2020 frat outlook

2. KSig(Trending Down): I think that KSig maintained their position for the most part throughout this semester, but cracks are beginning to show. KSig continues to do really well socially and mostly mixes with top sororities. They throw the most wild and live events on campus while maintaining an inclusive streak where most anyone feels welcome. The class that they recruited seems to be a small step down as some of them are kind of weird, but its hard to tell how much that will really matter as the freshmen pool this year, as with every year in recent memory, has declined in quality. These guys mostly just lost kids to DKE and picked some up from Sig Chi, SNu, and ZBT as far as I know. These guys tend to be pretty nice and inclusive, but also kind-of-douchey Northeasterners. These guys make a pretty clear case for taking #2. As far as outlook, they were recently put on nationals suspension for a year (for reasons I won't disclose on here), but they appear to be doing well with off-campus stuff and should be able to make that work well for them in the meantime although I could see them losing steam over the next two semesters - we've seen what happens with long suspensions in the past with ATO and ZBT. Also, their new house will honestly be a downgrade for them as the current Phi Psi house, despite being older, is bigger and better suited for events. At least the new house will look better. I didn't bring up that the new houses kinda suck for DKE because, for them, any on-campus house is already a step up. Overall, trending down due to a suspension and comparatively weak recruitment.

As an aside, I think that KSig is honestly a really good model for how Vanderbilt fraternities should be. At a school where OGL is constantly hammering down on all of us, these guys do a great job of being supportive and inclusive of the greek community. While I am admittedly not a KSig, I go to their parties all the time and it never matters that I'm not in the fraternity. While being exclusive used to work at Vanderbilt, with increasingly stringent rules and fraternities dropping like flies, its important that we all make an effort to support each other above all else. Vanderbilt greek life isn't Alabama-lite anymore and in an environment where any fraternity seems like it could get kicked off anyday for frankly asinine violations (honestly this is the first semester in a LONG time that we haven't lost a single fraternity) we could all collectively gain a lot from doing more joint fraternity events and putting in a little more effort to support each other and build a stronger greek community than the fractured, overly competitive, and increasingly less fun one we have today.

Middle

4. Sig Chi(Trending WAY Down): The beginning of the semester was looking bright for SAE-lite. With SAE off campus this was truly their time to shine and take a seat atop the toppest of top tier. After what was a really good start to the year, Sig Chi really shat themselves. While they continue to mix with good sororities, sorority girls just don't show up to the Sig Chi house like they used to. Events at the beginning of the year were live, then they went on suspension and doubled down more on off campus stuff which ended up being just OK, and now they can't even fill up an on campus tailgate (even with the new 1:3 rule). It's honestly kind of pathetic how bad things have been getting here. These guys try to pretend that their events are exclusive (one of them literally carried a former SAE out of their tailgate at the beginning of the year) and now that the only people who show up are Sig Chis they really are exclusive. To top it all off, they started really strong with recruitment only to hemorrhage kids left and right to DKE, KSig, KA, and even SNu. I think they might've ended up taking some kids from ZBT and ATO this year, although I'm not entirely sure. Like every year, they try to trick kids into thinking that they're actually cool by immediately making their rush events "exclusive". And, as with every year, some of the smarter kids they fooled realize this and jump ship. What's leftover are the well-meaning kids who don't realize that they've been swindled and few guys who actually really buy into the whole DoucheCHI thing. These guys tend to come from pretty much anywhere in the country, although there seems to be a slight plurality of southern kids. Sig Chis are easily the biggest douchenozzles on campus and think they're way cooler than they actually are which is all the more annoying considering just how much these guys suck. Luckily, it seems like people are beginning to catch on to just how annoying Sig Chi is. As much as I hate to admit it, these guys do round up the top of Mid, sitting at #4, although it's a huge drop from where I would've said they were at the beginning of the semester. These guys are definitely trending WAY down as they try to cope with a lackluster pc and poor attendance at events among other issues. This is a ship that needs to be righted fast before things get worse, but honestly we'd probably be better off if it sank.

7. ATO(Trending Down): There's not really much you can say about ATO. These guys are just mediocre. Their sorority relations have gotten markedly worse lately, and now they're mixing with below average sororities. Their events have also been pretty mediocre and under attended lately. Although they seemed like they were doing better with their on campus tailgates this semester, a lot of that clearly came from being one of the only fraternities not on suspension as their last one was markedly less attended with KA back on campus (the same effect can't be said about Sig Chi). They recruited pretty solidly this semester, but its clear that their new pc isn't anything special compared to the last two. They lost some kids to SNu, Sig Chi, and ZBT this year and presumably picked some up from Delt and Pike. ATOs tend to be from all over with an emphasis on the Midwest. While its hard to say that these guys have done anything wrong, the fact is that ever since going on suspension two years ago these guys have been pretty stagnant. Honestly, the only reason that they're even here is because, unlike the fraternities below, these guys don't just take anyone. They might have lower standards, but at least they have standards. While some might argue that Delt is better these days, I think ATO really just needs to find an identity or something to build around and they can improve. Right now, it seems like they're just being complacent when they should really be trying to better themselves. They have potential, but they need to begin to realize it instead of continuing to be in the painfully awkward position they are.

10. LXA(Trending Up): These guys are the ghosts of the IFC. No one seems to know who they are and their existence is only known through word of mouth and IFC records. These guys are honestly probably a shell fraternity (similar to a shell company) which only exists on paper and nothing more to make it appear as if Vanderbilt has a tenth fraternity through which KT, the biggest blow dealer on campus, can launder her money. In all seriousness, these are nice guys, but as the second youngest fraternity on campus (DKE barely counts as a young fraternity) it'll be some time before they can really go anywhere. Seeing as the bar above them is Pike though, if they play their cards right they should be rising next semester.

who tf had time to write a full bibliography on greek life

stopped reading at sig chi this is so so biased obviously an SAE which is so embarrassing y’all are a great house you don’t need to be on here bashing competing houses. Girls love machi and the house is full of incredibly nice guys!! Also so rude that you had to say “other top sororities (and KD)” you’re such a douche

can’t believe i actually read all that, but honestly pretty well said

Cool message Bath