Every high school had those groups of guys that just really stood out. Not because they were standout guys, but because of the ungodly amount of pastel Polo they had decided to wear even though it was January. These guys could usually be caught hanging out in the parking lot talking about the same seven or so girls every day, throwing football, and showing off their latest modification to their Chevy Tahoes. Yes, I’m referring to the high school frat stars.
Now, I come from Williamson County, the land of higher education and even higher crew socks. While I was in high school every guy was required to own a pair of Sperry’s, unless you played basketball and then you were allowed to wear “socks with slides” which is basically the socially acceptable version of socks and sandals. My junior year the Polo “Horsepower” movement took the upperclassmen boys by storm. Seemingly over night my school went from dressing like we dressed ourselves at 5 am (because we did) to color coordinating our Oxfords with our 6” inseams that were barely long enough to be within dress code. I actually witnessed guys get dress coded for wearing shorts that were too short. This was just part of the experience of attending a public school where people let their Frat Flags fly on a daily basis.
I recently revisited my alma mater while on break. Not only did I discover kids were still dressing like a Belk catalogue, but some had even progressed to full blown suits. I talked with some kids that I recognized and once they saw that I was wearing letters I quickly became a role model in their eyes. I am not kidding when I say that one of these fine young men CHECKED MY FRATERNITY ON GREEK RANK TO SEE IF I WAS IN A “TOP TIER” FRATERNITY. After my credentials were checked I was quickly informed of their intentions of rushing here at UT next fall.
Most guys will agree that fall rush is best time in the world to see these young frat stars at work. These kids haven’t been properly introduced to how fraternities are actually run and have no idea about what to expect so they show up with their game faces on. If you’re at all curious of what I’m referring to, ask any fraternity guy about the difference between a fall and a spring pledge class. The difference between the attitudes of the guys is night and day, and don’t get me started on their choice of outfits.
If you see a dorm window covered by an orange Volunteer Traditions flag, it’s a dead give away you are looking at the room of a frat star in training. If you’re talking to a guy wearing Chubbies and he’s mentioning a TFM article more than once in normal conversation, you’re talking to a high school frat star. I’m not saying that these guys are bad people, they’re just in the middle of a quarter life crisis and in dire need of a strong brotherhood to give them a reality check.
