The end of spring semester can be very depressing. There were so many great highs to look back on, including THON, Greek Week, and of course spring formal. Then we get swamped for an entire week with comprehensive finals that test us on material we may very well never have to recall again in our lives. Another semester is in the books and we have the summer to get in touch with our roots back home, pursue an internship, or for the lucky ones, travel all over. Once we are given our freedom away from schoolwork though, everything just feels different. We don’t have the luxury of mass drinking brigades consistently from Thursday through the weekend. And you won’t keep your job for too long if you have a similar attendance record to your Gen Ed classes. Outside of our playground which is the Pennsylvania State University, it can be a real struggle to keep the lifestyle up we have been blessed with. So the question becomes, How can I maintain the frat lifestyle over the summer?” I asked some guys what they are doing to keep it “frat” they enjoy their break from schoolwork and take in the summer rays.
The majority seemed to put all their focus into their summer golf game: “I make sure to hit the golf course with a case of beer and a thick cigar, a Cuban if available”, says Rob Bablak of Alpha Kappa Lamda.
Brian Salvesen from Sigma Pi also saw golfing as another opportunity to continue drinking heavily: “I like to hit the golf course and shotgun on the greens because you can’t get a DUI while driving a golf cart.” While I wouldn’t endorse driving the golf cart hammered, it would be pretty nice to have a cooler of Bud Light in the back. In addition to the golf, some men took their talents from the Frat house to the coastal beaches.
“ You gotta drink less indoors and more on the beaches” says Josh Gregov of Alpha Sigma Phi. Some guys even venture off to the west coast the like Brett Rednor of Alpha Epsilon Pi: “Since I live in Arizona, I usually take trips out to California with my friends back home who are in Greek Life at other schools.”
Other guys use the summer to work out as much as possible and stay fit: “I make sure to hit the gym 5 days a week, because if you don’t hit the gym, you shouldn’t be in a frat” says Neil Choudhry, a junior in the Chi Phi Fraternity. Personally, I’d rather try to do more outdoor activities like running or playing pickup soccer, but the body sculpting will have a huge payoff when you’re trying to impress chicks at the beach.
Tom Roberts of Beta Theta Pi claims the best way to maintain the lifestyle is to not leave State College: “Ideally, you get enough brothers to take summer classes and therefore keep the house open. If not, then definitely plan a brotherhood trip to Mexico or the Jersey Shore.”
Besides vacationing, which can take up quite a bit of time and money, another way you can keep it “frat” is to stay connected with your friends from school: “The frat lifestyle is really centered around being together with the whole Greek community. I use the app GroupMe to stay in contact with other Greeks in my area. Just recently a large group of us attended and tailgated the Dave Matthews Band concert in Camden, NJ.”- says Brady Himsworth of Sigma Chi.
Like Brady, Brian Salvesen has been keeping up with music this summer, but in a much different manner: “In preparation for next semester, I have been making playlists of songs me and my bros can stomp to. And you can’t consider yourself in a fraternity if you don’t listen to Timber at least one week (I don’t care if it’s old it’ll never die).” A lot of DJs put out new music around this time so it would wise to keep up with their tracks.
Another close friend of mine though makes the claim that a fraternity is a defining piece of your character that you take everywhere you go: “Being frat is more than a lifestyle. From the moment you join a fraternity its way of life is in you and you take pride in it. Every day you wake up you love what you do, whether in school or at home for the summer.”- Mitchell “Boobs” Anderson, Kappa Delta Rho.
As Mitchell so eloquently puts it, Greek Life is something that stays with you the rest of your life, and whether or not you realize it, you’re always going to keep it a little bit “frat”.
