We interviewed a ‘brother’ of the underground frat
Spoiler: he thinks BC shouldn’t have Greek life
As a Jesuit University, Boston College doesn’t recognize fraternities or sororities – you all know this. But that still hasn’t stopped one from starting up in Chestnut Hill.
Sigma Phi Epsilon, a nationally recognized fraternity on 228 college campuses, has planted roots in our lil area of Newton/Chestnut Hill. This group has been slowly growing in both size and fratty-ness since its founding by BC students in 2009. Do note, however: Sigep is comprised of Boston College students, but not affiliated in any way to Boston College.
To me, the idea of a frat that’s kind of here but not really here gives me that same uneasy feeling I get when I ask for a Diet Coke and the waiter brings me Diet Pepsi – and also it raises way too many questions.
Luckily, my friend Paul Hong ’19 recently joined the frat and agreed to my incessant interrogation.
The five newest members of Sigma Phi at BC
How many brothers are there in your frat?
Depends, guys are coming in and out. There’s about 70-80, five freshman just got in.
Do you guys live together?
Nah, I’m staying with these guys! (By “these guys”, he means his squad of himself and seven others.)
Did you look to join a frat in college?
No, Greek life had nothing to do with college choice. I had heard about them, they invited me to go to one of their events, and turns out they’re a bunch of cool guys so I decided to stick around.
What was your path to joining this one?
First they invite you to a few rush events, if they like you they invite you back, then put you through an interview. Then there is an initiation night, a bid night. I shouldn’t talk about the actual ritual.
What motivated you to join?
I guess it was just the positive vibes I got from the guys. Everyone has that misconception that frat guys are just fuckboys, but they’re genuinely smart, good guys. They care about their work, they’re really great. It’s a good environment, it’s just healthy.
Did you rush?
Yeah, basically.
Did you have to do anything to get in?
No, you don’t even have to drink. There was a kid who was completely sober and he got in. He ended up not staying, but for totally different reasons, it was completely amicable.
Do you have fratagonias or any uniform you have to wear?
We expect respectable dress, casual to business casual. We don’t like it when people dress sloppy, but we definitely don’t have a brand. We have to dress up for chapter meetings so that’s pretty legit.
Do you think BC should have Greek life?
[Personally] probably not, no. It would disrupt a lot of stuff. That’s the whole point of the Jesuit education.
So, while our token underground frat isn’t truly “underground,” they definitely are more organized than I thought they were.
Although to be fair, I hadn’t even heard of them until rolling through one of their parties two weekends ago when the weather was colder than the shade of the BC look away.
Whether Greek life ever becomes a thing here at BC is probably a slim chance, but for the time being it sounds like Sigma Phi Epsilon is thriving Han-style (solo).