"To be an SAE"

One of the many interesting publications published by Duke is A Guide to Fraternity & Sorority Life.It is available to all students in an attempt to help those who are interested understand Greek life at Duke. One section has a paragraph or two about each fraternity assumedly by the Rush Chairman. Normally these are pretty straight forward sales pieces. Not so from our friends the SAE's. Exact articles from two editions quoted in full:

"Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Luxury, Prestige, Intrigue. Are you currently reading a fraternity pamphlet or the back of an Oliver Stone film? Should it matter? Exactly, Sigma Alpha Epsilon was founded deep in the heart of the antebellum south, a land where steamboats, seersucker, and Mart Twain-style iconography reigned supreme. Since these storied days SAE has become the largest, finest Greek-letter national fraternity in these United states. Whether we're holding a black-tie soiree with our illustrious alumni or merely enjoying imported tobacco and a round of croquet on the quad, our brothers always keep it refined. We tend to spend most of our time debating the merits of Phillips Exeter versus Andover, while fondly reminiscing about our grandfather's roles in the Bretton Woods conference. So if you'd sooner celebrate because your fraternity brother just got a Goldman offer than because you won a game of intramural kickball, you could possibly be...an SAE.

They say America was built on industry, but America was also built on fraternity. We are the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, SAE, the first and finest Greek-letter fraternity founded in the antebellum South. Though the world has changed, our passion and commitment to upholding the ideals of the True Gentlemen have never wavered, and our desire to mold the future as we see fit has never faded. Our members are diverse but bound by the common desire to stay classy. Whether we are just chilling on the quad, taking a trip to the Carolina cup, or living it up at the beach, the brothers of SAE always keep it refined. So if the Belmont Stakes sounds like your kind of party, you could possibly be...an SAE?"

Can you believe this stuff? TDB could not make it up. Small wonder that Beta was always a better fraternity than SAE while it was at Duke .Web site, which is not nearly as good as the booklet is www.Studentaffairs.Duke.edu/Greek .Does have a signed copy of Duke's strong commitment to fraternities and sororities.