Serenades are a fun and entertaining way to improve public relations between fraternity and sorority chapters. Depending on who you’re serenading, songs can be romantic, funny, or completely raunchy. They can include props, live music, or even a sister from the sorority. Just remember that knowing your audience is key, and picking out the right song can be the difference between a memorable serenade and a total flop.

To help you in your singing endeavors, here are five Serenade Questions that will help you narrow your search for the perfect song for your serenade. We’ve also put together a list of great Serenade Songsalong with some helpful hints as to their appropriateness. Enjoy!

Serenade Questions

What chapter are you serenading?

Above all, the number one most important thing about serenades is to keep your audience in mind. Know what sorority, or sororities, you are serenading, and understand how your fraternity brothers interact with the girls. What is your chapter’s relation with the sorority? If you’re introducing your brothers for the first time, “The Bad Touch” by the Bloodhound Gang is probably not the best way to go. On the other hand, if your chapters are close and friendly, “Hot in Herre” by Nelly may be the perfect song.

Note: When choosing a song, keep in mind if you’re serenading multiple sororities. If you have time, practice different serenade songs for different sororities (depending on your relation with them). Or, if you decide to use the same song for every house, choose something that will work across the board.

What is your chapter’s image? What type of image do you want to present to the sorority?

We’ve all heard the old adage, “image is everything”. Although our parents may tell us different, in the case of serenades, image is an important factor. While we at ChapterTalk don’t condone fraternity and sorority stereotypes, we think its important for chapters to know and acknowledge their image within the greek community (and change that image if needed). Thus, when picking your serenade song, consider how sororities perceive your chapter, and what type of image you want to present. If your chapter is considered sedate and grim, a comical song like “Men in Tights” (from “Robin Hood: Men In Tights” movie) or a parody of the Jonas Brothers will make sororities laugh and help to refresh your image.

What, if any, messages do you want to send?

No, we don’t mean “hey, I’ve had a crush on you since freshman year” messages. Rather, when picking your serenade song, make sure it relates to your reason for being at the sorority house. Whether you’re announcing your upcoming philanthropy, introducing pledges, or hyping up next week’s party, your song should remind the sorority of why you’re serenading them in the first place.

Finally, is your chapter good at serenading?

Even though this point is at the bottom of the list, its probably one of the most important aspects of serenading, and one of the first things you should think about (ironic that we put it last, huh?). If your fraternity is made up of drama and music majors and reminds you of the “High School Musical” cast, feel free to pick almost any song you can think of. However, if your chapter is more like the rest of us (biology, psychology, and engineering majors who don’t even sing in the shower), selecting a song won’t be so easy. Try to pick a song with an even (and slower) beat, and if you’re changing the lyrics, make them easy to remember. Finally, if your chapter isn’t Broadway-caliber, make sure to give your brothers time to practice!

Serenade Songs

“Let’s Get It On” – Marvin Gaye

Definitely a song for a fraternity and sorority who know one another. The sexual undertones make this song not for everyone, but the lyrics are easy to remember, the song is slow for singing novices, and the possibility for flirtatious behavior is endless. If you’re looking for similar songs that are less sexual, try other Marvin Gaye songs such as “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”.

“A Whole New World” Disney’s Aladdin

If you want to play it safe and go with a song that is romantic, sweet and that everyone knows, this is the song for you. Or, if you want to branch out, most classic Disney songs will work as they are mostly G-rated, and the lyrics are easy to change and easy to remember. The bonus: most sorority girls will have either seen the movie, heard the song, or know the song by heart (great for an impromptu sing-a-long).

“Forever” Chris Brown

Its always good to keep your serenades up to date and current. This song is great for a serenade because its popular, the lyrics are easy to change, and the song is flirtatious without being raunchy or overly-sexual. Also try “With You”, “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)”, and (the Chris Brown dancing isn’t a requirement, but would be a nice touch).

“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” Righteous Brothers

Always a classic and a favorite among those of us who remember the movie Top Gun, this song leans more toward the intimate side, but allows for great dramatic performances. Adding costumes or acting out the “Top Gun” scene with this song will make this serenade the best of the best, especially if the brothers mimic the movie and pick out specific sorority girls to sing to.

“Lets Stay Together” Al Green

Like the Marvin Gaye songs, Al Green songs are a great option if you want to be romantic and sweep the girls off their feet. The other great thing about Al Green songs: they’re slower, the lyrics are easy to change, and most people will recognize the song.

“Sweet Child of Mine” Guns N’ Roses

Yes, this song is definitely out of left field and not for the novice singers, but if done well, this song can blow those girls away. Lyrics are easy to change and remember, the beat is good and consistent, and if you have a guitarist (preferably, electric guitar), that’s just icing on the cake.

“My Girl” Temptations

Truly a classic, every girl in the sorority will at least have heard of the song if they don’t already know it by heart. The lyrics are easy to change, just remind your brothers that the song is slow for a reason (not to make it easier for them). This is a great song for introductions as it is romantic, sweet, and will make your brothers look like gentlemen.

“Men In Tights” from the movie “Robin Hood: Men In Tights”

This probably seems like the last song that should ever been on a list for sorority serenades, however, from personal experience, we can truly say this is a memorable one. Of course you have to do the dance along with the song (and costumes don’t hurt either), and your brothers have to be up for a night of embarrassment. However, this is a great way to avoid the sexual innuendos while keeping the girls’ attention and making them laugh.

“8 Days a Week” The Beatles

This is a great song for a clean, G-rated serenade, or to use to serenade multiple sororities. Yes, the song is a little cheesy, but the lyrics are cute and easy to change, most people know the song, and you can add a guitarist if you have one. Bonus: dress up like the Beatles and go all out with the theme (skinny ties are back after all).

If you want something similar to this, try other Beatles’ songs such as “A Hard Day’s Night”, “All My Loving”, and “All You Need Is Love”.

“Kokomo” Beach Boys

Like the Beatles’ songs, this is a great serenade for a sorority you don’t know well and don’t want to offend. Most girls will already know the song, your brothers can go all out on the theme, and there’s the option of a guitarist. Also, given enough time, your brothers can practice the harmonies and clapping (if part of the song) to really impress the girls.

Additionally, consider other Beach Boys songs, such as “California Girl” (change “California” to the sorority’s name), “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “I Get Around”.

h4.“Because of You” Ne-Yo

Hands down, a great serenade song but not for every fraternity. This is a fast-paced song (compared to our other suggestions), so it’ll require a lot of practice by your fraternity brothers. Also, if you can bring a stereo to play the music in the background, it’ll help your brothers stay on beat and together. If your chapter has the time to practice the song, this can be a great serenade that the sorority girls will remember for a long time. Bonus: if you have time, add in some choreography or some simple dance moves. This will really make the girls go wild!

This post was generously provided by ChapterBoard.

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One of the great aspects of Greek life is participating in fraternity and sorority intramural sports. Not only is it an easy way to stay in shape and avoid the freshman 15, it also allows members to get to know each other, bond, and come together in an effort for your chapter. After all, who doesn’t want to burn some other fraternity on a hail-mary pass or bend it like Beckham around a competing sorority girl, all in the name of your chapter?

Although competition is natural and healthy, some Greeks tend to take intramural sports a bit too seriously. While serious players can be beneficial to the team, when their competitive attitudes begin to undermine other players and the nature of the game, the consequences can be detrimental to the member and the chapter. To avoid negative repercussions, members and the chapter as a whole need to take active roles in dealing with sportsmanship and competitive attitudes.

Know Your Players

If you’ve ever played a team sport, you’re sure to have noticed that not all players are alike. There’s always the player who is a “go big or go home” kind of person, and then there’s the player who plays hard, does the work, but stays quiet in the corner. While the former of these two players is likely to be the most problematic, its important for the team’s captain, or your chapter’s exec members, to know every member and to keep an eye on all of the players. Sometimes the quietest player in practice can be a ticking time bomb during the game.

Establish Your Expectations

When your members first start practicing for a sport, be sure to outline the chapter’s expectations of the members as players. Just like at a social event, members should behave appropriately and in a way that best represents the chapter. By establishing these standards and expectations before a game or match, your members know how they should behave, and you and your exec members can reprimand anyone who steps out of line. Additionally, you set the tone of play for the season in that you remind your members that they’re not just playing for themselves, but for their teammates and your chapter as well.

Establish The Rules

This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised by the number of intramural players (not only in the Greek community) who don’t know the rules of the game. Additionally, many times the intramural rules differ from that of high school or college level sports. If your players know the rules and understand how the game is supposed to be played, they are less likely to be confused during a game and spend time arguing with the official or opponent.

Make Players Responsible for Each Other

As chapter members (and also as a team), your players should feel responsible for each other. After all, if another team attacked or hurt one of your players, wouldn’t your team feel obliged to protect him or her? Just as your players should protect each other, they should also monitor each other and intercede if someone behaves inappropriately or gets out of hand. The first ones responsible for players on the field, court, or rink, are the other players.

Ideally, the team captain will be the one to remind players that they are responsible for each other. However, if your team captain has not done so (and another player has not stepped up), your exec members should be the ones to speak with the players. Just as the members are sisters in the sorority and brothers in the fraternity, they are players on the team and should look out for each other and the team’s best interest.

Attend the Games or Matches

While you may have faith in your team captain to lead the team, monitor behavior, and intervene during misconduct, this isn’t always how things play out. If you and your exec members are worried about a specific player or an upcoming game against a rival chapter, you should make sure that at least one of your exec members attend. It may be that you’re worrying over nothing, or it may turn out that you need to intercede on the chapter’s behalf and calm your players down.

Additionally, you should make yourself open to active members and any anxieties they may have. As an executive member, you see a lot that goes on in the chapter. However, you don’t see everything. Active members may have different insights into various players, and may know something that you don’t know. The upcoming game may seem like a cake-walk to you, but for the brother who’s girlfriend cheated on him with a guy from the other team, sportsmanship is probably the last thing on his mind.

Confront a Situation Head On

If you’re faced with the dreadful situation of a player acting out (either physically or verbally), the best thing to do is to confront the situation. You don’t necessarily need to speak with the player at that specific second (actually, its probably better to give the player some time to cool down and think straight), but you shouldn’t ignore the indiscretion or let too much time go by. Additionally, remember your PR training. If your player blows up at the other team, the worst thing you can do for your chapter’s public image is to run onto the field and yell at the player. Just like at a social event, misconduct and inappropriate behavior should be dealt with at the right time and place, and shouldn’t further embarrass the individual member, or your chapter.

Many chapters have found different ways of dealing with bad sportsmanship. Some chapters impose fines, while others ban members from playing or require them to formally apologize to the other team (or game officials). These are extreme cases, and don’t reflect the majority of “bad attitude” situations that many fraternities and sororities face. Usually, a simple slap on the wrist will do the trick, especially if you’re dealing with members who were athletes in high school (or are athletes in college). Sportsmanship is a cornerstone of most athletic programs, so, hopefully, your members already know how they should behave, and their misconduct was a one-time slip.

To Play or Not to Play?

Finally, if sports seem to bring out the worst in your members and are a detriment to your chapter, you might consider not participating at all. Although your members will complain and your chapter’s image might be negatively impacted, refraining from sports may be better for your members in the long run (and you won’t have to deal with unsportsman-like behavior). Remember: if your members can’t behave appropriately, they don’t deserve to represent the chapter in sports. Your chapter can always participate in the future once your members learn to be good sports.

This post was generously provided by ChapterBoard.

The post Play Ball! Sports & the Greek Community appeared first on The Campus Companion Chapter Life.

Whether you already have your retreat venue or are still deciding, it’s never too early to plan out your retreat schedule. Just like the actual recruitment events, planning and scheduling each day of your retreat will make things run smoothly, more efficiently, and give you less stress and grief in the end.

Major Events Come First

Plan out your major events first as these are the most important and will most strongly dictate the schedule. For example, if you have alumni coming to help with mock recruitment at 1:00pm on Saturday, don’t plan Saturday’s lunch break at 12:45pm. Additionally, make sure to give enough time to all the major events. While you may be a seasoned veteran at recruitment, some of your newer members may have little to no recruitment experience. Plan extra time for questions, longer explanations, and extra practice to ensure your members know exactly what they need to do.

Give Plenty of Breaks

Although recruitment retreat isn’t as hard as the LSATs, remember that your members will need breaks. Give them plenty! Breaks can be brief five or 10 minute slots in between activities, or longer time periods if needed. While you might want to get through things as fast as possible, your members will be more willing to learn and practice if they get a few minutes every now and then to relax. Keep in mind that your recruitment retreat should be a marathon, not a sprint: a slower pace will get you and your chapter to the final goal faster, and in a better mood, than a fast one.

Keep ‘Time-Fillers’ on Hand

While you may plan your retreat down to the minute, it’s inevitable that you’ll find times when your members have nothing to do. Maybe they finish something early or things take longer to set up. Whatever the case, make sure you have something for your members to do if this happens. For sororities, a great standby is to practice songs. Although you may have scheduled “song time” later in the day, practicing songs is something everyone can do and benefit from. For fraternities, brushing up on chapter history is a great time filler. Hand out information about the fraternity and your chapter at the beginning of recruitment retreat, and, if there’s extra time, have your brothers quiz each other (this is also a great exercise for sororities).

Plan For The Unexpected

While yes, planning for the unexpected is hard to do, it’s not impossible. Once you have all your major events planned out, think of alternatives to each event. If your alumni don’t show up for mock recruitment, if the food isn’t delivered on time, if the venue is locked when you show up, what will you do? Planning for these improbable but not impossible problems will help you deal with the situation if it does occur. It will also remind you of things you might otherwise have forgotten (i.e. having the catering company on speed dial), and think of things you might otherwise have forgot about (i.e. confirm dates and times with alumni).

Have Help… Lots of Help!

One of the easiest ways to stress yourself out and cripple the recruitment retreat is to not have help. While your chapter may have put you in charge of organizing and running the retreat, nothing says you can’t have an assistant, or even two… so don’t be afraid to ask! Make sure to have your assistants chosen before the actual retreat, and make sure they are involved in every step of the planning process. That way, if you forget something, or need something, they know what it is, where to get it, and who to call if necessary. Assistants are also key if (knock of wood!) you get sick, have a family emergency, or something happens that stops you from attending retreat. Just remember: your assistants are also your fraternity brothers or sorority sisters. Treat them with respect, acknowledge their good work, and listen to their ideas. Don’t get a big head about having people to boss around, otherwise, you’ll soon find yourself with too much to do and no one to help you do it.

This post was generously provided by ChapterBoard.

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While you can meet other Greeks at campus-wide events, parties and even sports games, no other social event is quite like a Greek exchange or mixer. An exchange or mixer is a private social event between members of two chapters, usually a fraternity and a sorority but sometimes between two sororities or fraternities. To get members involved and ensure a memorable night, chapters usually pick a theme for their exchange or mixer. We’ve polled our team as well as some Greek communities, and now present (in no particular order) the top 5 exchange/mixer ideas. Enjoy!

Black Light/Rave

Although it requires a bit more planning and forethought, a black light party is a fun and creative way for Greeks to spend a night. Unlike other themes, a black light or rave party requires little to no costume and is pretty cheap for your members (all they need is something white). Hand out highlighters before the party and encourage your members to write (yes, write) on each other. It’s a great ice breaker between chapters and the writing will show up under the black lights. Glow sticks are also easy party favors but a bit more costly then highlighters. Just remember: to have a fun black light party, you’ll need black lights! Talk to the venue ahead of time to make sure they’ll allow the lights or, if you have the mixer at your house, be sure to install the lights beforehand.

Anything But Clothes (ABC)

Definitely a theme for the more out-going chapters, anything but clothes is, literally, anything but clothes. By far, this is one of the most creative themes out there for both sororities and fraternities. From skirts made out of bubble wrap to “shirts” configured from police warning tape, seeing what everyone will wear is half the fun of this party. While this theme is both creative and inexpensive (two aspects your members are sure to welcome), be cautioned that, because of the home-made nature of the clothes, apparel tends to be lost. So remind your chapter that, although the rule is “anything but clothes”, boxers or briefs, panties and bras are strongly suggested.

Movies

Using popular trends and classic themes for your mixers and exchanges is a great way to get your members interested and involved. An easy way to do this is to use movies. For example, the movie “Tropic Thunder” is perfect for an army theme, the “Rocky” movies for a boxing theme, and “Spiderman” for a superhero theme. You can also use the movie itself as the theme of the party, just make sure there is enough costume possibilities for both guys and girls. Having trouble thinking of a movie to use? Try some of the classics like “Scarface”, “Top Gun” or “Grease”, or more current movies such as “300”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, or “High School Musical”.

Cops and Robbers

The classic theme that never seems to be forgotten or overused, cops and robbers always guarantees a fantastic party. Great for both fraternity brothers and sorority sisters, cops and robbers allows for creative costumes that are fun and inexpensive. Additionally, the popularity of police and inmate halloween costumes makes it easy for your members to reuse their costumes. The other aspect that makes this theme so popular: the accessories. From plastic handcuffs to shiny police badges and fake guns, everyone will agree that accessories make the the costume, as well as great photo ops and memorable nights.

Chapters Choose

Yes, this sounds like a weird idea but it’s actually one of the most enjoyable themes we’ve seen in a while. For a “chapters choose” exchange or mixer, fraternity brothers choose costumes for sorority sisters (and vice versa), and then the members randomly pick their costumes. To make this work, both chapters can decide on a theme beforehand (celebrities, professionals, etc.) or just set guidelines for what costumes they can choose (no strippers, hookers, etc.). As some members can be very picky, the best way to dole out the costumes is either randomly (drawing from a hat), or assigned by an executive member. Additionally, have both chapters add in a few extra costume options in case a member has a problem with whatever they draw. Finally, another option for the “chapters choose” theme is for the chapter executives to think of couples, and then give the male parts to the fraternity and the female parts to the sorority. That way, at the exchange or mixer, each fraternity brother and sorority sister will be looking for their other half. Examples of couples include doctor and nurse, police and inmate, adam and eve, and even ketchup and mustard (yes, the table condiments). This is a great option to get your chapters to mingle and socialize, and especially helpful for members who are less-social than others.

As we acknowledge that the “chapters choose” idea can be a bit confusing, here’s a quick example of how it works:

A fraternity and sorority decide to have a “chapters choose” mixer with the theme of professionals (this means any professional job or position). At meeting, the fraternity brothers spend 10 minutes picking costumes for the sorority such as secretary, doctor, police woman, and lawyer. In the same way, the sorority sisters pick costumes for the fraternity brothers such as construction worker, boxer, pimp, and lifeguard. The chapters exchange their costume ideas and the following week, each fraternity brother and sorority sister picks their costume idea out of a hat and arrives to the event as a secretary, boxer, lawyer, and pimp.

This post was generously provided by ChapterBoard.

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