on the dozens and dozens of girls in the House. In the same way Cadre support and encourage participation in student government, student Clubs, etc. to the extent that it does not materially interfere with GPA and Battalion involvement/leadership. In the same way, her Sorority understands that she has certain FTX, Ranger Challenge, PT, etc. commitments with ROTC that supercede her commitment to the House, and that there will be an occassional weekend where she is off at ROTC training, or an ROTC fundraiser at a football game parking lot, that she must choose in preference to tailgaiting, etc.

Dunninla, you are spot on in your assessment of the Fraternities and Sororities. You summed up my son's involvement in their Fraternity to the tee.

I agree that the drinking issue in most Frats was the biggest concern I had, even though that problem does not escape the Dorm life altogether. Do kids tell us that they will not partake, absolutely, do they, probably. The best we as parents can hope for is that we have instilled in them the values they need to keep themselves out of a bad situation. I am not nieve when it comes to this, I just have to hope that they will be smart and know the consequences of their actions. There was a case at my son's battalion when the PMS called an underage cadet into his office because one of the cadre saw a picture the cadet was tagged in on facebook of him holding a Red Cup at a party, he explained to him again the alcohol policies and advised him to remove the picture. This cadet was not in a Frat, it was a dorm party off campus. At most battalions at least one cadre member will require they be a friend on your facebook page.

Best advise, be smart and be aware of everything going on around you. Most of all remember the rules and be prepared to suffer the consequences if you break them.
 
Quite an interesting subject. These comments pertain to Army ROTC.

It is true that ROTC *can* be like a fraternity... much less so like a Sorority. Depends on Unit size, the culture of the ROTC group at each school, etc.

However, there is a HUGE difference, and that is the issue of drinking/drugs. A cadet will need to be well grounded, and needs the support of his fraternity brothers, to fully participate without breaking the underage drinking laws. It can be as simple as "hey guys, I have taken an oath to uphold the law, and that includes drinking... I could lose my commission if I break that oath. So I'll be the permanent designated driver and sober partier -- if you accept me on those terms, we're good!" Those groundrules really have to be set up during Rush, not after the fact, so that the House the cadet joins has picked him with that understanding. If the brothers of that house can't handle that, then they won't offer him.

Anyway, my DD joined a sorority with the full support of her cadre. The cadre actually gives extra points in the EC evaluation portion of the OMS for the intramural sports and community service she participates in with her sisters (shoutout to Kappa) , and the cadre also appreciates the potential influence she may have on the over one hundred sisters in the House. Cadre also generally supports and encourages participation in student government, student Clubs, etc. to the extent that it does not materially interfere with GPA and Battalion involvement/leadership. In a way this kind on-campus organizational participation furthers one of the goals of having ROTC on a campus -- to influence students who may have never met a peer who values "service to country". I'm sure it helps recruiting of non-scholarship ROTC participants. At the same time, her Sorority sisters understand that she has certain FTX, Ranger Challenge, PT, etc. commitments with ROTC that preceded and supercede her commitment to the House, and that there will be an occassional weekend where she is off at ROTC training, or an ROTC fundraiser at a football game parking lot, that she must choose in preference to a House mandatory activity.

*edit* I found this helpful Thread after writing the above... seems to agree. http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=89709

Haha that is probably one of the most well-mannered frat chat boards I have seen.

Anyways, I don't see there being a problem with living in a frat or being a social member (In the frat but living somewhere else). In my battalion a lot of the cadets are "shut-ins" and frats give you the opportunity to meet people who are NOT in ROTC....plus the sorority matched date dashes are not bad either.

Chapters and houses quality really depend on the school. (Some are dry, some don't party. some are CRAZY)

Be advised: Cadre really do check facebooks as we woefully found out at our Christmas party. There were laughs to be had all around, all directed at us. :/
 
dunninla, regarding no drinking and joining a sorority/fraternity, in most (if not all) Greek systems, rushees can "dry rush" and "dry pledge". This info is known by the fraternities/sorority up front and they do not have to do anything with alcohol they don't wish too.

Another thing to add, if any cadet wants to rush, be up front with your MS Instructor. In most cases, they won't oppose it (they'll let you know what your priorities should be if you're on scholarship), but it's good to let them know what you're involved in so they understand. Both my MSI and MSII instructors both were in a fraternity, as well as my last PMS, they'll understand what a cadet will be going through.

Also, you can get OML points for serving in leadership positions within these organizations.
 
dunninla, regarding no drinking and joining a sorority/fraternity, in most (if not all) Greek systems, rushees can "dry rush" and "dry pledge".
Thanks, however the pressure goes beyond rushing and pledging, and into the 2-3 years of Active life. When most of the brothers are drinking, it is natural for another brother, a "dry" brother as you say, to feel a little left out, and therefore a pressure to join in. That's why I said the cadet needs to be well grounded, set expectations up front, and stick to his commitments (including during Spring Break :) ) I imagine most cadets absolutely cannot wait until they turn 21.
 
Thanks, however the pressure goes beyond rushing and pledging, and into the 2-3 years of Active life. When most of the brothers are drinking, it is natural for another brother, a "dry" brother as you say, to feel a little left out, and therefore a pressure to join in. That's why I said the cadet needs to be well grounded, set expectations up front, and stick to his commitments (including during Spring Break :) ) I imagine most cadets absolutely cannot wait until they turn 21.

Most definitely agree with this :smile:
 
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