ROTC and fraternities

ZAROTCZ33

5-Year Member
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Oct 9, 2012
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Hello everyone I'm sure this question has been asked, but I couldn't find any recent threads on this forum or blogs on the internet. I asked the ROO at the school I'm attending if it is a possibility to join a fraternity and he said a handful of cadets participate in greek life. My thought is it may be a turn off to fraternity's that you have a larger commitment. I would also think as you become more of a leader among cadets as you get closer to LDAC and commissioning it will be hard to participate in both? If anyone could touch on this from experience I would greatly appreciate it. Some quick background is I'm joining Army ROTC as a freshman in August without a scholarship I may do SMP part way through the year once I'm adjusted to college, or I will hopefully earn a scholarship.
 
I am a Sigma Chi and was enrolled in a cross town ROTC program. At times my days were full of pledging events and ROTC commitments, but I never regretted it. I also had 2 brothers who commissioned and were also very active in our chapter. Believe it or not, fraternities love the service aspect.

RUSH SIGMA CHI ;)
 
It is certainly possible. Quite a few cadets at my school are also in fraternities or sororities. It's pretty tough during pledgeship because of time, but after that it's not too bad. At my school, all the fraternities/sororities respect the ROTC commitment and make it easier for cadets to work around conflicts.
 
I had a buddy whose fraternity activity almost cost him his ROTC scholarship, as the pledging process was exhaustive. It did cost him a Ranger Challenge slot however.
 
The true beauty of ROTC is that you can blend a "regular" college experience with becoming an officer. It is more than possible to do both - it just comes down to time management and prioritization. Any fraternity that would frown on your involvement in ROTC is not worth joining. Just be open and honest with your future brothers that becoming an officer is a priority for you.
 
+1 vadad.

I know this about fraternities, but our DD at VT has at least 3 sorority sisters that are AROTC. I think it is doable, but as vadad stated if the fraternity can't get you have an AROTC commitment too, I am not sure that it is the best frat for you. If the frat means more than AROTC than IMPO you have to think about why it means more, especially since one is social based, the other is your career.
 
It's doable. You also might find ROTC is sort of a fraternity itself.
 
Just a question out of curiosity. I know AFROTC has military fraternities, does AROTC also have them? Are they popular or a dieing breed?
 
fraternities

We were reluctant when our DS told us he was pledging. School/ROTC/Frat, that has to be the priority. There are 7-8 cadets in the same frat and they have been very flexible with out DS' time, but it is a grind. Not sure the "payoff" is worth the effort...I agree with Kinnem, was hoping that ROTC would present enough of a brotherhood.
 
DS is 3rd year nROTC, president of his fraternity, near top rank in his unit and 3.7GPA. I don't think he would change a thing. He is very busy but an officer must learn to balance alot of things at a time. There are alot of temptations out there so they need to think about there actions.
 
The true beauty of ROTC is that you can blend a "regular" college experience with becoming an officer. It is more than possible to do both - it just comes down to time management and prioritization. Any fraternity that would frown on your involvement in ROTC is not worth joining. Just be open and honest with your future brothers that becoming an officer is a priority for you.
+2
My daughter has managed both AFROTC and being in a sorority. One of her sorority sisters is also AFROTC. She was honest with them during the pledge process and they understood that AFROTC had to be the priority in her schedule (after classes).
 
We were reluctant when our DS told us he was pledging. School/ROTC/Frat, that has to be the priority. There are 7-8 cadets in the same frat and they have been very flexible with out DS' time, but it is a grind. Not sure the "payoff" is worth the effort...I agree with Kinnem, was hoping that ROTC would present enough of a brotherhood.

Meh. Parents typically don't see the tangible payoffs, but they are certainly numerous. For one it provides an incredible network opportunities with professionals in the civilian sector. They also allow opportunities for community service on a leadership level. For example, I helped run our chapter's Derby Days program that raised $15,000 for the Hunstman Cancer Research Foundation. Also, it allows for leadership positions that really buff a resumé. I.E responsibly overseeing a $20,000 budget throughout a year. And lastly, and arguably most importantly, fraternities also help young men develop socially in a fairly positive manner. After all, one could argue that college is just as about growing socially and as a person as it is academically.

One last point, and you've probably heard this before, you don't call a fraternity a "frat", just as you wouldn't call your country a "cu--."
 
Meh?

This typical parent was in a "frat" I guess that's my point of reference. I won't dispute the value, however colleges present other organizations and clubs that provide much the same experience without the joys of pledging. One doesn't need to be a part of a "brotherhood" to organize and run outreach or fundraise for worthy causes, or create a network that will build a resume.
 
Meh. Parents typically don't see the tangible payoffs, but they are certainly numerous. For one it provides an incredible network opportunities with professionals in the civilian sector. They also allow opportunities for community service on a leadership level. For example, I helped run our chapter's Derby Days program that raised $15,000 for the Hunstman Cancer Research Foundation. Also, it allows for leadership positions that really buff a resumé. I.E responsibly overseeing a $20,000 budget throughout a year. And lastly, and arguably most importantly, fraternities also help young men develop socially in a fairly positive manner. After all, one could argue that college is just as about growing socially and as a person as it is academically.

In the wake of hazing scandals, colleges have pushed fraternities to promote academic achievement and contributions to the local community as a raison d'etre. However, I'd bet many of the fraternity members don't take these worthy goals all that seriously. The traditional function persists: gather a like-minded group of guys who throw weekend parties to attract young women. If the house is capacious it can also provide a more permissive residential experience than school-run dormitories. Oh, and someone to go on spring break with.

When Cadet Delahanty proposed joining a fraternity as a freshman, I verified it wasn't the one that had the tradition of really vicious hazing, including compulsory binge drinking, and went then along with minimal enthusiasm. I told him I would pay the cost of the dues provided that he lived in the school dormitories.

His big brother during pledging was an MS4, which raised my comfort level. They remain friends today. During the idiotic pledging rituals, the fraternity respected the fact that he had ROTC responsibilities, including 6am PT and weekend labs. They made him an officer of the fraternity early on: sergeant at arms. This meant he would be the one who couldn't drink at parties and had to guard the door. Someday, I'll ask Cadet Delahanty what goes on at their Sunday evening meetings. I doubt it's Bible studies.
 
Hello everyone I'm sure this question has been asked, but I couldn't find any recent threads on this forum or blogs on the internet. I asked the ROO at the school I'm attending if it is a possibility to join a fraternity and he said a handful of cadets participate in greek life. My thought is it may be a turn off to fraternity's that you have a larger commitment. I would also think as you become more of a leader among cadets as you get closer to LDAC and commissioning it will be hard to participate in both? If anyone could touch on this from experience I would greatly appreciate it. Some quick background is I'm joining Army ROTC as a freshman in August without a scholarship I may do SMP part way through the year once I'm adjusted to college, or I will hopefully earn a scholarship.

I really think it will depend on the school and the Greek system.

There were a couple schools my son visited where he would not have joined a Frat (Sorry but I get tired of spelling it out all the time) The Greek system at these school had a not so good rep. Some of the schools were a lot better.

As it turned out both my son's attended the same school, one graduated last year and the other is currently a soph. Both joined the same Frat, they have a great Greek system at the school. The Frat he joined has had the highest GPA on campus for as long as they both have been there and it is almost a full point higher the the general campus average.

There have been many benefits to the Frat, but be aware there are the downsides. The first year freshman sleeping porch was not a place you could count on getting the sleep you needed to get up for PT. there were many a night my son's would find a quiet place in the Frat to sleep, it is a lot better this year.

Most Frats only require you live in house for the first 2 years, after that you can move out of the house and still be a member if you feel you need a bit more privacy and quiet.

Time management is needed as well as a good set of Priorities, School, ROTC, Frat.

This last comment may not sit well with everyone and it is purely subjective so please take it that way.

All battalions are not created equal, you may find that you don't connect all that well with every cadet in your class or battalion. If you are in a smaller battalion that can be an issue. Being involved outside the battalion is one of the great perks of ROTC, make the best of it, whether you join a Frat, are in a Dorm, or involved with other school activities.

My son has friends in ROTC, he will admit, not all cadets are friends outside of ROTC. He is in a Frat, and has a position within the Frat, he is also a School Senator, as well as part of the Student run Campus Marketing Business. This all requires some time management but is doable. As far as hurting in regard to ROTC, only if you let it, my son is #1 in his ROTC class.

Try different things, see what works for you. The beauty of ROTC is that it allows you to explore a lot of options at school and find what works for you. My son's always commented that they enjoyed having both a ROTC and Civilian life while at school, and I feel it helped them in the longrun. You really get a lesson in managing your own time, all by yourself with ROTC, make the most of it, you only get to do this once.

EDIT:

Edelahanty made some great points.

Make sure the school has a good Greek Council that oversees Greek Row.

Research all the Frats on campus, my son actually talked to the manager of the bookstore and asked her opinion on the the different Frats, he ended up joining one of the ones she said was good.

Ask what the average GPA is for the house, if they won't tell you then look it up, it should be listed. If they don't tell you it's probably not that good.

Ask about the initiation process, how it works and how long is it. They won't tell you everything but they should tell you enough to get a good idea.

Find out there alcohol policy, some houses are dry and some are not, unless it is required to be dry by the school. Find out their policies on parties.

I can give you an example of my son's Frat.

Minimum GPA is 3.0 while in the house, drop below and you have one semester to bring it back up or your required to move out.
All freshman have a mandatory 2 hour a night study hall six days a week in the house study hall.
Parties are by invitation only, everyone must have ID and are given wristbands, green for over 21, red for under, get caught drinking with a red band and your kicked out.
Initiation was one week at the start of the second semester, that was it, no running around campus wearing a stupid hat or anything like that. Initiation was done in house, nothing that done outside of the house.
The only requirement of freshman was that they did all the house cleaning there entire freshman year, they called it one year Hell, 3 years Hotel, since after your freshman year you no longer cleaned the house. This was the extent of what some might call hazing.

So these are just a few things to keep in mind when looking into the Greek System.

I can tell you one thing, both my son's said they would have no way belonged to a Frat if the had gone to the University just 8 miles from theirs. So like I said, a lot depends on the school and the Greek system they have.
 
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I can tell you one thing, both my son's said they would have no way belonged to a Frat if the had gone to the University just 8 miles from theirs.
Interesting how two universities so close with so similar missions can be so different.
 
Interesting how two universities so close with so similar missions can be so different.

The school is great.

Greek row....a little shaky

ROTC.....Let's just say everyone is happy the Merge talks have been silent for a while.
 
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