Lambda Chi Rush

Lambda Chi has been at UT since 1917 and has been highly successful over the years. We went through a relatively small, low-profile period at UT recently, but that’s now over. Last year, 2010-11 we decided to focus on improving the size and organization of our chapter, grew from 20 actives to 40, and participated more in Greek and community events. By the end of this year we expect to be between 65-80 actives. We’re being careful to ensure that we grow intelligently, and are planning with the long-term in mind.

Though our current house at 715 Graham is well-located in the heart of West campus, it won't be our permanent home if we grow as anticipated. We expect to either expand into a second location or a single larger house in 2012. Regardless of our location, we strongly believe a great house does not make a great fraternity; great people doing great things together make a great fraternity. That’s our ultimate goal.

Lambda Chi is diverse—we don’t recruit people based upon socio-economic status, political party, ethnicity, etc. We’re looking for men of character who will add value to the fraternity, whether through academic performance, athletic ability, leadership, social skills, community outreach, or all of the above.

We have alumni in just about every field: producers to politicians; attorneys to accountants; engineers to athletes. About 2,000 UT Lambda Chi initiates, and over 270,000 Lambda Chi initiates exist. You’ll have opportunity to receive mentoring from brothers who understand whatever industry you hope to join.

The financial cost of being in Lambda Chi is currently $825 per semester, paid up front or $855 if paid in three monthly payments. There are optional expenses like party favors or trips that run $25-250 per semester. Dues go towards the Lambda Chi Alpha general fraternity, our chapter house, intramural sports, brotherhood events, recruiting, parties, alumni reunions, and everything else we do throughout the year. It’s important to note that you join Lambda Chi for life, not for a semester, not for college—so join prepared to pay dues until you graduate, and ideally to continue supporting the chapter long after your college days are over.

If you haven’t spoken with your parents about joining a fraternity, please do so. They’ll be invited to several functions throughout the year, and their support can make a huge difference in your fraternity experience. If they have questions, feel free to pass them along.

Lambda Chi has two weekly meetings, each of which runs 1-2 hours. Chapter meetings are on Mondays, and Associate Member meetings are on Sundays. In addition, there are optional activities such as IM sports, social functions, and philanthropic activities. We hope people will participate in whatever they can, but your grades come first.

Lambda Chi does not condone or participate in hazing. If you’re into being treated like crap or enjoy being forced to do things you might regret later, this isn’t the right place for you. We firmly believe that we can bond with all of our brothers and become better men together without resorting to childish or dangerous mind-games.

A few people wondered if Lambda Chi tells members how to dress. Honestly, not often. We have one formal business meeting per month where coat and tie are appropriate, and at other meetings we ask members to wear collared shirts and to leave the gym shorts at home. Dress code at social functions depends on the function.

We’ve seen quite a few questions about the rush process at UT. There is no formal rush period for fraternities at Texas, so each one handles things differently.

As far as our Spring 2012 rush goes, from January 13th to January 28th, we'll offer a variety of ways that men can meet with us and participate in our normal activities, the purpose being to see what it's like to be in the fraternity and get to know us. We’ll probably post the schedule on our private facebook rush site.

There are roughly 100 people we currently consider candidates for our spring class. We’d like to end up with 10-20 men in the class, which will require a strong effort by our current actives and mean that quite a few people we genuinely like will not be a part of this class. Please be sure to let Patrick Linton, our recruitment chair, know if you’re interested in being one of our candidates. And if you decide that some other fraternity is a better fit, or that you’re not interested this semester, we’ll understand and wish you well—we just ask that you let us know, so we can shift our fall attention elsewhere.

When we offer someone a bid, it's a written offer to join the fraternity, with no immediate pressure to say yes. If you haven’t received a bid yet, and hoped to, please let Patrick know. We aren’t mind-readers, and sometimes we think a good guy simply isn’t interested and fail to extend an offer.

Our spring rush will close on January 28th, and our spring class will be formally associated on January 29th. The association ceremony is open to friends and family, so if you are extended a bid to join and accept, be sure to let us know if you have any guests you’d like to invite.