Not as tell-all as before
When I revealed to my friends, and more importantly when it was revealed to other people in school, that I joined a fraternity and the Upsilon Sigma Phi at that, I was met with surprise. I’d be surprised at myself too, if I didn’t know myself better. Foremost, the fratman stereotype is quite out of my character, me being a timid and shy boy from Mass Comm at that, and second, my political affiliations and those of the fraternity’s and a majority of its resident brods are ‘officially’ incongruent. Upsilon is, after all, a founding member of my university political party’s two present rival parties. This proved quite odd for me, especially during the student council elections (where I lost).
Despite all these minor contradictions, and all the difficulties (understatement) of being a neophyte and a junior fellow, I don’t regret joining, and I am proud to be an Upsilonian. Anyway, my reasons for joining and other such apologetics won’t be the topic of this entry.
Perhaps this shall only be a disclaimer. Needless to say, quite a handful of the things that have happened and other things that I have done over the past two months are frat matters which I barely ever mentioned in my blog. I never even posted any picture of my brods nor pictures from any of the functions I’ve been to. For someone like me who’s so used to documenting my life and narrating my daily experiences in my blog, it’s something that I had to get used to. It’s not that the fraternity is shrouded in secrecy. Aside from a handful of anti-Upsilon comments in some previous entries, it’s pretty much given that the internet does serve as a place where various fraternities gather information about other frats. Even though I’ve practically outed myself to possibly other aggressive fraternities, the identities of my brods, and detailed personal documentation of activities are things I have to keep from posting here.
Nagulat din ako nung nalaman kong fratman ka eh.
may stereotype kasi dito sa pinas na fratman eh puro away bugbugan at sakitan. may mga fratman din na kapag hindi nila kafrat ituturing nang kaaway…
mahirap talaga ang pinasukan mo, kailangan panindigan.
nakanangtoots anlalim nun!
BIKOY: hahaha! pero oo nga, totoo, re: stereotype. pero may bahid rin naman ng katotohanan ‘yun, depende lang sa frat marahil.
I guess one has to remember not to believe in stereotypes. Pitoy Moreno is also an Upsilonian brod, is he not? As well as Marcos and Aquino I think.
BIKOY: yep
It never occurred to me to join a fraternity in college before. I have nothing against the ‘real’ fraternities, respect I have for them instead. As for the little band of thugs who pretend to be frats, nevermind….
sana member din ako ng fraternity nung college…
yung frat na matino, hindi yung gang na puro gulo lang, pero wala na akong magagawa, masaya naman ako maging Jolina Fans Club!
Kinuwento sa kin ng ate ko nung sumali sya sa sorority… sabi nya muntik daw syang himatayin bago magstart yung initiation tapos sabi daw nung mga older members… “o baka mademanda tayo nyan ha. wala pa tayong ginagawa.”
Tawa ng tawa yung ate ko pagnaalala nya.
I was invited to join Upsilon too back in college (I even got a nifty looking invitation), and it would’ve been an honor to be part of UP’s most prestigious fraternity. But, like you, I didn’t consider myself a stereotypical fratman and even though USP is not the stereotypical fraternity, I didn’t follow up on the offer.
uy, bikoy, diba film student ka? napanood mo na ba yung “Batch ‘81″ ni mike de leon? ang ganda-ganda nun e…
BIKOY: oo naman
TRUE ka jan taga-cmc. Haha.
Well sa tagal ba naman ng online existence mo, you’re the last person anyone would expect to join a frat. But Upsilonians are a nice bunch, really. And a relatively peaceful one at that. HAHA
Yeah, I guess drawing the line at THAT point is fair. Seeing fistfights and whatnot could net you more hits though. hehe. Kidding.
Were you hazed? Did it hurt?
Ang concept of a fratman na ipinaalam sa akin by my parents (coz they are fratmen too, and my father is a mason) eh it requires you to have at least tolerance to pain. Kadalasan yata kasi more on “parusa” ang ginagawa sa initiation, kaya ngayon takot na takot ako pag naglalakad ako sa streets ng university pag gabi kasi, I am hearing some people shouting, then yung mga lagapak ng paddle sa mga binti.
Ako pa naman yung tao na walang endurance sa pain.
By the way, I was really shocked upon reading na nagfrat ka. Hindi yung pagiging fratman ang nakikita ko sayo pag binabasa ko mga posts mo.
Bikoy, a fratman? Surprising indeed. But Upsilon is known to have alumni brods who are out and about flamboyant gay guys, which to your point is as incongruent to the stereotype as can be. when i was in UP there were even talks that upsilon initiations actually included homosexually bent tasks. but they are just talks, so i really can’t tell. anyhow, i hope that while you enjoy the intense brotherhood one enjoys in fraternities like yours, you keep your logic and good nature intact, as guiding posts in your journey. i believe you don’t have to conform ALL THE TIME. be good and be well.
BIKOY: hi migs. ang importante naman kasi sa upsilon ay nage-excel sa field ang isang brod. given the roster of alumni and present student achievers well proven naman yong tradition na yon. just this year, may summa cum laude brod sa uplb, may usc chair sa up manila, no. 1 USC councilor sa diliman, etc etc. and well, while we do have brods such as pitoy moreno and behn cervantes, they are exceptions rather than the rule and they have proven their worth well in the arts
hehe, and as for me. ill be who ive always been naman, even before i got in the frat. kung may magbabago man, through the training and experiences i acquire in upsilon, it’d be change for the better.
nice one brod.. -allen 2005