<p>Thanks for the recommendation, Bigred. Sorry for your experience in Norman…I know it is so bad that a lot of us get turned off by the Sooner crazies (like my parents) and go to OSU for peace of mind. I do remember that about the OU alcohol poisoning death…the guy was a Fiji and his parents led a campaign to put the entire OU Greek community on probation. </p>
<p>The Fiji’s at OU were already kind of the “Animal House” so I suspect OU’s president, former Senator David Boren, took advantage of that to reduce Greek influence. David Boren was the liberal Senator who was Reagan’s biggest adversary in the 80’s. Most people also suspect that he’s gay…not that this is a bad thing, it’s just noteworthy that he has a vendetta against unfairly perceived homophobia. When he attended OU and Yale he was fiercely independent (he was in an “honors fraternity” and lived in the dormitory), wrote many anti-fraternity columns in the OU Daily that are still available for people to read. He did go on to be a Skull and Bones, a Rhodes Scholar, and a big figure on Capitol Hill though, so go figure.</p>
<p>I agree with you that OU’s Greeks probably did bring their troubles onto themselves. One bad house can bring the entire community down. The deferred rush is just the most obvious reason I can come up with for the stark difference in Greek communities. I have a really limited knowledge of Greek life because I am not yet a part of it, and I only know what I’ve been able to glean from my own investigating as well as my rush experiences to date, which I’ve had a good time at for sure.</p>
<p>Oh and thanks for the UIFI info. I am interested in that kind of thing. Actually I know a few fraternities send their pledge classes on trips like that. Most send their leadership on trips like that, usually to the national HQ for that fraternity. Like SAE sends its guys to Chicago. One of the main reasons I’m so interested in Greek life is because I’m a Presidential Leadership Council scholar at OSU, so I’ve had several fraternities actively recruiting me…it’s a great thing when people show they actually want you, and at the same time are able to convince you that you “belong with them.”</p>