Shawn Collins pledged a fraternity in fall 1988 and kept a diary of his experiences.
I was overwhelmed when I became a Pi Kappa Alpha pledge at the University of Maryland in September 1988. Just a few months removed from high school, I was suddenly operating in an adult world. One of the many decisions I had to make early on was choosing a Big Brother in the fraternity. I…
My experience at the University of Maryland was akin to one of Winston Churchill’s speeches. Specifically a radio address he gave in October 1939 about World War II when he said, “It’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma…” You see, I spent a lot of my five years as an undergrad drinking…
It was just weeks after I became a pledge when I saw a sign at the frat house about a pledge camping trip. I’d never gone camping before, so I was pretty excited. Each pledge had to bring a case of beer for the weekend. We drove from the University of Maryland out to western…
I don’t think I had a camera in college. If I did, it was rarely used, because I didn’t have the money to get film processed. So, most of the pictures I have from those five years are the fraternity and sorority event photos. I have a whole photo album of these types of pictures,…