Fraternity Life: By Kyle Erdman

Kyle Erdman is a Student at Washington State University, and a Member and past President of Alpha Gamma chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon. He recently wrote the following to express how he views fraternity life, from an insider perspective still aware of the negative stereotypes Greek life is connected to.

I met Kyle a couple years back when they stopped by my TKE chapter at Oregon State on his way to a Regional Leadership Conference held by TKE in San Francisco. More recently I was able to get to know Kyle better this summer at Conclave in San Anotnio, where I gained respect for his no bull shit attitude to fraternity excellence, and his level head on Fraternity leadership and experience.

Before I copy his excerpt below I must give you some background on Kyle's success with his chapter. Kyle has helped Alpha Gamma chapter achieve Top TeKE Chapter status in 2011 which is awarded to the best Tau Kappa Epsilon chapters in Recruitment, service, philanthropy, academics, and extracurricular. Kyle's passion for TeKE is very contagious, which is proved by Alpha Gamma's overwhelming recruitment success in Fall 2011 with 44 men inducted as candidates.

You can view his web-site at:
www.Kyleerdman.com/Fraternity_Life/more.html



Kyle Erdman: Fraternity Life -

Women are referred to as slam pieces or bitches. A friend is a bro and sorority women are hoes. You must own a flat billed hat (trucker hat, baseball cap, or a visor works). You must have hair gel or a buzzed head, and earrings in both ears. Now they do not have to be real, fake earrings help those who drink a little too much on weekends and lose them. Make sure you know the rules of an ice (google it), and you make pledges (want to be members) do the beer runs. 30 bombs are obstacles, and a fifth of alcohol is a pre-funking resource. Cleaning is not for women (yet), it is for pledges. Drugs are okay if you do not get caught, and under aged drinking is fine because after all... you are in a frat. Class is better enjoyed if you are drunk from the night before. Class is also a time to sleep for a frat boy, how else are you going to have time to party? Every Bro needs a paddle, and a tool for drinking (chuggler, beer bong, car keys for shot gunning, or just natural talent to drink fast). There are traditions of hazing that can never change because if you disagree than you are a wussy or a Gede (slang for GDI- God Damn Independent). Frat Life is where your liver does not matter, and you only need one dress shirt and tie to get by. Frat life is viewed as only a four year experience.

What you should know| Fraternity discourse

Most fraternity men have experienced some of the notions stated above, but the elite choose to learn from their actions. A fraternal experience is something that is lifelong, and transforms you into a man. Through your experience as an undergraduate you develop your personal skills, and learn how to selflessly serve your community, your family, and your fraternity. A fraternity is for the men who accept the challenge to better themselves everyday, and to represent a group of men that share the same life values. You also lead the way for people to follow you, and you use character to show your view on life. You have priorities, and you make time to develop yourself in a social atmosphere, but you remember to be a gentleman and to show
class and respect to everyone you meet. You protect the bond that your fraternity brothers share, and you excel socially, academically, and morally.

Fraternity life is for those who observe the environment around them, and choose to be above the stereotypes and what people think being Greek is about.We know why we do service hours, and why we choose to be classy over childish. We do not judge those Greeks or non-greeks for being different,
 we just remind ourselves of why we care about being passionate. We make mistakes, but we learn from them. We do not care about wealth, rank, or honor because we value personal worth and character. Being a fraternity man is being the person that other Greeks can chill with, non-greeks can respect, and parents
and professors want to talk about. Welcome to a world without limits. Whether you prefer frat life or fraternity life is up to you, but your legacy on your campus is based on how you impact the people around you. What if the next person you met became the best man at your wedding? What if the next lady you spoke to became the one you have been waiting for? Treat every interaction as the most important interaction of your life. Live life to the fullest, and above all else... love the fraternity.

What to blog about?

If you are anything like me, when it comes to writing, I am more self-conscious than a teenage girl. Even if the ideas and words are flowing, I always second guess myself, often leading to a very long night, and multiple 50 percent completed papers. 


So when I decided to start this blog, I forgot to ask myself what the HELL I was going to write about. With this in mind I decided to do some research and narrowed down my top 7 tips on what to blog about.


1. Linked up to get linked in- Write a blog about an article or blog that you have enjoyed recently. Link to other web-sites, expand, give insight, etc.


2. Cream of the Crop- Make lists of the best tips, products and ideas that are relevant to your readers. (Don't forget to add number 1 to this)


3. "Fly like a butterfly sting like a bee" - Write a post around a quote that inspires you. Add your own flair to the quote and what it speaks to you. Ask for readers input. *You want your readers to participate in your blogging!


4. Extra, extra read all about it- Use the news to spark debate and discourse. Write a blog around a hop topic or issue that is sweeping the news. Or feature a person of interest and write about them.


5. "This is how we do it"- Write a "how to article" on something that everyone does but does slightly different. The personal quirks will add to your online personality.

6. "Wax on wax off" - Re-work one of your older pieces adding new "wax" or pizzazz to it. Readers will appreciate the revisited topic with a fresh coat of paint.
7. "I'm going to the moon and I'm taking a danish" - (I admit that doesn't work in the least bit for a quote) But as I poorly did, let your imagination run wild. Find new subjects, do new research, photography, posts, etc.