Information for Parents
Triangle Fraternity recognizes that even though your son may no longer be living in your house all year long, the sense of parental responsibility remains just as acute as ever in some areas. We understand that the decision of whether or not to support fraternity involvement constitutes one of these areas.
If you are thinking about how Triangle and your son would do together, we assume that you are thinking about the following: grades; time management; hazing; excessively wild partying; the effect of Triangle on your son's personal priorities and overall personality; your son's ability to get involved in other areas of campus; Triangle's capability to provide personal growth to your son; and if you sponsor your son's non-tuition costs, the financial implications for you.
Academics at Triangle
Triangle members benefit from a wide variety of academic resources. We hold a constantly-updated system of files within our house that contains information on almost any class that an engineering, architecture, or science major would take at the University. Older members are eager and willing to help younger members with material from classes that they have already taken, and often, members end up in the same classes at the same time - an obvious advantage in learning the material. We have found, time and time again in the past, that these built-in advantages lead to great academic success for our members and can be a far cry from many stereotypical ideas about a fraternity's impact on grades. Our alumni are also ready and willing to help members with career choices and to offer them any assistance they possibly can in finding jobs after graduation. Some of the companies that Triangle members are employed at, both as full-time workers and as interns or co-op students, include Honda, Wilson Sporting Goods, Kimberly Clark, Macintosh, IBM, Cognis Corporation, Keymat Technologies (London, England), Philips, and Motorola.
Time Management at Triangle
We find that Triangle's commitments to academic excellence and social balance have the added effect of improving members' time management skills, not ruining them. No one will deny that there is more for a person to do when he is a member of Triangle. There are more activities to participate in, more people to keep in touch with, and more obligations to fulfill - especially if your son chooses to become more involved in Triangle by being a chapter officer. However, the older members of Triangle are eager to help each new member grow into these responsibilities and learn better time management skills if they are lacking. We insist on making sure that every member keeps his priorities in order after joining, so that one day the newly-joined members will naturally become the ones to carry on this responsibility.
Hazing (or lack thereof) at Triangle
Triangle Fraternity has a strict anti-hazing policy and asserts that any student who pledges our fraternity will immediately and always be treated with respect and will not be subjected to any hazing practices whatsoever as a condition of membership or continued involvement with us. You don't need to spend nights awake wondering what's going on at Triangle as your son goes through the pledge process.
Social Events at Triangle
We've told you in the time management section about how Triangle promotes balance. We encourage our members to enjoy all free time they have after fulfilling any obligations. We don't encourage or allow our members to turn Triangle into Animal House - fun at Triangle must match the high standards that we make a part of our lives in general. This isn't fancy language; this is the way things are at our house. We all worked hard in high school and came to a university that is among the very best in what we do so that we could position ourselves for success after college, and we suppress influences that attempt to ruin years of hard work. If your son is coming into the University of Nebraska in engineering, architecture, or science, we'll assume this way of thinking isn't news to you.
Triangle's Influence of Personality
One thing that many members of Triangle will tell you is that we are "a fraternity of non-fraternity people." We don't brim full of the stereotypical "frat-boy" qualities. If we did, it's a good bet that our members would not enjoy the success that we spoke about in the academic section of this letter. If we did, it's also a good bet that we would not be able to brag about the great friendships that we form with each other. We do not encourage a "100% Triangle, 0% everything else" attitude, as many people fear when dealing with fraternities. Members' friends and relatives are guests in our house on a daily basis. Every new member learns personal and background information about all the members of the house. We encourage outside involvement as a means of further rounding out a member's life.
Growth Opportunities at Triangle
Triangle provides many opportunities for leadership and personal growth. We have several elected offices with semester-long terms and several other appointed positions with flexible terms of service. Any member who wishes to become more involved in Triangle's day-to-day administrative affairs can easily do so. We encourage all members, especially our newer ones, to hold offices and contribute intelligent ideas toward our future. The opportunities for leadership and the emphasis on personal balance and development make Triangle a truly invaluable source of outside-the-classroom education.
We hope that the information provided on this page helps you to resolve some of the concerns you may have about Triangle Fraternity and the prospect of your son becoming a member. As before, we encourage you to contact us with any unresolved issues or questions that you have.
Best Regards,
The Active and Alumni Members of the Nebraska Chapter of Triangle Fraternity