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The Battalion
Page 3A • Tuesday, October 8, 2002
My big fake Greek fraternity
Students found their own fraternities and sororities for social and rebellious fun
By Lisa Merryman
THE BATTALION
The members of the fraternity Phi Chi never
want to join official Greek life. Phi Chi, one of a
tandful of “fake” Greek organizations at Texas
A&M, began as a group of friends and has
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Fhe election;- Ryan Shipley, a self-proclaimed “founding
econsiderthein; father” of Phi Chi and a junior construction major
uncing unofc said there are many benefits to participating in
ht after polls® unofficial Greek life.
“We want to build relationships with people,
1 runoff eta going beyond just being acquaintances,” Shipley
till be annotre sa id. “The great thing about having a fake frat is
Sul Rossstu (he ability to claim ownership over it. The flexi
bility and freedom we have allows us to do so
much more with it.”
Shipley said Phi Chi stands for “followers of
Christ,” which is based on the biblical verse
Romans 12:10.
Ryan Couch, another original member of Phi
Chi and a junior information systems major, said
the fraternity originated as a group of friends
meeting on a regular basis.
Phi Chi began as four roommates in Aston
Hall getting together on Sunday nights for
prayer and accountability” Couch said. “A cou
ple of weeks later, on Sept. 13, 2001, we named
it Phi Chi.”
Building relationships with others is key to Phi
Chi’s purpose, said John Gilbert, a member of Phi
Chi and a junior speech communications major.
“Phi Chi is all about brotherhood,” Gilbert said.
“The Phi Chi house is definitely the hot spot for
meeting people and hanging out. Our door is
always open for whoever wants to stop by.”
A major part of official and unofficial Greek
life is social functions.
Phi Chi has already had two functions, “Back
to School Bash” and “Pajama-Rama” since school
began. Allen Duty, one of Phi Chi’s original mem
bers and a junior marketing major said Phi Chi is
becoming well-known on campus.
We made shirts, and people really came in
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people around campus with our Phi Chi shirts on,’
he said. “One of the best things about being in Phi
Chi is when people come up to me on campus and
say, ‘Hey, aren’t you a Phi Chi guy?’ I love it.”
Storey Wilkes, a sophomore political science
major, attended the “Back to School Bash” and
said she was impressed with the wholesome
atmosphere Phi Chi provided.
“The party was great because I got to see a lot
of my friends 1 hadn’t seen all summer and in a
clean, welcoming atmosphere,” she said. “There
was no pressure to drink at all.”
Fake greek life is not reserved for just Aggie
men, however.
Sarah Carpenter, a junior marketing major, and
Katie Peterson, a junior industrial distribution
major, said they are proud members of Lambda
Gamma, a fake sorority.
“Lambda Gamma comes from our lunch group
that we started doing last year,” Carpenter said.
That’s where we came up with the idea to begin
our sorority's name with the letters ‘L’ and ‘G.’”
Carpenter said Lambda Gamma’s reputation
reaches beyond College Station.
“Last year we went to Lubbock for the Tech
game and after the game we went around to a
bunch of the different parties,” Carpenter said.
“All the girls, it seemed, were in a sorority that we
met and we were tired of answering ‘no’ when
asked if we were in a sorority at A&M. Finally we
said, ‘Yeah, we’re in Lambda Gamma at A&M.’
Ever since then, the name, and group, has stuck.”
Lambda Gamma’s members agree that “fake”
greek life is a lot cheaper and establishes lasting
relationships.
“We meet once a week, all four of us, to have
dinner together and hang out,” Peterson said.
“We met our freshman year because we were in
the same FLO (Freshmen Leadership
Organization) and our dues were $60. We knew
how expensive a real sorority would be if we ever
wanted to be in one, so we coined the phrase,
‘Sixty bucks, friends for life.’”
Although cheap “dues” and the promise of last
ing friendships may convince other women to
pledge. Carpenter said Lambda Gamma member
ship is closed.
“I guess we’re like a real sorority in a sense that
we’re very selective. It’s just the four of us,”
Carpenter said.
Although panhellenic sororities may throw
crush parties with each other, fake sororites have
the same advantage. On Oct. 23, Lambda Gamma
will team up with another fake sorority, Tri Zeta,
for its first official formal date party.
Amy Puente, a junior kinesiology major, is one
of six girls in Tri Zeta, and said she is pumped
about the date party.
“This is our first olficial date party, so these 10
guys who get to be our dates are pretty lucky. We’re
definitely making shirts for the occasion and are
planning some great stuff for the night,” Puente said.
Puente said the Tri Zetas officially started
this year and had its first party on Sept. 20,
2002. Puente said two of Tri Zeta members
turned 21 on the same day, so they threw a
“Birthday Bash,” complete with T-shirts.
“Fake greek life is the way to go,” Puente
said. “There are no ‘have to’s,’ and it’s a great
excuse to all get together and do something
because it’s an official Tri Zeta thing.”
Puente said one of the best reasons to create
a fake fraternity or sorority is for the wardrobe
incentives.
“It’s always a good reason to make random
shirts,” she said.
Lori Green
s
THE BATTALION
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