The Student Organization Fair, put simply, is a fair about student organizations. I know, the title doesn't explain anything at all. You go to the Kohl Center, and thousands of SOs, or CCAs, as faux-British types like to call them, have their tables set up on two levels in the sporting arena. They don't actually set it up inside the arena, but on the corridors surrounding it, so to see them all you have to make two big rounds around the place. People are acting as if they've never seen student orgs before - there's literally tens of thousands of crazies just going rabid with ecstasy as they sign up for as many things as possible. I made my first round without actually signing up for anything, mostly just doing some recon. Also, I've been conditioned with that negative stereotyping of Greek organizations (fraternities and sororities, unfortunately, not real Greeks), so I didn't stop at any of the tables with the funny looking alphabets.
There were so many "Asian societies", just filled with Asians trying to recruit more Asians for their little re-creation of 'what we left back home in sweet Asia'. It felt totally discriminatory, not to mention shallow, so I avoided eye-contact with them as much as possible, in case they tried to suck me into their little games of Let's Avoid Locals. I love the people here so much more than the rude service-staff in Singapore, why would I want to keep limiting myself to that? Also, why are minority groups allowed to have single-race groups, when a majority group doing so would be considered racist? Segregating themselves from the local population is one form of racism, and this would just make others think it's okay to group 'all you minorities' as one collective, since you're doing it such a bang up job labeling yourself.
I do feel better after venting.
So there I was, wandering about the place and being disappointed when all the groups with the cuties and candies and beautiful people are dead-boring stuff like Business Advertising and Something Else Equally Dull. I was making joining a student organization a completely superficial event, and the forces of the Universe are just dead-set on foiling that for me. (I'm getting a tad worried how many times I've said 'dead' in a paragraph.) I also want to be part of a group that I have an interest in, and since the Madhatters so forgetfully left my name out of the callback sheet (that's the story I'm sticking to), and I short-sightedly only signed up to audition for one vocal group, I was sorta at a loss at what I was gonna join now.
This story may come to be told differently years later, but that instant where I signed up with a fraternity didn't feel like my proudest moment. I felt as if I was betraying what I used to believe, and that I had lied to my friends when I said I would never associate myself with a fraternity. I believe the exact words I used were ".. and join a bunch of assholes drinking themselves silly? Over my dead body!" (There it is again) How it went down exactly is a little blur to me now, seeing how it's been almost a month since I first signed up. I believe one of them (perhaps the VP, I'm not too sure) started talking to me and asked me if I had an interest in Greek life. Of course I said I didn't, but a little part inside me was dying (I sure am morbid today) to know what it really was like, and to take that step into badboy-dom. I guess that's why it had been so easy to convince me to leave behind my contact details.
So what I went for, and eventually signed a bid with, was Pi Lambda Phi. They had explained to me at the SO Fair that it was the first non-sectarian fraternity ever founded, meaning it was the first to break the religion barrier. Being one with an unconventional faith system, I was most impressed that I had coincidentally (or did I?) stumbled upon the first frat that valued character over religion or race. I was now hooked, and was ready to explore what being in a frat really meant, as opposed to the typically portrayed idiots on TV.
I am now two weeks into the new member process of learning the ways and history of PiLam, and I'm sure any Brother reading this would start feeling very anxious that I'll begin spilling all the secrets, from the Naked Lunar Worship during the Sabbath of Diana to bug eating competitions (I'm kidding, it's the Sabbath of Samhain). I'm personally not extremely sure about what can or cannot be said, so I'll just provide some general myth-busters. Do the American Pie type of frats and behavior exist? Yes, I've seen them, and boy are they disgusting to look at. Is PiLam one of them? No. These guys get really serious about the actual projects and training for the new members, and I've not worn formal attire that many times since my stint at SIMUN. There is a very distinct structure and ExCo that keeps things in check, but at the same time, they know how to let loose and have a good time partying. Everyone I've met since are all very different people, and are really quite decent. And as much fun as it sounds, no, I have not been sexually mistreated. I'm hoping there's a big 'yet'.
So I'm hoping to learn from it, grow with it, support it, feed it, bathe it, clothe it, suck the juicy goodness out of it like a hard candy with gummy insides, and basically enjoy as much as I can. There is responsibility to be had, of course, totally reminiscent of my bad-ass days at JJInteract. Like Travis on Cougar Town says, "a quiet bad ass, like Harry Potter."
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| - The madness of the Student Org fair - |
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