The Orion Online

Issue date: 5/21/08 Section: Guest Articles

When he entered Chico State in fall 2005, Ryan Bast never seriously considered joining a fraternity. He was a vegetarian who hated what he thought fraternities stood for: lazy, beer-drinking students who use college as an excuse for hazing and nonstop partying.

Then one day he picked up a brochure from Phi Delta Theta and was surprised to read that under new university rules for Greek organizations, members have to maintain a 2.5 GPA, Bast said. They also offer an alcohol-free fraternity house, as well as many alcohol-free events.

Bast liked these prospects so much he not only joined Phi Delta Theta, he became its president this year.

Bast was surprised to learn fraternities provide excellent methods for students to graduate, and help them land promising jobs in their chosen majors, he said. In fact, fraternities can be bonanzas for job networking.

They often have over 100 United States chapters, and when searching for jobs after graduation, members utilize the fraternities' national headquarters and national Web sites.

"Job offers can then come in from anyone connected in any way to any of our chapters," Bast said.

Bast basks in the fact that he has strong control more than 30 other men from his fraternity, he said.

"I'm also in charge of a $30,000 fraternity credit card," Bast said.

The 2005 death of 21-year-old Chico fraternity member Matthew Carrington was the final nail in the coffin for "old style" fraternities at the university, Bast said. The result was a massive overhaul of fraternity rules, regulations and expectations. This revamp occurred with input from many people and organizations, including President Paul Zingg, the Interfraternity Council and Chico fraternities.

Bast is among the first crop of Greeks to join under the new rules for fraternities after Carrington's death.

Even without the overhaul, fraternities have always been an excellent way to get a career start, said Larry Bassow, coordinator for Greek life. It give its members a lot of leadership experience, which employers love.

Many brothers become officers in their chapter and participate in the organization and financial coordination of a variety of academic and community events, Bast said.

Another excellent job-acquisition method is "Alumni Weekend," which takes place each April, said Jackson Mollin, president of Sigma Nu. This three-day extravaganza features alumni from various fraternities who visit campus to create face-to-face job networking contacts with the Chico brothers graduating that spring.

The alumni know they can trust the new graduates, since they have been pledged to uphold the same fraternity goals and standards of brotherhood, loyalty, charity and dedication, Mollin said.

Bast has benefited from the academic guidance offered by his fraternity, he said. Group study sessions are required several times a week. Attendance is almost always full, and members who miss the sessions are fined with increasing dollar amounts for each time they are absent.

Missing a total of five study sessions in a semester costs the student $250, though almost no one skips that many times, he said.

Younger brothers can get help from older brothers who have taken the same classes, Mollin said. Mollin himself has done this.

A little-known secret is that these tools can include quizzes, tests and papers from the same class taken during previous semesters, said Linda Gatton, coordinator of Student Judicial Affairs.

"It is perfectly OK to use them," Gatton said, "as long as the original teacher didn't ask to have them back."

No outright copying or plagiarism is allowed, however, and using past quizzes and tests, is usually of little value because most teachers change them every semester, she said.

Bast and Mollin said no formal files of past materials are being kept.

Fraternity members average a GPA of 2.70, virtually identical to those students not in a fraternity, which is 2.73, Bassow said. This is significant considering the massive amounts of outside projects, events, organizing and partying members go through.

Aside from the better-known "social" fraternities, there are "academic" fraternities, which are organized around majors or professions such as business, mathematics and construction, said Jamie Starmer, director of the Career Center. They share similar advantages to the social fraternities in the areas of studies, but because they are centered around specific professions, they can have even better advantages for career placement.

"Employers love students from both social and academic fraternities because it shows the student was willing to go above and beyond the normal college regimen," Starmer said. "It shows initiative and leadership skills."

But companies looking to hire someone don't necessarily favor fraternity members any more than students who have participated in other extracurricular groups or activities, he said.

"They just want to see that the student has shown a drive toward extra effort and leadership outside of what is required in school," Starmer said.

Victor Cantu can be reached at vcantu@mail.csuchico.edu

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