It’s the alumni presiding over the chapter that take the cake.
It’s standard to have older brothers governing each Alpha Sigma chapter. After all, leaving a national organization in the hands of a bunch of rowdy college kids wouldn’t work out in anyone’s favor. Still, the goal of the alumni members is simply to ensure order. They may be present at chapter meetings to make sure everything is done correctly, may sign off on philanthropic or social events, and may step in to take care of punishment should one of the brothers, or all of them, need it.
But it’s the current brothers who run exec, who make decisions, who hold their brothers accountable and make a name for the chapter on campus.
Or at least, it’s supposed to be.
I pull my shoulders back as I walk through the front door of the house, preparing myself for the meeting ahead. I can’t help but smile at the various pods of brothers as I pass through the house — some playing video games, some studying, some in the backyard playing beer pong. On the surface, everything looks right, looks in place, looks successful.
But this chapter has slowly gained the reputation for being dull and old school, for not performing in athletics, scholarship, or social activities, and for just being lackluster, in general.
And it didn’t take me long to figure out that the alumni were the reason for most of it.
That’s why I called this meeting, and though I know it won’t be easy, I pray the guys will hear me out and make changes to better our presence on the Aspen University campus.
I take my time setting up the meeting room, setting the donuts I picked up from the popular spot on The Hill right in the center of the boardroom table. There are four alumni chapter advisors who preside over this particular chapter, and one by one, they all file in.
There aren’t technically supposed to be titles among them, but when I met them the first time, they introduced themselves as Shawn, Secretary, Derek, Treasurer, Jared, Vice President, and Corey, President.
Corey was, so far, the biggest pain in my ass.
As they sit down and mutter among themselves, I find myself wishing Cassie were here. I would give anything to have had her in my arms before this meeting, to be kissing her senseless before running out the door, to know I had her just down the block when the meeting’s over.
As it is, I’ll have to settle for texts, phone calls, and the occasional video chat.
Memories of our last video chat bring a whole new slew of thoughts to mind, but I clear my throat and tamper them down, saving that energy for later.
“Gentlemen, thank you for joining me,” I start, and that quiets the room.
Corey, the president, and Jared, the VP, both watch me with bored, suspicious glares, but the other two offer smiles and their full attention. I could tell after the first twenty minutes with them that they’re divided, but with the two snarly ones being the oldest and regarded as the highest roles, they seem to make all the rules.
My plan is to change that.
“I’ll try to make this as brief as possible, as I know you all have jobs and lives to get back to.”
I make sure I say that last part firmly, because I want to remind them that they are not, in fact, frat brothers anymore.
“As you know, recruitment went well, all things considered, but having a great pledge class won’t erase the hard work ahead of us. I have put together a plan that attacks three main categories of focus this semester: athletics, scholarship, and social activity,” I explain, watching the room as the guys read over the binders I’ve put together in front of them. “I think we should focus on athletics and social activity first and foremost, with scholarship and philanthropy being introduced but more heavily focused on in the next semester.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Corey says instantly. “Why wouldn’t it be scholarship and philanthropy first? What, are we trying to be the party boys now?”
“No,” I assure him. “However, these are kids. Think back to when you were eighteen, nineteen, even twenty. Did you care about your grades or giving to the community as much as you did about partying with your brothers, making out with girls, and winning championships?”
Shawn snorts. “God, no.”
Corey glares at him, then says, “Maybe this is how things were run in Florida, Adam, but we have more prestigious goals here.”
“That may be,” I say, not giving him the satisfaction of thinking I give a rat’s ass about what he thinks of me or my chapter. “But these brothers need a win. They need to throw a great party, as weird as that sounds. A safe party, but a rager, nonetheless. And they need to feel like they’re gaining popularity, like they stand a chance at being known on The Hill.”