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Pi Kappa Phi: An Artifact Analysis

Decent Essays

This paper explores the history of the Alpha Iota chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at Auburn University. The paper will also give insight into the negative perceptions of modern day fraternity men and why statistics and the writer’s personal experiences prove that they are inaccurate. The writer utilizes artifact analysis, expert interviews and oral history, and personal knowledge and experience. The writer is a member of the fraternity being researched and a fraternity man, this gives him first hand insight and experience into the subjects at hand. Although social media has given the public a warped view of what the modern-day fraternity man, the goal of this project is to provide the audience with a more accurate portrayal of what the ideal fraternity …show more content…

I began the rush process near the tail end of my senior year and continued through the summer. I went to many different fraternities and had a phenomenal time meeting lots of cool people, but I noticed a consistent theme that troubled me. Almost everywhere I went, it seemed like a lot of the guys were very similar to one another. Whether it be personality, geographical background, or even trivial qualities such as the kind of cars they drove or how much money their parents made, a majority of the members of these fraternities seemed to fit a certain mold unique to their chapter. Growing up in a community that one could describe as a social Hunger Games, I had to shape and mold myself into a person that I wasn’t just to survive junior high and high school. After many years of acting like someone I wasn’t, I did not want to spend the most important four years of my life at a place where I wouldn’t be able to be the person I truly am. I began to think that fraternity life might not be for me, but that changed when I met the brothers at Pi Kappa Phi. When I visited Pi Kapp for the first time, I didn’t know anyone in the chapter or anything about the fraternity. While this did initially make me nervous, I soon noticed something that would calm my nerves. Unlike the other places I visited, the men represented all sorts of different personalities, geographical backgrounds, and ethnicities. But despite all their differences, I’ve never seen a closer group of people. I met guys from eight different states in one weekend, which is more states than most fraternities can say their brothers represent. But the thing that I appreciated the most about the brothers is that for the first time all summer, I felt truly and genuinely accepted. Not because of where I grew up or other things I can’t control, but because of who I truly am. I knew I had found the place I was meant to be. That

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