text and images by Nicholas A. Ziegler, Editor-in-Chief

We often use the word “brother.” We say it during recruitment events: “This chapter is all about the brotherhood.” We say it during our Ritual ceremonies: “Blessed are the ties which bind our hearts in brotherly love.” We say it at parties, during chapter meetings and in everyday conversation. Without brotherhood, this great organization would not exist. At its core, however, that word implies a shared connection that goes deeper than mere friendship. It means a familial bond, one that goes through the ups and downs of relationships. We call the men who initiated us brother. We call the men who came before us, whether from Seattle or South Carolina, our brothers. We say that the years of men who will come after us will become our future brothers.

But for the Monnet family, that familial connection of brotherhood is more than just a word and is more than just the Fraternity. In that family, four generations of men each experienced what Sigma Alpha Epsilon had to offer, and each had those experiences 30 years apart. To celebrate the bonds of blood and Fraternity, three of the living members — Charles, Bob and Matt, in descending order of age — shared their stories with The Record.

The Tradition Begins

In 1950, Charles Monnet began a family tradition by pledging the Oklahoma Kappa chapter at the University of Oklahoma. His father had been a member of the same chapter, and being a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon was something that held meaning for the young Charles. “My dad always said college life will be the most fun you will have your entire life,” he says. “It was certainly was.”

During the middle of the 20th century, the Fraternity landscape had its differences from the scene on college campuses today. “We lived in the house as pledges,” he says, “and with 80 members, the house was different to the point where I would not recognize it today.” But there was a key similarity to today’s recruitment scene: Legacies were something to be sought out and celebrated, and the men of the active chapter knew Charles, whose father was an Oklahoma Kappa man, was a student they wanted as a part of their group. So it was only natural that, when it was time Charles’ initiation, there was going to be a celebration. “It was an emotional day for me,” he says. “When the time came, my father went up with other fathers to put my badge on.” In that simple act, the elder Monnet began a tradition that the family would be continuing nearly 60 years later.

After telling us all about his pledgeship and experience with the chapter, however, Charles ultimately comes clean. “It wasn’t just my father,” he says. “His brother and some of his cousins were Sig Alphs. I didn’t have much of a choice.”

After three years in the chapter house, Charles found life taking him elsewhere in the spring of 1952. He enrolled in medical school, the first step on the way to a career as an orthopedic surgeon. The continuing saga of the Monnet family would be quiet until 1974, when it was time for the next member to join.

The Third and Fourth Generations

Bob Monnet also didn’t have many options when it came time for him to embark on the college journey. “I made sure the men knew my son was going to be there,” Charles says. “They rushed him hard.” But once that choice was made, Bob was sold.

“You remember your friends from your pledge class,” Bob says. “You learned about each other, but ironically it helped you personally. The brothers at the time told me we would all be friends for life. That turned out to be true.”

Age and time bring the benefits of hindsight, of knowing more now than you did then. Bob knows that, had he not chosen to follow in his father’s and his grandfather’s footsteps, his life would have been much different. “The Fraternity is an integral part of college life,” he says, “and at Oklahoma, I think the ΣAEs are a mainstay.” The organization provides a framework for direction, a structure that kids coming right out of high school would not have otherwise had. And for those reasons, Bob is grateful for the opportunities he had through SAE. “One of my roommates in the house was my best man,” he says, “and he’s now the mayor of Midland, Texas.”

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