October 31, 2025 • 26 mins
The stereotypical fraternity experience is well-known, negative, and (unsurprisingly) not true of every chapter. Most people think they know what Greek life is like - but what do the insiders say?
This week, Dr. Ross and student producer Ashley Worley explore Greek life within UT Tyler's Kappa Sigma chapter. Joining the discussion are Kappa Sigma's alumni advisor Jared Daniels and chapter member Erick Zamarron to share the impact of brotherhood on their college journeys. Together, they dive into the history of fraternities, misconceptions of Greek life, and the personal growth opportunities they've encountered. For curious students, the stories may not be what you expect.
Have more questions about life inside a fraternity? Email us at ADRquestions@gmail.com or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!
Want to learn more or connect with UT Tyler's Greek Life? Click the links below!
-UT Tyler Greek Life webpage: https://www.uttyler.edu/student-life/greek-life/
-Kappa Sigma Instagram: @UTTKAPPASIGMA
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
Stay tuned to the Ask Dr.
Ross Podcast.
It's created to give you info tosucceed at college.
Our hosts are highly qualified.
Dr.
Katherine Ross is a member ofthe University of Texas Systems
Academy of DistinguishedTeachers.
She's also a popular professorof 19th century English
literature.
Ask Dr.
(00:24):
Ross is a community service ofthe University of Texas at
Tiger.
SPEAKER_04 (00:31):
So today we're going to be talking to two gentlemen
from the world of fraternities.
We've already done an episode,by the way, on sororities, and
they have prepared us to expectgreat things from you all.
Our two guests are Eric Zamaron,who is a junior education major
and an active brother in theKappa Sigma fraternity.
(00:52):
And we have Jared Daniels here,who's had an interesting career.
He is a volunteer alumniadvisor, although recently he
was a paid fraternity recruiter,what did they call you?
Area recruitment manager.
So I guess the first thing wewant to know about is just
generally what's the history offraternities in the U.S.
universities?
SPEAKER_03 (01:13):
We, as Captain Simon, started in 1869 in
Charlesville, Virginia at UVA.
But we date even further backthan that, a little more history
in Bologna, Italy in 1400.
SPEAKER_02 (01:22):
In Bologna back then, there was this guy called
Bolisera Casa, and he was kindof this really evil entity, I
guess.
He had a bunch of soldiers thatwould kind of take over the
land.
And there's this guy, ManuelChristolores, and he really
wanted to bring the history backto Bologna.
And Greek, the language, likethe Greek alphabet and
everything, was kind of a dyinglanguage.
(01:44):
The history was being erased.
And what Manuel Christoloresdid, he gathered a bunch of
students that were going to theschool, and he was trying to
teach these teachings to them.
And while they would go toschool, they would actually get
beat up, like stoned on the wayto school by Casa and his
people, his soldiers.
What Manuel Cristolores did washe kind of banded a group of
(02:08):
members and they kind of stucktogether for protection to go
back and forth to school so theycould learn about the history
and everything.
SPEAKER_03 (02:17):
So the reason why we became Cap Sigma is because they
needed a sign to show like whoare these guys coming to the
city without getting beaten up,their books taken away, or
things like that.
So the Greek alphabet, we weregiven Cappa Sigma.
A lot of our beliefs with CappaSigma, scholarship, leadership,
service, and fellowship.
So all the principles of being agood student, giving back to the
community, the same principlesthat we live today, I mean,
(02:39):
starts back at 1400.
SPEAKER_04 (02:41):
So you all are sort of proud of this history as you
should be.
And so what happened between1400 and 2025 to get Kappa Sigma
here at UT Tyler?
SPEAKER_03 (02:51):
Well, the area recruitment manager does, our
headquarters supplies this jobfor any college student that has
a Capua Sigma on theiruniversity.
So this guy named MattGriffiths, who came from McNeese
State University, he uh appliedfor this job at headquarters, he
got trained, you know, on how tosell the fraternity.
And he showed up to campus oneday at UT Tyler and just started
talking to students, you know,going left and right.
(03:13):
I came in, are you interested infraternity?
Would you be interested notalone being in one, but starting
one?
There was one back here in 2010,but unfortunately we got shut
down.
So for 2010 to I think 2015 to2016 is when all that kind of we
got shut down.
So we had to wait our timeperiod out.
Spring of 2021 is when MatthewGriffiths came down and then
started recruiting again for thefraternity.
SPEAKER_04 (03:34):
So originally it was a society to protect students
from evil thugs of privatearmies of Italians so they could
go to the great university ofBologna and get an education.
And then somehow we got all theway to UVA in 1869.
Those five gentlemen at UVA,what did they want?
SPEAKER_03 (03:53):
To promote brotherhood.
I've got a great story.
I want to hear the story.
Okay, sweet.
So before I became part of UTTyler on this campus, I was
taking community college classesbefore then.
And I decided to come, you know,to UT Tyler.
He's close to home, that kind ofthing.
I did all online classes thatspring of 2021 when Matt came
down.
And had a buddy.
(04:13):
We went to summer camp together,found out that we're both going
to UT Tyler.
He's like, awesome, man, that'sgreat.
That's cool.
We should we should hang outsometime.
I drove up here, we're sittingdown at the Chick-fil-A on
campus.
Next thing I know, MattGriffiths and Adam Sherman, who
were both a recruit manager atthe time, came up to me and
they're like, hey man, how areyou doing?
I'm like, doing good, just kindof having lunch or whatever.
And I asked, I was like, Are youguys students here?
(04:34):
You know, because we kind ofstarted having a conversation.
He's like, no, we're actuallytrying to start a fraternity.
And I was like, no, thanks.
Why?
Yeah, the speculation of youknow, hazing, and they're like,
no, man, it's different.
You get to start one.
I'm like, my buddy's just likeabsolutely not.
He's like, no, I'm not into it.
But they kind of got me in,like, I was I was a little
curious, you know.
(04:54):
I was a little curious.
I was like, all right, here,I'll I'll do you one better.
Let's have lunch later thisweek.
So I go back home, tell myparents got, you know, about
this fraternity thing, they'relike freaking out.
They're like, no, no, pleasedon't.
Yeah.
So go back up there and we hadthis a great in-depth
conversation about what CAPESigma stands for, the benefits
that it could provide, and why Ishould do it.
(05:14):
And I went home that evening andI really thought about it.
The end of the semester comes.
It's like, I think April.
And I'm at home, you know, andthey mind you, Matt and Adam are
both actively recruiting oncampus day in, day out.
And I'm at home, kind of thinknothing much of it.
They call me and I'm like, heyman, what's going on?
Like, hey, dude, we need onemore guy to join.
(05:36):
And I'm like, no, man, I just Idon't know.
And mind you, this is like a30-minute conversation,
40-minute conversation we'rehaving over the phone.
And what Adam Sherman told mewas, don't miss out on the
greatest opportunity.
I know that sounds so cliche,but he said that.
And I said, Man, what do I gotto lose?
So next thing I know, we all gotpledged in there.
(05:58):
I was number 41.
I was the last guy.
And so I'm sitting there in mypolo and khakis, and there's 40
of the guys I never met before.
Mind you, I'm online students, Ididn't meet any of these guys,
so I've already felt left out.
And this guy from headquartersgoing over the details of Kappa
Sigma, what it means to be CapuaSigma, and I'm like, man, what
did I get myself into?
(06:18):
I have no idea what he's sayingright now.
But it was awesome.
I mean, we were all pledgedtogether.
It was just, it was a little,I'll be honest, it was it was
awful.
We didn't know organization, wedidn't know what we were doing.
SPEAKER_04 (06:31):
So Matt and Adam just said start it and then
left, or they did they help youorganize?
SPEAKER_03 (06:36):
That's kind of the whole job of the area
recruitment manager.
Essentially, what they do isthey go to a campus, they're
only there for a lot of amountof time.
So when I was doing it, Iallotted myself a month's time
to find the X amount of guys Ineeded, and then we were shipped
to the next campus the very nextday.
We had other volunteers at thetime that were helping us, that
kind of thing.
But yeah, so they just kind ofthey left.
So that first 41, did all 41stay in the fraternity?
(07:00):
No, unfortunately not.
When you get 41 guys togetherwho are 18, 19, 20, have no idea
what they're doing, and they hadto understand you have meetings
and pay dues and organize, it'skind of falls apart pretty
quickly.
So who was the leader of that41?
Well, it was this guy, CaseyMudo, at first.
He got nominated for president,and reluctantly I got nominated
(07:22):
for the third highest position,which we call our Grandmaster
Ceremonies.
And I kind of took it uponmyself.
I was like, man, like this couldbe something really great.
It sounds like it's anopportunity for leadership and
for creating something from theground up.
For me, it was it was legacy andbuilding up the next class.
In the fall, when we droppeddown to I think like 15 guys, I
(07:44):
talked to Casey and I was like,hey man, listen.
How would you feel about justswapping positions?
He's like, Man, let's do it.
So you took over.
I did.
I just I saw it as like, man, wecould really make a name for
ourselves on this campus.
SPEAKER_04 (07:55):
So the leadership aspect of the fraternity really
grabbed your heart and wassomething you knew you could do
and you started doing.
SPEAKER_03 (08:04):
Absolutely.
So I became the president thatvery next spring, we went from
fifteen, I think, to liketwenty-eight, and that's when we
got Eric and a bunch of othergreat, amazing guys that really
stuck around through a lot ofhard times and really saw the
vision.
SPEAKER_04 (08:18):
What was it like starting a fraternity from
nothing, going from 41 to 15?
That must have been kind ofdisheartening.
What motivated you to go to thepresident and say, I think I
need to be president?
SPEAKER_03 (08:30):
Passion.
I think a lot of it was passionand seeing the future, you know,
I saw greatness, I saw legacy, Isaw the future.
I wanted something more thanjust coming to school and being
a student.
And when the attorney providedan opportunity, at first I was
like, no.
But once I got to hang out withEric, hang out with some of
(08:51):
these other guys, like the bestmemories I have are just hanging
out in the dorms and hanging outafter.
And just show like there'sthere's more to life than just
going to school and going home.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_04 (09:00):
Uh the college experience is yes, it's courses
and things to prepare you for aa profession, but it's also
learning how to be you, it'slearning how to negotiate
emotional relationships, it'slearning how to solve problems,
it's learning what your valuesare.
SPEAKER_03 (09:18):
I think that's something a lot of it too was
going to community college, Iwas like, There's gotta be more
to life.
I want more for myself.
And I came to Tyler and thefraternity provided itself and I
was like, Man, I gotta dosomething with this.
SPEAKER_04 (09:29):
That's one thing I always say is that you know, the
three or four years, sometimesfive years you spend in college,
they never come again.
And if you don't use that timeto doing something like this,
creating something, following avision, experimenting with
different ways of doing things,you probably won't get another
chance.
Apparently Eric happened alongin this w Eric, what was he like
(09:50):
when he was being the president?
What attracted you to joining upwith his particular group?
SPEAKER_02 (09:55):
I don't know.
I think I kind of just made acommitment up in my head very
early on, and I just reallystuck with it.
I saw Jared come along and howkind of passionate he was, and
it speaks now.
I mean, you can see the legacythat he's left, you can see the
growth with not only him, but alot of the leaders that we have
(10:15):
now still in the fraternity.
We have a little bit morestructure than I guess how we
did in those earlier days.
I don't know how we honestly didit back then with very little
structure.
You will see why people, Iguess, leave, but now we see the
retention has actually gone up alittle bit more.
I think it's really just due topouring into these guys, making
(10:37):
sure they're gonna be leaders,kind of like Jared has kind of
set for us.
SPEAKER_04 (10:41):
How did you get together?
Did you have weekly meetings,monthly meetings?
SPEAKER_02 (10:45):
We would have a weekly meeting every Sunday,
typically around six.
Sometimes we like to throw alittle theme in there, like PJs
or like Halloween costumes orsomething.
But yeah, we usually have if wedon't have like a little event
or thing going on, we'll let uheveryone know the whole
curriculum for the week, thingsto be looking forward throughout
(11:06):
the month.
And then if we have any bigevents coming on.
SPEAKER_04 (11:09):
So Jared here had taken the mighty 15 remnants and
turned it into a powerfulgrowing group.
And then you had Rush inJanuary.
SPEAKER_03 (11:20):
So that spring we started, that fall we lost all
those guys, and then we gotEric's class in that spring.
And essentially what we did wasI pushed motion.
I was like, listen, guys, if wewant this thing to work, we
gotta talk to every guy we can.
And we started with the guys inthe room.
Like, if anybody knows anyone,bring him to the meeting, we'll
talk to him, get him excited,we'll get him a joint.
Hey man, do you want to start aattorney and leave your name?
(11:42):
Leave legacy?
You gonna be something greaterthan yourself?
SPEAKER_02 (11:45):
Yeah, legacy was always something he always hit
on.
And then opportunity, because uhthat's what I would say would be
more than anything.
It's giving me not only anopportunity to step up and lead,
but I really want to set anexample like Jerry did for us.
SPEAKER_04 (11:58):
Now, when you do rush, what do you do?
You and do all the otherfraternities start at the same
time and you all have like somesort of event.
SPEAKER_02 (12:06):
Kinda ish.
Ours is continuously open bid.
So throughout the year you seeus contacting, hanging out,
reaching out to all these guys.
We would like for them to cometo our rush week, kind of
similar to how the girls havetheirs.
The way ours work, we just haveusually uh a set week for men's
council.
So that first week we put abunch of events.
(12:27):
Typically, the first day is kindof more something that's
one-on-one.
SPEAKER_04 (12:32):
Sounds kind of like speed dating or something.
Kinda.
SPEAKER_02 (12:35):
We usually do that one more on like Thursdays, so
we'll take them out to eat in abig group.
And then we had slip and slidekickball this year.
One of the days we did out atthe lake, just a good little
lake day with the guys.
We also cook, so we'll bring themeats as well.
SPEAKER_04 (12:51):
Do you have parties with like dances?
SPEAKER_02 (12:54):
Well, technically we really can't have anything here
on campus.
They're kind of strict witheverything that we do have.
We have a Greek formal.
SPEAKER_03 (13:02):
It's kind of where you can dress up and they give
us some fun awards, all thisroyal fraternity of it, that
kind of thing.
SPEAKER_02 (13:08):
Most of our actual dance parties, I'd say, were be
at the Hamptons.
The Hamptons is an assistedliving home for military heroes.
And we go out there once ortwice out of the semester,
typically on like Mardi Gras orlike Cinco de Mayo or something.
Valentine's Day, they alwayslove that one.
And we'll just go up, dressed upin a bunch of different outfits
(13:29):
for the theme.
We'll go up there, have a danceparty with the elderly.
It's a lot of fun.
They enjoy it a lot.
SPEAKER_03 (13:34):
That's one of your service projects, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02 (13:37):
Military Heroes is our philanthropy.
SPEAKER_03 (13:39):
We have an endowment fund for it, and everybody has
their own little kick of howthey support the veterans.
So like they go to the VA, go tothe firehouse that like this
past 9-11s.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (13:47):
On 9-11s, we'll go, we'll give pizza to the first
responders, donuts to the policeofficers.
SPEAKER_04 (13:53):
That's really wonderful.
So how do you all keep yourscholarship in good shape?
What do you all do for that,Jared?
SPEAKER_03 (14:00):
Essentially, we have an academic chair, and we make
sure he's structured to followalong with the GPA the
requirement to be in thefraternity, and to overall
strive to make sure everybody'smeeting the grades.
So for example, he'll make aspreadsheet of everybody's GPA.
SPEAKER_04 (14:14):
What is the minimum GPA to stay in?
SPEAKER_03 (14:16):
To be in a fraternity, I believe it's a 2.5
still.
I think it's 2.6 or 2.7.
That's the initial to get in,but we strive our guys to have
at least.
SPEAKER_02 (14:24):
3.0 for first year.
SPEAKER_03 (14:26):
We really keep our guys accountable.
I mean, again, you're here to bea student first, the fraternity
comes second.
SPEAKER_02 (14:31):
And we're not shy to call one out.
I know multiple times we havegroup chats and we'll call each
other out if we notice one oranother not going to class,
skipping, showing out.
We really try to hold each otheraccountable more than anything.
Being your brother's keeper issomething we always say.
SPEAKER_04 (14:48):
That's sort of part of the fellowship charge.
When y'all first came in here, Iremember Jared saying proudly,
we're the first, we're the best.
You want to tell them why yousaid that, Jared?
And then maybe Eric can confirmit.
SPEAKER_03 (15:01):
We have a popular phrase when we go to these
conferences every year.
It's uh number one, second tonone.
Statistically, if you look atthe charts, uh, we bring in the
most pledges every year acrossall fraternities.
Cross country.
I think this past year, we'rebetween eight to nine thousand
pledges, alone.
This is all new pledges acrossthe nation.
SPEAKER_04 (15:19):
What do you do to keep them coming and staying?
SPEAKER_02 (15:22):
I think one thing that has been really good was
change, implementing a lot ofnew things to our bylaws every
almost chapter.
One thing that we've added waspledged, which would be kind of
a one-on-one class with someonethat is already a member, a
brother, pouring back andteaching the history to the
pledges.
We try to pour into those guys.
(15:44):
I know with my lessons, I makesure that it's very oriented to
what we got going on nowadays.
The last lesson I really wentover was being your brother's
keeper, knowing once somethingmight be out of line to not be
so in that victim mentality tolet something just pass right
by, not be a bystander, dosomething, stand up, be
(16:05):
proactive.
SPEAKER_01 (16:06):
These are all some really great stories.
Had we asked you yet, like whatdrew you, Eric, to want to join
a fraternity?
Was this something you were kindof always interested in?
SPEAKER_02 (16:15):
Yeah, I had only known one person that actually
went to U Talet before cominghere.
My first time coming on campuswas my first steps into my
classroom.
I was a transfer student fromAM.
It was during COVID time.
I came back spring of 23 and Ididn't know anybody.
And I just met them and it theyseemed like a good group of
(16:36):
guys.
They were still moving alongregardless of everything that
was going on in the world, andeveryone's very different.
Being able to see it all kind ofcome together, see the different
aspects and perspectives, andbringing it to something where
we're unified.
I took an off year 2021 through2022.
I had a loss in my family.
(16:57):
It was my grandpa.
It was kind of the first loss Ireally experienced.
And then shortly right after, Iactually lost one of my really
close friends in a car accident.
And I didn't really know what Iwas really doing or kind of
where I wanted to go with mylife.
So I kind of ran away fromeverything.
I went to work at a summer camp,actually, Camp Hawani in
(17:17):
Timpson, little old Timpson, themiddle of nowhere.
But I really enjoyed pouringback into those kids.
I think that's when I reallydecided that I wanted to be a
teacher.
That's when I kind of came to mysenses, especially that next
year, they offered me a seniorcounselor job.
And I took it, and being able tosee the growth from that first
year to that next year.
That was my favorite part.
And I think that's probably myfavorite part about being in the
(17:39):
fraternity, being able to seepeople come in the way they are
and then leave differently, youknow what I mean?
SPEAKER_04 (17:46):
That's really quite touching.
Jared, you graduated two yearsago?
Spring of 24, I think.
So you've been out of collegefor a while, but your heart is
still with the Kappa Sigs.
SPEAKER_03 (17:56):
Absolutely.
I mean, right as soon as Igraduated, I applied to be a
recruitment manager.
Essentially, what my sole jobwas to travel to campuses across
the United States and startKappa Sigma if it wasn't there
already.
So you were like Matt Griffithsand Adam Sherman.
That is correct.
It was great.
It was phenomenal.
I mean, I went all the way up tothe East Coast.
(18:18):
One place I really enjoyed wasLandard University in South
Carolina.
Seven of us originally as arearecruitment managers.
And we all trained for to gettogether for a month in
Virginia.
We got to live in a hoteltogether.
It was kind of like a bachelorpad.
This is where our headquartersis.
So we got to go through everyday, like eight to five.
It was really cool.
It was an awesome experience.
And got to meet some very famousalumni like Mick Wilson, Leo
(18:40):
Brown, Nick Hawk, a bunch ofother guys.
Mick Wilson was our previousexecutive director for the
fraternity.
But, anyways, we trained forthat month in July or June.
Sent us out on the road, we govisit chapters, things like that
during that time, and then theystationed us at different
places.
So the reason why I bring thisup is we originally tried to
(19:00):
start at Atlanta University, andthe guy who was there was having
some trouble, and then thathurricane hit.
They shut everything down.
So they sent him somewhere else.
So December comes, we're inGeorgia at the time.
My boss, Nick Hawk, is like,hey, I know where you're going
next.
And he loves this game of nottelling us until.
And so I finally got and I waslike, hey man, like I just I
want to know where I'm going.
(19:21):
Can you just tell me?
He said, We're going to send youto South Carolina.
I said, Why on earth are youdoing that?
I said, There's a million, I canfind a campus right now that I
would love to go to.
He's like, Jared, I just thinkyou can get it done.
I said, I don't believe you.
So I drove up to LanardUniversity after visiting all my
chapters, met with the dean ofstudents and the president of
(19:41):
the university.
They're like, Jared, we'reexcited to have you, but you
know, the guy here before, we,you know, he didn't do a good
job, but we we expect more ofyou.
So I met with the alumni fromthe chapter that was there
previously.
We got to talk to them.
They're both on the board forLanar University.
But man, once I found thosefirst few guys, I mean it was
kind of picked up and startedrolling.
They're awesome dudes.
They're amazing, they're amazingguys.
(20:01):
I think they'll be great Cap Sixone day.
SPEAKER_04 (20:04):
So I believe we better talk about the fact that
there may be a few otherfraternities on campus.
Just to give them their moment.
I know that you all are numberone, second to none.
SPEAKER_02 (20:15):
We have ATO on campus and SAE on campus.
SPEAKER_04 (20:18):
Now let me ask you this.
When a young man starts to thinkabout joining a fraternity at UT
Tyler, and they stand back andthey look at Kappa Sigma, ATO,
SAE, what is the kind ofcharacter of each one of those?
SPEAKER_02 (20:33):
A lot of people have been speaking for us, I would
say, I guess.
Uh a lot of people have beensaying I guess we're for
everyone.
And I don't necessarily see thatas a bad thing.
We're accepting of all kinds.
And we like that, honestly.
We we like to see the differentperspectives and we always take
that into consideration witheverything we do.
When they see us, I thinkthey'll see just a great variety
(20:56):
of just about everything.
But that's how we, you know,sharpen iron with iron.
We make each other better witheverything we do.
SPEAKER_01 (21:05):
I think it would maybe be a good final note to
someone who's consideringjoining a fraternity on their
way into college, what youradvice to them would be to have
a better college experience.
SPEAKER_03 (21:16):
I got a story that's fine.
I was gonna talk aboutinitiation.
So kind of what we talked aboutbefore, being a colony, you've
got to do all these things tobecome a chapter.
So you gotta raise some money,you gotta get the guys, you
gotta have a certain amount ofcommunity service hours, you
gotta get recommendationletters, you gotta do all these
workshops, like all these allthese things.
SPEAKER_02 (21:35):
And that's per person.
Like everyone has to do theirown hours, their own money
donated, everyone has to do alltheir checkoffs.
SPEAKER_03 (21:42):
And it shows, like, hey, these guys are ready to be
a chapter.
And I'll never forget we did allthose things.
And I think I think it's a weekbefore we get like our set date
for initiation, and I get aphone call from Leo Brown.
He's like, hey, I heard you guysare ready.
You send your petition.
I'm like, Yeah, man, we're we'reso excited.
He's like, Do you guys have yourinitiation fees?
(22:04):
I'm like, excuse me.
He's like, it's$150 per person.
And we had, I think 45, 49 guys.
We had$9,000 or$46,000?
What was it?
I forget.
We were broke.
SPEAKER_02 (22:17):
We had no money.
We spent the rest of our moneyfor everything that we needed
for initiation.
SPEAKER_03 (22:21):
The banquet and the chartering fee.
And so he's like, you have toget this money, or like you
we're gonna have to wait.
Mind you, it's like December2nd.
Finals are about to start,they're over, or whatever.
So I'm like, and I'm I'mpanicking.
I started pulling all my headstogether.
Like, Eric was a part of thatgroup.
I'm like, hey, we gotta figuresomething out.
Empty out your pockets, guys.
So we're making phone calls,we're doing something, and so
(22:44):
finally we get a hold of I thinka local guy, I think you knew,
right?
And he's like, hey man, here's acheck for like$2,000.
And we were like, thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (22:52):
It was a lawyer that used to be my baseball coach
when I was young.
SPEAKER_03 (22:56):
And so I called Leo Brown the next day and I said,
Hey, Leo, we just uh got$2,000.
Like, I don't know how you didit, but you better pull this
off.
I hung up.
And so what's funny is like withleading up to that, that
Saturday for initiation, we gotup early.
Mind you, we have no idea what'sabout to happen.
SPEAKER_02 (23:12):
Everyone's scared.
People are like not wanting tocome in because they don't know
if they're ready enough.
SPEAKER_03 (23:16):
Yeah, it's like 7 a.m.
Like we if they I think westayed the night before, just
like kind of practicing witheach other, like the Greek
alphabet and some other stuff.
Man, when I tell you, after thewhole day went through, which is
actually funny too, is like Iwas the last guy to get
initiated.
And so they stuck me outside theUC theater, and everybody else
is like coming through.
Everybody that got initiated.
Eric was walking by, some of theother guys, and all the
(23:38):
volunteers that are there tohelp with us are like, don't
talk to Jared, like, don't sayanything.
And we have a group chattogether, and no one is saying
anything.
So I lead on with so we gothrough the whole process, and
man, the the the greatest momentI have to this day, and like
it's a lot of volunteers bringit up there from Texas because
they all helped us out was whenit was all said and done.
(23:58):
All our guys are in the UCTheater and they rush the stage
and they all started throwing mein the air and lifted me up and
throwing me because we we hadjust accomplished one of the
hardest things I think everybodyin that room had done.
After the trials andtribulations, after not getting
enough guys, being down from 18now to 45.
SPEAKER_02 (24:16):
On top of that, we were nominated for a first year
face award.
SPEAKER_03 (24:20):
Yeah, for yeah.
So face award is a founder'saward of chapter excellence,
which you have to meet all theserequirements, you know,
throughout the year.
So community service, a numberof guys, right?
All these other things.
SPEAKER_02 (24:30):
We were actually the only chapter in Texas to get
that award.
SPEAKER_04 (24:34):
Whoa, what an honor.
That alone is something that cancarry you along, isn't it?
That's an awesome launch.
SPEAKER_02 (24:42):
That's legacy right there, Jaron.
SPEAKER_03 (24:44):
I'll end it with this.
The advice I give is give it achance.
You never know what you're gonnaget out of it.
I wish I would have joinedsooner.
Give it a shot.
It's gonna be one of the bestdecisions you make in your life.
Whether you don't see itimmediately, but once you get
down to that first year, and bythe time you're senior, you're
like, man, I wish I can go backand do it all over again.
SPEAKER_04 (25:05):
Friends and brothers is the word yeah, I heard you
say earlier.
SPEAKER_02 (25:08):
It just feels like open arms all the time.
I can call anyone whenever.
Literally, if I have a flat tirein the middle of the road,
countless times a brother hashad a flat tire that doesn't
have a jack or an extrasomething to help, you know, fix
you you know you can count onsomeone.
It's freeing.
I can trust them with just aboutanything, it feels like.
SPEAKER_04 (25:30):
Sounds like you all have a lot of fun, but you've
also been doing a lot of growingup and have indeed launched a
legacy, and I wish you all thevery best as you continue.
Keep on winning awards andhaving a good time.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It's been a pleasure.
SPEAKER_01 (25:47):
And we just want to take a minute to thank our
listeners as well.
If you have any questions aboutfraternities, about campus life,
we can direct them to Jared andto Eric.
You can always leave a commentunder our YouTube video or email
us at ADR Questions atgmail.com.
Stay tuned to the Ask Dr.
Ross Podcast.
It's created to give you info tosucceed at college.
Our hosts are highly qualified.
Dr.
Katherine Ross is a member ofthe University of Texas Systems
Academy of DistinguishedTeachers.
She's also a popular professorof 19th century English
literature.
Ask Dr.
(00:24):
Ross is a community service ofthe University of Texas at
Tiger.
SPEAKER_04 (00:31):
So today we're going to be talking to two gentlemen
from the world of fraternities.
We've already done an episode,by the way, on sororities, and
they have prepared us to expectgreat things from you all.
Our two guests are Eric Zamaron,who is a junior education major
and an active brother in theKappa Sigma fraternity.
(00:52):
And we have Jared Daniels here,who's had an interesting career.
He is a volunteer alumniadvisor, although recently he
was a paid fraternity recruiter,what did they call you?
Area recruitment manager.
So I guess the first thing wewant to know about is just
generally what's the history offraternities in the U.S.
universities?
SPEAKER_03 (01:13):
We, as Captain Simon, started in 1869 in
Charlesville, Virginia at UVA.
But we date even further backthan that, a little more history
in Bologna, Italy in 1400.
SPEAKER_02 (01:22):
In Bologna back then, there was this guy called
Bolisera Casa, and he was kindof this really evil entity, I
guess.
He had a bunch of soldiers thatwould kind of take over the
land.
And there's this guy, ManuelChristolores, and he really
wanted to bring the history backto Bologna.
And Greek, the language, likethe Greek alphabet and
everything, was kind of a dyinglanguage.
(01:44):
The history was being erased.
And what Manuel Christoloresdid, he gathered a bunch of
students that were going to theschool, and he was trying to
teach these teachings to them.
And while they would go toschool, they would actually get
beat up, like stoned on the wayto school by Casa and his
people, his soldiers.
What Manuel Cristolores did washe kind of banded a group of
(02:08):
members and they kind of stucktogether for protection to go
back and forth to school so theycould learn about the history
and everything.
SPEAKER_03 (02:17):
So the reason why we became Cap Sigma is because they
needed a sign to show like whoare these guys coming to the
city without getting beaten up,their books taken away, or
things like that.
So the Greek alphabet, we weregiven Cappa Sigma.
A lot of our beliefs with CappaSigma, scholarship, leadership,
service, and fellowship.
So all the principles of being agood student, giving back to the
community, the same principlesthat we live today, I mean,
(02:39):
starts back at 1400.
SPEAKER_04 (02:41):
So you all are sort of proud of this history as you
should be.
And so what happened between1400 and 2025 to get Kappa Sigma
here at UT Tyler?
SPEAKER_03 (02:51):
Well, the area recruitment manager does, our
headquarters supplies this jobfor any college student that has
a Capua Sigma on theiruniversity.
So this guy named MattGriffiths, who came from McNeese
State University, he uh appliedfor this job at headquarters, he
got trained, you know, on how tosell the fraternity.
And he showed up to campus oneday at UT Tyler and just started
talking to students, you know,going left and right.
(03:13):
I came in, are you interested infraternity?
Would you be interested notalone being in one, but starting
one?
There was one back here in 2010,but unfortunately we got shut
down.
So for 2010 to I think 2015 to2016 is when all that kind of we
got shut down.
So we had to wait our timeperiod out.
Spring of 2021 is when MatthewGriffiths came down and then
started recruiting again for thefraternity.
SPEAKER_04 (03:34):
So originally it was a society to protect students
from evil thugs of privatearmies of Italians so they could
go to the great university ofBologna and get an education.
And then somehow we got all theway to UVA in 1869.
Those five gentlemen at UVA,what did they want?
SPEAKER_03 (03:53):
To promote brotherhood.
I've got a great story.
I want to hear the story.
Okay, sweet.
So before I became part of UTTyler on this campus, I was
taking community college classesbefore then.
And I decided to come, you know,to UT Tyler.
He's close to home, that kind ofthing.
I did all online classes thatspring of 2021 when Matt came
down.
And had a buddy.
(04:13):
We went to summer camp together,found out that we're both going
to UT Tyler.
He's like, awesome, man, that'sgreat.
That's cool.
We should we should hang outsometime.
I drove up here, we're sittingdown at the Chick-fil-A on
campus.
Next thing I know, MattGriffiths and Adam Sherman, who
were both a recruit manager atthe time, came up to me and
they're like, hey man, how areyou doing?
I'm like, doing good, just kindof having lunch or whatever.
And I asked, I was like, Are youguys students here?
(04:34):
You know, because we kind ofstarted having a conversation.
He's like, no, we're actuallytrying to start a fraternity.
And I was like, no, thanks.
Why?
Yeah, the speculation of youknow, hazing, and they're like,
no, man, it's different.
You get to start one.
I'm like, my buddy's just likeabsolutely not.
He's like, no, I'm not into it.
But they kind of got me in,like, I was I was a little
curious, you know.
(04:54):
I was a little curious.
I was like, all right, here,I'll I'll do you one better.
Let's have lunch later thisweek.
So I go back home, tell myparents got, you know, about
this fraternity thing, they'relike freaking out.
They're like, no, no, pleasedon't.
Yeah.
So go back up there and we hadthis a great in-depth
conversation about what CAPESigma stands for, the benefits
that it could provide, and why Ishould do it.
(05:14):
And I went home that evening andI really thought about it.
The end of the semester comes.
It's like, I think April.
And I'm at home, you know, andthey mind you, Matt and Adam are
both actively recruiting oncampus day in, day out.
And I'm at home, kind of thinknothing much of it.
They call me and I'm like, heyman, what's going on?
Like, hey, dude, we need onemore guy to join.
(05:36):
And I'm like, no, man, I just Idon't know.
And mind you, this is like a30-minute conversation,
40-minute conversation we'rehaving over the phone.
And what Adam Sherman told mewas, don't miss out on the
greatest opportunity.
I know that sounds so cliche,but he said that.
And I said, Man, what do I gotto lose?
So next thing I know, we all gotpledged in there.
(05:58):
I was number 41.
I was the last guy.
And so I'm sitting there in mypolo and khakis, and there's 40
of the guys I never met before.
Mind you, I'm online students, Ididn't meet any of these guys,
so I've already felt left out.
And this guy from headquartersgoing over the details of Kappa
Sigma, what it means to be CapuaSigma, and I'm like, man, what
did I get myself into?
(06:18):
I have no idea what he's sayingright now.
But it was awesome.
I mean, we were all pledgedtogether.
It was just, it was a little,I'll be honest, it was it was
awful.
We didn't know organization, wedidn't know what we were doing.
SPEAKER_04 (06:31):
So Matt and Adam just said start it and then
left, or they did they help youorganize?
SPEAKER_03 (06:36):
That's kind of the whole job of the area
recruitment manager.
Essentially, what they do isthey go to a campus, they're
only there for a lot of amountof time.
So when I was doing it, Iallotted myself a month's time
to find the X amount of guys Ineeded, and then we were shipped
to the next campus the very nextday.
We had other volunteers at thetime that were helping us, that
kind of thing.
But yeah, so they just kind ofthey left.
So that first 41, did all 41stay in the fraternity?
(07:00):
No, unfortunately not.
When you get 41 guys togetherwho are 18, 19, 20, have no idea
what they're doing, and they hadto understand you have meetings
and pay dues and organize, it'skind of falls apart pretty
quickly.
So who was the leader of that41?
Well, it was this guy, CaseyMudo, at first.
He got nominated for president,and reluctantly I got nominated
(07:22):
for the third highest position,which we call our Grandmaster
Ceremonies.
And I kind of took it uponmyself.
I was like, man, like this couldbe something really great.
It sounds like it's anopportunity for leadership and
for creating something from theground up.
For me, it was it was legacy andbuilding up the next class.
In the fall, when we droppeddown to I think like 15 guys, I
(07:44):
talked to Casey and I was like,hey man, listen.
How would you feel about justswapping positions?
He's like, Man, let's do it.
So you took over.
I did.
I just I saw it as like, man, wecould really make a name for
ourselves on this campus.
SPEAKER_04 (07:55):
So the leadership aspect of the fraternity really
grabbed your heart and wassomething you knew you could do
and you started doing.
SPEAKER_03 (08:04):
Absolutely.
So I became the president thatvery next spring, we went from
fifteen, I think, to liketwenty-eight, and that's when we
got Eric and a bunch of othergreat, amazing guys that really
stuck around through a lot ofhard times and really saw the
vision.
SPEAKER_04 (08:18):
What was it like starting a fraternity from
nothing, going from 41 to 15?
That must have been kind ofdisheartening.
What motivated you to go to thepresident and say, I think I
need to be president?
SPEAKER_03 (08:30):
Passion.
I think a lot of it was passionand seeing the future, you know,
I saw greatness, I saw legacy, Isaw the future.
I wanted something more thanjust coming to school and being
a student.
And when the attorney providedan opportunity, at first I was
like, no.
But once I got to hang out withEric, hang out with some of
(08:51):
these other guys, like the bestmemories I have are just hanging
out in the dorms and hanging outafter.
And just show like there'sthere's more to life than just
going to school and going home.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_04 (09:00):
Uh the college experience is yes, it's courses
and things to prepare you for aa profession, but it's also
learning how to be you, it'slearning how to negotiate
emotional relationships, it'slearning how to solve problems,
it's learning what your valuesare.
SPEAKER_03 (09:18):
I think that's something a lot of it too was
going to community college, Iwas like, There's gotta be more
to life.
I want more for myself.
And I came to Tyler and thefraternity provided itself and I
was like, Man, I gotta dosomething with this.
SPEAKER_04 (09:29):
That's one thing I always say is that you know, the
three or four years, sometimesfive years you spend in college,
they never come again.
And if you don't use that timeto doing something like this,
creating something, following avision, experimenting with
different ways of doing things,you probably won't get another
chance.
Apparently Eric happened alongin this w Eric, what was he like
(09:50):
when he was being the president?
What attracted you to joining upwith his particular group?
SPEAKER_02 (09:55):
I don't know.
I think I kind of just made acommitment up in my head very
early on, and I just reallystuck with it.
I saw Jared come along and howkind of passionate he was, and
it speaks now.
I mean, you can see the legacythat he's left, you can see the
growth with not only him, but alot of the leaders that we have
(10:15):
now still in the fraternity.
We have a little bit morestructure than I guess how we
did in those earlier days.
I don't know how we honestly didit back then with very little
structure.
You will see why people, Iguess, leave, but now we see the
retention has actually gone up alittle bit more.
I think it's really just due topouring into these guys, making
(10:37):
sure they're gonna be leaders,kind of like Jared has kind of
set for us.
SPEAKER_04 (10:41):
How did you get together?
Did you have weekly meetings,monthly meetings?
SPEAKER_02 (10:45):
We would have a weekly meeting every Sunday,
typically around six.
Sometimes we like to throw alittle theme in there, like PJs
or like Halloween costumes orsomething.
But yeah, we usually have if wedon't have like a little event
or thing going on, we'll let uheveryone know the whole
curriculum for the week, thingsto be looking forward throughout
(11:06):
the month.
And then if we have any bigevents coming on.
SPEAKER_04 (11:09):
So Jared here had taken the mighty 15 remnants and
turned it into a powerfulgrowing group.
And then you had Rush inJanuary.
SPEAKER_03 (11:20):
So that spring we started, that fall we lost all
those guys, and then we gotEric's class in that spring.
And essentially what we did wasI pushed motion.
I was like, listen, guys, if wewant this thing to work, we
gotta talk to every guy we can.
And we started with the guys inthe room.
Like, if anybody knows anyone,bring him to the meeting, we'll
talk to him, get him excited,we'll get him a joint.
Hey man, do you want to start aattorney and leave your name?
(11:42):
Leave legacy?
You gonna be something greaterthan yourself?
SPEAKER_02 (11:45):
Yeah, legacy was always something he always hit
on.
And then opportunity, because uhthat's what I would say would be
more than anything.
It's giving me not only anopportunity to step up and lead,
but I really want to set anexample like Jerry did for us.
SPEAKER_04 (11:58):
Now, when you do rush, what do you do?
You and do all the otherfraternities start at the same
time and you all have like somesort of event.
SPEAKER_02 (12:06):
Kinda ish.
Ours is continuously open bid.
So throughout the year you seeus contacting, hanging out,
reaching out to all these guys.
We would like for them to cometo our rush week, kind of
similar to how the girls havetheirs.
The way ours work, we just haveusually uh a set week for men's
council.
So that first week we put abunch of events.
(12:27):
Typically, the first day is kindof more something that's
one-on-one.
SPEAKER_04 (12:32):
Sounds kind of like speed dating or something.
Kinda.
SPEAKER_02 (12:35):
We usually do that one more on like Thursdays, so
we'll take them out to eat in abig group.
And then we had slip and slidekickball this year.
One of the days we did out atthe lake, just a good little
lake day with the guys.
We also cook, so we'll bring themeats as well.
SPEAKER_04 (12:51):
Do you have parties with like dances?
SPEAKER_02 (12:54):
Well, technically we really can't have anything here
on campus.
They're kind of strict witheverything that we do have.
We have a Greek formal.
SPEAKER_03 (13:02):
It's kind of where you can dress up and they give
us some fun awards, all thisroyal fraternity of it, that
kind of thing.
SPEAKER_02 (13:08):
Most of our actual dance parties, I'd say, were be
at the Hamptons.
The Hamptons is an assistedliving home for military heroes.
And we go out there once ortwice out of the semester,
typically on like Mardi Gras orlike Cinco de Mayo or something.
Valentine's Day, they alwayslove that one.
And we'll just go up, dressed upin a bunch of different outfits
(13:29):
for the theme.
We'll go up there, have a danceparty with the elderly.
It's a lot of fun.
They enjoy it a lot.
SPEAKER_03 (13:34):
That's one of your service projects, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02 (13:37):
Military Heroes is our philanthropy.
SPEAKER_03 (13:39):
We have an endowment fund for it, and everybody has
their own little kick of howthey support the veterans.
So like they go to the VA, go tothe firehouse that like this
past 9-11s.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (13:47):
On 9-11s, we'll go, we'll give pizza to the first
responders, donuts to the policeofficers.
SPEAKER_04 (13:53):
That's really wonderful.
So how do you all keep yourscholarship in good shape?
What do you all do for that,Jared?
SPEAKER_03 (14:00):
Essentially, we have an academic chair, and we make
sure he's structured to followalong with the GPA the
requirement to be in thefraternity, and to overall
strive to make sure everybody'smeeting the grades.
So for example, he'll make aspreadsheet of everybody's GPA.
SPEAKER_04 (14:14):
What is the minimum GPA to stay in?
SPEAKER_03 (14:16):
To be in a fraternity, I believe it's a 2.5
still.
I think it's 2.6 or 2.7.
That's the initial to get in,but we strive our guys to have
at least.
SPEAKER_02 (14:24):
3.0 for first year.
SPEAKER_03 (14:26):
We really keep our guys accountable.
I mean, again, you're here to bea student first, the fraternity
comes second.
SPEAKER_02 (14:31):
And we're not shy to call one out.
I know multiple times we havegroup chats and we'll call each
other out if we notice one oranother not going to class,
skipping, showing out.
We really try to hold each otheraccountable more than anything.
Being your brother's keeper issomething we always say.
SPEAKER_04 (14:48):
That's sort of part of the fellowship charge.
When y'all first came in here, Iremember Jared saying proudly,
we're the first, we're the best.
You want to tell them why yousaid that, Jared?
And then maybe Eric can confirmit.
SPEAKER_03 (15:01):
We have a popular phrase when we go to these
conferences every year.
It's uh number one, second tonone.
Statistically, if you look atthe charts, uh, we bring in the
most pledges every year acrossall fraternities.
Cross country.
I think this past year, we'rebetween eight to nine thousand
pledges, alone.
This is all new pledges acrossthe nation.
SPEAKER_04 (15:19):
What do you do to keep them coming and staying?
SPEAKER_02 (15:22):
I think one thing that has been really good was
change, implementing a lot ofnew things to our bylaws every
almost chapter.
One thing that we've added waspledged, which would be kind of
a one-on-one class with someonethat is already a member, a
brother, pouring back andteaching the history to the
pledges.
We try to pour into those guys.
(15:44):
I know with my lessons, I makesure that it's very oriented to
what we got going on nowadays.
The last lesson I really wentover was being your brother's
keeper, knowing once somethingmight be out of line to not be
so in that victim mentality tolet something just pass right
by, not be a bystander, dosomething, stand up, be
(16:05):
proactive.
SPEAKER_01 (16:06):
These are all some really great stories.
Had we asked you yet, like whatdrew you, Eric, to want to join
a fraternity?
Was this something you were kindof always interested in?
SPEAKER_02 (16:15):
Yeah, I had only known one person that actually
went to U Talet before cominghere.
My first time coming on campuswas my first steps into my
classroom.
I was a transfer student fromAM.
It was during COVID time.
I came back spring of 23 and Ididn't know anybody.
And I just met them and it theyseemed like a good group of
(16:36):
guys.
They were still moving alongregardless of everything that
was going on in the world, andeveryone's very different.
Being able to see it all kind ofcome together, see the different
aspects and perspectives, andbringing it to something where
we're unified.
I took an off year 2021 through2022.
I had a loss in my family.
(16:57):
It was my grandpa.
It was kind of the first loss Ireally experienced.
And then shortly right after, Iactually lost one of my really
close friends in a car accident.
And I didn't really know what Iwas really doing or kind of
where I wanted to go with mylife.
So I kind of ran away fromeverything.
I went to work at a summer camp,actually, Camp Hawani in
(17:17):
Timpson, little old Timpson, themiddle of nowhere.
But I really enjoyed pouringback into those kids.
I think that's when I reallydecided that I wanted to be a
teacher.
That's when I kind of came to mysenses, especially that next
year, they offered me a seniorcounselor job.
And I took it, and being able tosee the growth from that first
year to that next year.
That was my favorite part.
And I think that's probably myfavorite part about being in the
(17:39):
fraternity, being able to seepeople come in the way they are
and then leave differently, youknow what I mean?
SPEAKER_04 (17:46):
That's really quite touching.
Jared, you graduated two yearsago?
Spring of 24, I think.
So you've been out of collegefor a while, but your heart is
still with the Kappa Sigs.
SPEAKER_03 (17:56):
Absolutely.
I mean, right as soon as Igraduated, I applied to be a
recruitment manager.
Essentially, what my sole jobwas to travel to campuses across
the United States and startKappa Sigma if it wasn't there
already.
So you were like Matt Griffithsand Adam Sherman.
That is correct.
It was great.
It was phenomenal.
I mean, I went all the way up tothe East Coast.
(18:18):
One place I really enjoyed wasLandard University in South
Carolina.
Seven of us originally as arearecruitment managers.
And we all trained for to gettogether for a month in
Virginia.
We got to live in a hoteltogether.
It was kind of like a bachelorpad.
This is where our headquartersis.
So we got to go through everyday, like eight to five.
It was really cool.
It was an awesome experience.
And got to meet some very famousalumni like Mick Wilson, Leo
(18:40):
Brown, Nick Hawk, a bunch ofother guys.
Mick Wilson was our previousexecutive director for the
fraternity.
But, anyways, we trained forthat month in July or June.
Sent us out on the road, we govisit chapters, things like that
during that time, and then theystationed us at different
places.
So the reason why I bring thisup is we originally tried to
(19:00):
start at Atlanta University, andthe guy who was there was having
some trouble, and then thathurricane hit.
They shut everything down.
So they sent him somewhere else.
So December comes, we're inGeorgia at the time.
My boss, Nick Hawk, is like,hey, I know where you're going
next.
And he loves this game of nottelling us until.
And so I finally got and I waslike, hey man, like I just I
want to know where I'm going.
(19:21):
Can you just tell me?
He said, We're going to send youto South Carolina.
I said, Why on earth are youdoing that?
I said, There's a million, I canfind a campus right now that I
would love to go to.
He's like, Jared, I just thinkyou can get it done.
I said, I don't believe you.
So I drove up to LanardUniversity after visiting all my
chapters, met with the dean ofstudents and the president of
(19:41):
the university.
They're like, Jared, we'reexcited to have you, but you
know, the guy here before, we,you know, he didn't do a good
job, but we we expect more ofyou.
So I met with the alumni fromthe chapter that was there
previously.
We got to talk to them.
They're both on the board forLanar University.
But man, once I found thosefirst few guys, I mean it was
kind of picked up and startedrolling.
They're awesome dudes.
They're amazing, they're amazingguys.
(20:01):
I think they'll be great Cap Sixone day.
SPEAKER_04 (20:04):
So I believe we better talk about the fact that
there may be a few otherfraternities on campus.
Just to give them their moment.
I know that you all are numberone, second to none.
SPEAKER_02 (20:15):
We have ATO on campus and SAE on campus.
SPEAKER_04 (20:18):
Now let me ask you this.
When a young man starts to thinkabout joining a fraternity at UT
Tyler, and they stand back andthey look at Kappa Sigma, ATO,
SAE, what is the kind ofcharacter of each one of those?
SPEAKER_02 (20:33):
A lot of people have been speaking for us, I would
say, I guess.
Uh a lot of people have beensaying I guess we're for
everyone.
And I don't necessarily see thatas a bad thing.
We're accepting of all kinds.
And we like that, honestly.
We we like to see the differentperspectives and we always take
that into consideration witheverything we do.
When they see us, I thinkthey'll see just a great variety
(20:56):
of just about everything.
But that's how we, you know,sharpen iron with iron.
We make each other better witheverything we do.
SPEAKER_01 (21:05):
I think it would maybe be a good final note to
someone who's consideringjoining a fraternity on their
way into college, what youradvice to them would be to have
a better college experience.
SPEAKER_03 (21:16):
I got a story that's fine.
I was gonna talk aboutinitiation.
So kind of what we talked aboutbefore, being a colony, you've
got to do all these things tobecome a chapter.
So you gotta raise some money,you gotta get the guys, you
gotta have a certain amount ofcommunity service hours, you
gotta get recommendationletters, you gotta do all these
workshops, like all these allthese things.
SPEAKER_02 (21:35):
And that's per person.
Like everyone has to do theirown hours, their own money
donated, everyone has to do alltheir checkoffs.
SPEAKER_03 (21:42):
And it shows, like, hey, these guys are ready to be
a chapter.
And I'll never forget we did allthose things.
And I think I think it's a weekbefore we get like our set date
for initiation, and I get aphone call from Leo Brown.
He's like, hey, I heard you guysare ready.
You send your petition.
I'm like, Yeah, man, we're we'reso excited.
He's like, Do you guys have yourinitiation fees?
(22:04):
I'm like, excuse me.
He's like, it's$150 per person.
And we had, I think 45, 49 guys.
We had$9,000 or$46,000?
What was it?
I forget.
We were broke.
SPEAKER_02 (22:17):
We had no money.
We spent the rest of our moneyfor everything that we needed
for initiation.
SPEAKER_03 (22:21):
The banquet and the chartering fee.
And so he's like, you have toget this money, or like you
we're gonna have to wait.
Mind you, it's like December2nd.
Finals are about to start,they're over, or whatever.
So I'm like, and I'm I'mpanicking.
I started pulling all my headstogether.
Like, Eric was a part of thatgroup.
I'm like, hey, we gotta figuresomething out.
Empty out your pockets, guys.
So we're making phone calls,we're doing something, and so
(22:44):
finally we get a hold of I thinka local guy, I think you knew,
right?
And he's like, hey man, here's acheck for like$2,000.
And we were like, thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (22:52):
It was a lawyer that used to be my baseball coach
when I was young.
SPEAKER_03 (22:56):
And so I called Leo Brown the next day and I said,
Hey, Leo, we just uh got$2,000.
Like, I don't know how you didit, but you better pull this
off.
I hung up.
And so what's funny is like withleading up to that, that
Saturday for initiation, we gotup early.
Mind you, we have no idea what'sabout to happen.
SPEAKER_02 (23:12):
Everyone's scared.
People are like not wanting tocome in because they don't know
if they're ready enough.
SPEAKER_03 (23:16):
Yeah, it's like 7 a.m.
Like we if they I think westayed the night before, just
like kind of practicing witheach other, like the Greek
alphabet and some other stuff.
Man, when I tell you, after thewhole day went through, which is
actually funny too, is like Iwas the last guy to get
initiated.
And so they stuck me outside theUC theater, and everybody else
is like coming through.
Everybody that got initiated.
Eric was walking by, some of theother guys, and all the
(23:38):
volunteers that are there tohelp with us are like, don't
talk to Jared, like, don't sayanything.
And we have a group chattogether, and no one is saying
anything.
So I lead on with so we gothrough the whole process, and
man, the the the greatest momentI have to this day, and like
it's a lot of volunteers bringit up there from Texas because
they all helped us out was whenit was all said and done.
(23:58):
All our guys are in the UCTheater and they rush the stage
and they all started throwing mein the air and lifted me up and
throwing me because we we hadjust accomplished one of the
hardest things I think everybodyin that room had done.
After the trials andtribulations, after not getting
enough guys, being down from 18now to 45.
SPEAKER_02 (24:16):
On top of that, we were nominated for a first year
face award.
SPEAKER_03 (24:20):
Yeah, for yeah.
So face award is a founder'saward of chapter excellence,
which you have to meet all theserequirements, you know,
throughout the year.
So community service, a numberof guys, right?
All these other things.
SPEAKER_02 (24:30):
We were actually the only chapter in Texas to get
that award.
SPEAKER_04 (24:34):
Whoa, what an honor.
That alone is something that cancarry you along, isn't it?
That's an awesome launch.
SPEAKER_02 (24:42):
That's legacy right there, Jaron.
SPEAKER_03 (24:44):
I'll end it with this.
The advice I give is give it achance.
You never know what you're gonnaget out of it.
I wish I would have joinedsooner.
Give it a shot.
It's gonna be one of the bestdecisions you make in your life.
Whether you don't see itimmediately, but once you get
down to that first year, and bythe time you're senior, you're
like, man, I wish I can go backand do it all over again.
SPEAKER_04 (25:05):
Friends and brothers is the word yeah, I heard you
say earlier.
SPEAKER_02 (25:08):
It just feels like open arms all the time.
I can call anyone whenever.
Literally, if I have a flat tirein the middle of the road,
countless times a brother hashad a flat tire that doesn't
have a jack or an extrasomething to help, you know, fix
you you know you can count onsomeone.
It's freeing.
I can trust them with just aboutanything, it feels like.
SPEAKER_04 (25:30):
Sounds like you all have a lot of fun, but you've
also been doing a lot of growingup and have indeed launched a
legacy, and I wish you all thevery best as you continue.
Keep on winning awards andhaving a good time.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It's been a pleasure.
SPEAKER_01 (25:47):
And we just want to take a minute to thank our
listeners as well.
If you have any questions aboutfraternities, about campus life,
we can direct them to Jared andto Eric.
You can always leave a commentunder our YouTube video or email
us at ADR Questions atgmail.com.
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