Muhlenberg College - Ciarla Yearbook (Allentown, PA)

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The College Life: fraternities 19 The new TKE bar is tended by Dave Scharf and Kevin Hardy. Be- low: ATO won the IM football game. Pimp and Whore Night at PKT raised an important question — what do I wear? Lisa Ganzhorn and Peter Wallburg created that certain look at the costume social. The stereotyped Katies used 50% of the electricity on campus to get ready for class in the morning. Doug Lavenburg spoofs that image. Left: Tom Creegan overdoses on pancakes for cancer.

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18 Ciarla Two ingredients make a frat party. Bob Alencewicz (ATO) and Scott Kurtz (PKT) hoist them. Do fraternities do any- thing besides have parties? The ‘animal house’ image, which is a traditional one, says no. So did the Bo. But perhaps there is more to fraternities than meets the lips. Fraternity means brotherhood, literally. The frat house must have more to offer a freshman pledge than beer. Would he go through kidnappings, hu- miliation, physical pain and hell night for something he could get at George’s? There are test files in the houses. Also a backlog of in- formation about most fe- males on campus. A frater- nity man inherits a ready- made image of virile mascu- FIRST linity and popularity. He also takes on the character- istics of the house, in other’s eyes at least. This can be good or bad. Frats are prone to stereo- typing, as almost any group of individuals is. The labels are not entirely accurate, but they are unavoidable. The key to maintaining individuality in a fraternity is, for example, to become known first as Jimmy John- son, and second as an ATO brother, and not the other way around. Members of a fraternity do have a committment to each other. They are united by the trials of pledging and the esoteric initiation cere- monies. Because the latter are secretive we really can- not be sure what kind of committment exists or what rituals and tenets hold the frat together, and the group IN BEER AND BROTHER HOOD has something private which marks the knowers as mem- bers of the same body. Kidnapping tactics caused a hitch in the usual pledge proceedings this year. Dean Dale LeCount mysteriously received a printed list of ATO’s kid- napping rules, and found- them to be against the by- laws of the national chap- ters. ATO refused to sign a statement that they would not kidnap, unless the other four fraternities would do the same. None cooperated because they wanted the Muhlenberg Fraternity Council, and not the admin- istration to handle pledging violations. For all this, without the parties, why should a frater- nity exist? The weekends on campus would not even de- serve such a title without pub nites, happy hours and band parties. Frats provide the social life on campus, with a little help from Benfer program board and the hen house. For that we should be grate- ful. The Cresties certainly are! — Cathy Robertson

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20 Ciarla Weightlifting competition won by ATO drew an intense crowd. Below: Greek Weekend’s famous event, the grueling campus crawl, was won by TKE’s entry Carl Fernandez, a freshman. The greek IM softball champion- ship softball game between TKE and PKT. Phi Tau triumphed.