Gay Frat is the Anti-Animal House

Gay Brotherhood: Antitheses of 'Animal House' Drunken Excess

Believe it or not, the fastest growing fraternity in the United States isn't Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma, Sigma Chi, or Alpha Chi Rho, it's the gay frat Delta Lambda Phi according to a report from ABC News.

ABC News writes that, "The term "gentleman" does not conjure up those puerile Hollywood fraternity brothers Bluto Blutarsky and Otter Stratton, who waged a drunken war against Dean Vernon Wormer as he tried to shut down the fictitious Delta House — the "Animal House."

New York University became the latest college to open it doors for the only national fraternity started by gay men for gay men. Membership is open to gay, bisexual, progressive and straight men.

Delta Lambda Phi currently has 24 chapters nationwide, with 10 colonies scattered around the country.

Sororities at Lehigh Hope to Occupy Vacant Mansions

For Lehigh Sororities, Dreams of Mansion on The Hill

The vacant houses of two Lehigh University frats could become sorority houses as soon as next fall.

Earlier this year, Lehigh's chapters of Kappa Sigma and Alpha Chi Rho were forced out of their house by the university. Kappa Sigma is trying to appeal the decision with its national chapter, but the university has already approved Alpha Chi Omega to move into the former Crow house.

If the Kappa Sigs lose their appeal, the lovely ladies of Pi Beta Phi will moving in their house. Lehigh wants to diversify "The Hill" where mostly frats have lived in mansions capable of housing 50 brothers in the past.

Lehigh Crows to Lose House, Remain a Chapter

Alpha Chi Rho to be first non-residential fraternity

After losing their house to Lehigh University's occupancy rule Alpha Chi Rho persevered, arranging housing for the fall 2007 at an off-campus location. Currently, the brothers are scattered amongst the various dormitories at Lehigh, but beginning fall of 2007, the Crows will be living in four adjacent off-campus houses.

Crow President-elect Trevor Salzmann, spoke out in the Brown and White article about the school's new methods of evicting fraternity's, by enforcing a 90% occupancy rate. The FratBoyNews expressed similar concerns, that the occupancy rule was simply Lehigh's systematic way of shutting down most or all of the fraternities on campus.


"Salzmann predicted Lehigh will see a developing trend of fraternities moving off the Hill in the next few years because of alcohol violation enforcement and fraternities not fulfilling the occupancy requirement.

“I think slowly it’s going to be choked to death,” Salzmann said.

Fraternities don’t fit into the university’s system, and as a result, there will soon be fewer and fewer fraternities, he said. Whether that’s good or bad, that’s how it will be, he said.

The university has a certain image as a top national university that it wants to maintain, promote and develop, Salzmann said.

“It’s a business,” he said. “And that’s their game plan.”

We couldn't have said it better ourselves. It's a terrifying trend that has emerged nationwide, and we've yet to see a fraternity or greek system successfully fight a determined anti-Greek administration.

Related:
Greek Numbers Down at Lehigh, Frat crackdown hurts recruitment
Lehigh Crows Can't Fill House, Must Leave by Jan. 24
Lehigh Crows Taking Traditional Frat Boy Approach to Problem Solving
Kappa Sigs Gone at Lehigh

Off-Campus Fire Kills Αlpha Chi Rho Senior

Longwood College Studets Deal With Loss In Fatal Fire

A weekend fire killed two people, one of them a Longwood University senior and Alpha Chi Rho Brother.

Another Longwood student, 21-year-old Timothy Cocrane, is being credited with saving three other people from their burning, off-campus home. Cocrane remains hospitalized with second-degree burns and severe smoke inhalation.

While three people were saved, two others, who were lifelong friends died in the fire. The blaze killed Ed Cunningham, an engineering student and member of the Crow fraternity. Their deaths have shocked and saddened everyone who knew them.

His friend, 21-year-old Byron Jamerson, often visited Cunningham and was inside when the house caught fire. Authorities aren't saying how the fire might have started. Tim Cocrane, the student who helped save three people from that burning house, is still hospitalized, but school officials say he may be released as early as tomorrow.

Greek Numbers Down at Lehigh, Frat crackdown hurts recruitment

Fraternity Bids Down, Greek Hopes Still High

Campus administrators have tried to put a positive spin on it, but the fact stands: Numbers are down for Lehigh rush.

The Brown and White, Lehigh's student newspaper reported that 238 men accepted their bids this year versus approximately 293 last year, a nearly 19% decrease.

“Numbers are down this year, but not when you average it out among the chapters,” said Tim Wilkinson, assistant dean of students for fraternity and sorority affairs.

Wilkinson is referring to the average number of new recruits per chapter, which stands at 13.1. This same measurement came in at 13.9 per chapter last year, representing a 5.8% decrease.

Most blame the poor recruitment on the crackdown on fraternities that has resulted in Alpha Chi Rho losing their house and Kappa Sigma losing their charter. The Hill, where most of the Greek housing is located, has also seen an increase police presence.

While the FratBoyNews does not deal in conspiracy theory's, we are wary that Lehigh, under the leadership of their new President is undertaking an anti-Greek stance. These low recruitment levels will likely trigger new evictions under their Greek occupancy rule, which requires a 90% occupancy level for Greek organizations to keep a house on campus. This is how Alpha Chi Rho came to be without a house.

It's a chilling time line: August 2006 a new President takes office at Lehigh, six months later, two fraternities are gone, police now patrol fraternity hill, and recruitment is down. Is Lehigh attempting to "thin out" the Greek population?

Related:
Lehigh Crows Can't Fill House, Must Leave by Jan. 24
Lehigh Crows Taking Traditional Frat Boy Approach to Problem Solving
Kappa Sigs Gone at Lehigh

WRI Frat Raising Money for Hostage's Family

College Frat Kids Raising Money for Hostage's Family

As reported by Courtney Towson of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette:

It’s been a couple of cold nights in the city. The snow, sleet and rain have fallen and the winds have howled. And no one knows that better than the fraternity brothers of Alpha Chi Rho who spent the last two nights camped out on the quad of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute campus.

Their campout was not part of the usual frat high jinks that take place on college campuses nationwide; instead, the fraternity was showing support and raising money for a member who was kidnapped in Iraq almost two years ago. As other students rushed to class, they set up camp with tents, a fire pit and an igloo designed by one of the members. The igloo took hours to build and isn’t quite ready for habitation yet, but it has been the impetus for much of the attention the fraternity’s cause has been receiving over the past two days.

Jeffrey J. Ake, an alumnus of the Purdue chapter of Alpha Chi Rho, was in Iraq as a military contractor. He was president and CEO of Equipment Express, a company that was working to improve the water infrastructure in Iraq.

On April 11, 2005, unknown assailants kidnapped Mr. Ake. Two days later, a video of him clutching his passport while three men pointed rifles at his head appeared on Al-Jazeera television. No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and Al-Jazeera would not say where it obtained the video.

Mr. Ake, who would now be 48, has not been seen nor heard from since that day. On Wednesday afternoon, the brothers pitched a tent and began their planned 45-hour mission to raise money to aid in the search for Mr. Ake. It took weeks to plan the campout and gain approval from the college administration, because of safety concerns. Not once did the frat members think the biggest snowstorm and some of the coldest temperatures and fastest winds of the season would hit the area on their first night out.

So far the fraternity has raised more than $200, which will go directly to the family of Mr. Ake. “That’s pretty good for a bunch of poor college students.”

To help the brothers of Alpha Chi Rho out, donate here.

Kappa Sigs Gone at Lehigh

Despite Progress, Frat Loses Charter

The Lehigh Crows may have been kicked out of there house, but at least they still have their charter, something the university's chapter of Kappa Sigma can't say.

Here's a stunner - empty bottles of vodka were found in the Kappa Sigma party room last year. Although the frat had been recognized recently for their community work on campus, it wasn't enough for them to stay.

Kappa Sigma's national board voted to revoke the Lehigh chapter's charter, becoming the 2nd fraternity to be disbanded at the campus in as many weeks.

The brothers were told to be out of their house by next Friday.

Lehigh Crows Taking Traditional Frat Boy Approach to Problem Solving

Crow Fraternity Loses House
Lehigh Frat Loses Place to Hang its Hat


As reported last week here at the Frat Boy News, Lehigh's chapter of Alpha Chi Rho is getting booted out of their house.

As a follow to the story, the Crows did in fact get kicked out on Wednesday, becoming the first fraternity to be a victim of Lehigh's Greek occupancy rule. The 24 brothers failed to fill their house, and when they returned from winter break, found out they were being forced to move out. The university requires 90 percent occupancy, something Alpha Chi Rho hasn't been able to for the past 4 semesters.

''Lehigh's less fun,'' said Tyler Rock, the university's IFC president. ''It's like, 'What's Lehigh going to do now to reduce fun?'''

Check out a video, posted by the Morning Call made by the brothers here.

Lehigh Crows Can't Fill House, Must Leave by Jan. 24

Crow Fraternity Loses Housing Privileges

Alpha Chi Rho at Lehigh University is being forced to move out of their house by Jan. 24.

The fraternity hasn't been able to reach the required 90 percent occupancy minimum. The Crows, who listed 4 students not actually in the fraternity as occupants, may face sanctions by the university for falsifying records.