The Legend of the Frat King
- Informant Information: Current member of the class of 2018 at Dartmouth and an active member in his fraternity.
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: South Africa
- Collected information: Every year, this house holds what is known as the “Basement Olympics,” where drinking competitions are completed by all willing members. The brothers competing and those watching will often chant “Oh, frat king does it faster” at one another during the course of the games. This is referring to the legend of a light weight rower who is known for his ability to drink excessive amounts of alcohol quickly, and supposedly he holds the records for every one of the drinking events.
- Social / Cultural Context
- This story is passed down through the generations of the house using oral communication.
- It is used in a joking manner to bring together the brothers in the context of every day life, but it is primarily used in settings similar to the “Basement Olympics” or during the games themselves.
- Informant’s comments: This legend was most likely developed as an “anti-story” about a brother. There is a known alumni brother from the class of 1993 who recalled the tale, so it is over thirteen years old at least.
- Collector’s comments: The informant would not release any details on the type of drinking events that are done during the “Basement Olympics”, nor did he know any other details about the frat king/whether he really existed.
- Similar tradition was reported in an interview with a member of the 2017 class at Moravian College in Pennsylvania, except it did not include the frat king. Also, contrastingly, the event was open to potential brothers and sorority members and did not have the same clandestine nature as the “Basement Olympics”. The same trend can be seen at Fairfield University for the year 2016 (as shown in the video below), but they are also devoid of the legend of the Frat King.
- The Dartmouth Interviewee stated that the folklore and traditions associated with the house were taken seriously, but that “they don’t shape what we do, they shape how we do it” and “they enhance the experiences (of the house)”.