by Austin Netherton With the recent string of negative events in the fraternal community, I have become fixated on asking myself, “Why and how does this continue to happen?” Fraternities are governed by strict rules and values, right? These values have been ringing in the ears of young men for decades as a guiding light Read More
[Presented at #AFAAM 2017 by Jessica Gendron Williams, Jason Allen, KJ McNamara, and Matt Mattson] Today’s college students might be the most edited, filtered, self-conscious and insecure population of their age range to date. And that’s not their fault. This generation, like those before them, are a product of their times. Social media, the previous Read More
by Jason Allen In 2012, Phired Up won the AFA Award for Excellence in Educational Programming for our innovative Be The Person Program (BTP). That program partnered with Mike Dilbeck and the RESPONSE ABILITY Project, and it focused on bystander intervention, values alignment, Social Excellence, leading community change, and determining one’s connection and mattering to Read More
by Dr. Colleen Coffey-Melchiorre The world will amaze you if you let it. I consider myself somewhat of a social anthropologist. That’s a fancy way of saying I am a people watcher. I observe folks all around me – in airports, on campuses, at school pick-up, in the yoga studio, in line at Starbucks, or Read More
by Tyler Blaker I’d like to share a story with you… It’s the beginning of my sophomore year and classes start tomorrow. I’d like to hang out with some brothers on syllabus eve, and maybe go get a bite to eat. I go through the list of brothers I would want to hang out with Read More
by Austin Netherton For many undergraduate fraternity men, the overwhelming and hurried occasion we call “Rush” is in wrapping up on campuses across North-America. I often hear from chapter leaders that this time period is recognized as the time when the most (and potentially only) effort is made by a chapter to recruit potential new Read More
by KJ McNamara Fall is in the air! School is still fresh, you’re not sick of Pumpkin Spice Lattes yet, and your fall clothes still have tags on them. For many people this Fall, they’re ready to step it up when it comes to building friendships and enhancing their chapter involvement. Maybe this year is Read More
by Erin Chatten The Beatles had it right… all you need is love. But in this time where campuses come to life with the start of a new academic year, I think when we say, “all you need is love”, what were really thinking and saying is: “all you need is a friend”. Think about Read More
by Dr. Colleen Coffey-Melchiorre If we want healthy and engaged members in our chapters, we need potential new members (PNMs) who are encouraged to find the organization that hosts an experience which best aligns with their personal values. One of the most important things we can do in our communities is to allow PNMs to make Read More
by Dr. Colleen Coffey-Melchiorre Traveling with #BabyJune so far been an absolute blast. I enjoy some aspects of travel, mostly the making of new friends. I try hard to practice my craft on planes – being friendly, being a host, and loving others in whatever space they are in (even if they are taking up Read More