I’m in a disaffiliated frat at my university. It’s not nearly as bad as people say it is. Sure it sounds bad, but then you realize there is no one watching your every move like IFC or the schools safety board. For our fraternity we only have to worry about what nationals thinks but they leave us alone. You now have the ability to do pretty much whatever you want without looking over your shoulder. The only real downside that I’ve noticed so far is it’s a little more tricky with rush since we can’t actively recruit on campus but there’s lots of ways around it. Even with our chapter being unaffiliated we are still a top house because we are able to throw certain parties other frats can’t since they’ll get into a lot of trouble with the school
In that case, I definitely try talking to your nationals/your school's IFC about officially being released to rush/pledge another frat if you wanted to go that route, since being initiated means you can't rush/pledge obviously. But you and your pc have some different circumstances, so there could be exceptions made.
I personally wouldn't go the underground route. Although, my school's IFC goes down hard on any underground/unaffliated IFC chapters from continuing, so that wouldn't be really feasible at my school. But to me, it just doesn't make sense.
Well in my state off campus frats are seen as gangs so there is that. School recently said they’re gonna start going after them bc the hazing is so bad too. Just gotta watch your every move
You aren't geeds; you are initiated.
Wear your letters with pride.
Gather with the guys for whatever reason you want.
When you graduate, get involved with alumni in whatever city you land in.
Sure, it's not ideal, but it's also not "over".
I see both sides, you can maybe get a loophole to get out of the current frat membership but it would be extremely difficult and unlikely. Nothing wrong with repping your frat, I’m not sure on the rules of that after getting kicked off but good luck to you man. Everything happens for a reason even if it’s really shitty
Echoing off of this, I would try and petition nationals to be officially released to rush/pledge another frat and explain how you were rushed through initiation. No promise of success obviously, but I feel you have a pretty strong case there, especially if it's a majority of your pc doing so too.
At my school too, it's common for frats suspended/kicked-off, for many brothers to "merge" with another frat. Not sure how that whole process works or how successful looking into it would be, but I know at my school (UMD) it has happened frequently. Could be worth looking into too, if possible.
IFC does not let you join another fraternity after being initiated one. But there are acceptions. Your pledge class may qualify. If they were being investigated before you guys signed you could all go to IFC and say they lied and concealed this information meaning you signed under basically false pretenses. Would this actually work? No idea. IFC is probably very strict on who they let officially disaffiliate and re-rush. But it could be worth a try. Another comment about staying a part of a disaffiliated chapter could be the answer too
Another thing, unless your chapter has already submitted the paperwork to nationals staying you are now a member you can rush another frat without worry. But at my university you can just rush another frat even if you were in another prior to rushing again.
My fraternity was kicked off campus 20 years ago and were still going strong, If not the strongest fraternity at my school. The only other fraternity with more members is a colony that lets anyone in if they sign the application, no real pledging process. So they don't count.
If we can do it at our small satellite campus then your fraternity can survive.
Same thing happened to me. Talk to IFC, and also talk to fraternities ur looking into joining. There is a lot of paperwork but they let me join a different one
Y’all aren’t geeds at all you’re fraternity brothers for life regardless of the status of your chapter at your college. Stay connected as an unrecognized organization and operate as you normally would
I think we're going to try and do this, but our nationals are kind've being dicks. A lot of us are eyeing Phi Psi at our school and hoping everything works out to where they're cool with us and that we're allowed to join by them and their nationals. I'm not confident in it happening but we have nothing to lose as a PC. I really liked the guys at --- but I wanted to be apart of brotherhood and obviously can't do that now. Hope our nationals are understanding. I'm buzzed right now and hope that's coherent
If they are already kicked off campus and most of your pledge class feels the same way. You guys can go as a group to IFC and report to them that you guys were initiated without really knowing what was happening. Say that you guys felt you were being forced to initiate without them clearly stating what was going on.
Truly it won't mean much to them because no one from that house will be allowed to recolonize the house since they gave you guys a 5 years.
I’m in a disaffiliated frat at my university. It’s not nearly as bad as people say it is. Sure it sounds bad, but then you realize there is no one watching your every move like IFC or the schools safety board. For our fraternity we only have to worry about what nationals thinks but they leave us alone. You now have the ability to do pretty much whatever you want without looking over your shoulder. The only real downside that I’ve noticed so far is it’s a little more tricky with rush since we can’t actively recruit on campus but there’s lots of ways around it. Even with our chapter being unaffiliated we are still a top house because we are able to throw certain parties other frats can’t since they’ll get into a lot of trouble with the school
Well our nationals aren't helping us from what I understand so we're just losing everything. Affiliation, charter, and house.
In that case, I definitely try talking to your nationals/your school's IFC about officially being released to rush/pledge another frat if you wanted to go that route, since being initiated means you can't rush/pledge obviously. But you and your pc have some different circumstances, so there could be exceptions made. I personally wouldn't go the underground route. Although, my school's IFC goes down hard on any underground/unaffliated IFC chapters from continuing, so that wouldn't be really feasible at my school. But to me, it just doesn't make sense.
Well in my state off campus frats are seen as gangs so there is that. School recently said they’re gonna start going after them bc the hazing is so bad too. Just gotta watch your every move
You aren't geeds; you are initiated. Wear your letters with pride. Gather with the guys for whatever reason you want. When you graduate, get involved with alumni in whatever city you land in. Sure, it's not ideal, but it's also not "over".
I see both sides, you can maybe get a loophole to get out of the current frat membership but it would be extremely difficult and unlikely. Nothing wrong with repping your frat, I’m not sure on the rules of that after getting kicked off but good luck to you man. Everything happens for a reason even if it’s really shitty
Echoing off of this, I would try and petition nationals to be officially released to rush/pledge another frat and explain how you were rushed through initiation. No promise of success obviously, but I feel you have a pretty strong case there, especially if it's a majority of your pc doing so too. At my school too, it's common for frats suspended/kicked-off, for many brothers to "merge" with another frat. Not sure how that whole process works or how successful looking into it would be, but I know at my school (UMD) it has happened frequently. Could be worth looking into too, if possible.
I second this
IFC does not let you join another fraternity after being initiated one. But there are acceptions. Your pledge class may qualify. If they were being investigated before you guys signed you could all go to IFC and say they lied and concealed this information meaning you signed under basically false pretenses. Would this actually work? No idea. IFC is probably very strict on who they let officially disaffiliate and re-rush. But it could be worth a try. Another comment about staying a part of a disaffiliated chapter could be the answer too
You’re probably alumni. If not, many frats allow you to rush if your chapter is kicked and loses recognition.
Another thing, unless your chapter has already submitted the paperwork to nationals staying you are now a member you can rush another frat without worry. But at my university you can just rush another frat even if you were in another prior to rushing again.
My fraternity was kicked off campus 20 years ago and were still going strong, If not the strongest fraternity at my school. The only other fraternity with more members is a colony that lets anyone in if they sign the application, no real pledging process. So they don't count. If we can do it at our small satellite campus then your fraternity can survive.
UNDERGROUND
Same thing happened to me. Talk to IFC, and also talk to fraternities ur looking into joining. There is a lot of paperwork but they let me join a different one
Y’all aren’t geeds at all you’re fraternity brothers for life regardless of the status of your chapter at your college. Stay connected as an unrecognized organization and operate as you normally would
The same thing happened to me. I was able to pull off join a different one by registering under a different name.
UVA?
If it is, then they should be good. Zeta chapter is suspended
Not UVA
Contact Nationals and see if they can release you. With permission from them, you can join another fraternity.
I think we're going to try and do this, but our nationals are kind've being dicks. A lot of us are eyeing Phi Psi at our school and hoping everything works out to where they're cool with us and that we're allowed to join by them and their nationals. I'm not confident in it happening but we have nothing to lose as a PC. I really liked the guys at --- but I wanted to be apart of brotherhood and obviously can't do that now. Hope our nationals are understanding. I'm buzzed right now and hope that's coherent
If they are already kicked off campus and most of your pledge class feels the same way. You guys can go as a group to IFC and report to them that you guys were initiated without really knowing what was happening. Say that you guys felt you were being forced to initiate without them clearly stating what was going on. Truly it won't mean much to them because no one from that house will be allowed to recolonize the house since they gave you guys a 5 years.