Fraternities still beneficial?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Yes it is worth it Harry, and if you want more statistically significant statistics look no further because I’ve got them for ya:</p>

<p>Of the nation’s 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity men.</p>

<p>85% of the Fortune 500 executives belong to a fraternity.</p>

<p>40 of 47 U.S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were fraternity men.</p>

<p>76% of all Congressmen and Senators belong to a fraternity.</p>

<p>Every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825 have been members of a fraternity.</p>

<p>63% of the U.S. President’s Cabinet members since 1900 have been Greek.</p>

<p>A National Conference report shows a high percentage of the 4,000 NIC fraternity chapters are above the All-Men’s scholastic average on their respective campuses.</p>

<p>A U.S. Government study shows that over 70% of all those who join a fraternity/sororitiy graduate, while under 50% of all non-fraternity/sorority persons graduate.</p>

<p>Over 85% of the student leaders on some 730 campuses are involved in the Greek community.</p>

<p>First Female Senator was Greek.</p>

<p>First Female Astronaut was Greek.</p>

<p>All of the Apollo 11 Astronauts are Greek.</p>

<p>The Greek system is the largest network of volunteers in the US, with members donating over 10 million hours of volunteer service each year.</p>

<p>71% of those listed in “Who’s Who in America” belong to a fraternity.</p>

<p>As Alumni, Greeks give approximately 75% of all money donated to universities.</p>

<p>2% of the nation’s population is Greek.</p>

<p>And we have more fun.</p>

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<p>People who just don’t get it won’t ever get it. It’s not about paying for friends, connections, or raising the GPA. It’s really about this concept called “brotherhood,” part of which consist of both social and academic activities, and in the meantime, like everything else in life, require money to push forward.</p>

<p>I formed some of my closest friendships in my fraternity. They were people that were there when I needed them, and I’ll be there for them when they need me. They’ve coached me on how to be a better person in several aspects, and I’ve done likewise to them in other aspects. Also, a large portion of the skills that allow me to do my current job, I learned through my experience in my fraternity.</p>

<p>Did I directly benefit in any of the ways that are typically attributed to fraternities? No. My current job came from one of my non-fraternity friends, and I didn’t really participate in my chapter’s study nights. However, all of that is irrelevant in the big scheme of things. What I got was something much more valuable: personal relationships.</p>

<p>Anyone who fails to understand the value of that will never truly understand the value of Greek Life.</p>

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<p>maizeandblue21: Thanks, but you are talking about people who were in college one, two, or three generations ago and don’t cite your sources.</p>

<p>excelblue: That’s great insight. Thanks. I especially like the “brotherhood” part. Note that some people say brotherhood isn’t necessary (such as the majority of people who, not ever being Greek, had a great college experience and lead successful lives).</p>

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<p>I really, REALLY think (as someone who used to be Greek but no longer is) that it is hard to explain the benefits of being Greek to someone who is against the whole thing. You can’t really explain it to people who aren’t in it. If it doesn’t appeal to you, that’s fine. It didn’t appeal to me for various reasons (though mine are probably different than the average person’s). Not everyone needs that sense of brotherhood or sisterhood, and I think there are lots of problems with the Greek systems at most schools. But it’s great for lots of people and it does go beyond just paying for friends.</p>

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<p>

So yes, people in Greek life for the past three generations have been significantly more successful as a whole than people not in greek life. And you can expect that to continue. The same values are stressed, the same skills are acquired, and society still looks for the same things in its leaders. There’s no reason to think that there will now be a sudden drop off in fraternity men being successful in life.</p>

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<p>I guess I forgot about this thread since HarryJones responded and I never did. I never tried to imply that being greek means you’ll have a higher GPA, but there are plenty of people who will try to imply that being greek=lower GPA, which is clearly false. I guarantee HarryJones spent at least $600 a semester on stuff that didn’t improve his GPA, and that’s no different than dues which typically cover things like housing (e.g. rent, cleaning supplies), food (some houses even have chefs) and any social activities (both party related and completely dry activities). At $600 a semester, it was probably more for cleaning supplies and social stuff.</p>

<p>excelblue, well said, i’d also add that you learn more about yourself and interacting with and managing groups than most other activities teach you because you could argue the group is in session 24 hours a day unlike anything else.</p>

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<p>What does one necessarily do in a frat? I would like frats that actually do relevant community service projects and etc. And how frequently does this occur? Once a month? Once a semester?</p>

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<p>Every chapter is different. Ask them during rush.</p>

<p>For example, my fraternity leans very heavily on the geeky side. We play a lot of Super Smash Bros., do community service approximately once per month to total ~20hr/semester. We workout together, study together, and take trips together. We also throw the occasional party, which, to be honest, doesn’t usually turn out that great (remember the geeky part?).</p>

<p>However, it isn’t exactly representative of a typical fraternity.</p>

<p>Asking what one does in a fraternity is akin to asking what a HYPMS student does. There are some commonalities, but they don’t apply across the board. Also, the range of answers is just too broad.</p>

<p>This is precisely why fraternities aren’t clubs: it’s really a lifestyle more than anything else.</p>

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<p>yeah, when you start to get into any of the more “day to day” activities of a greek organization, it’s going to be impossible to generalize. For example, in contrast to excel blue, we only did one community service day a semester, and instead we focused more on fundraising, averaging roughly $25k to charity a year the last few years.</p>