<p>My son, who is a sophomore, and has been watching her older sister select colleges, asked me to pose this question. If he can be accepted at Dartmouth, what is involved in the fraterniy rush? How long is the rush period? Will he be physically hurt - is physical hazing still being done in secret? Will he be forced to dring a lot of alcohol? Can a student rush without imbibing too much alcohol?</p>
<p>no frat rushing til second year at dartmouth......my s 08 sigep and no hazing</p>
<p>TheGFG whose son is a '10 posted the following
[quote]
I just wanted to express how grateful I am that my son was able to find a fraternity full of decent young men who have accepted him despite the fact that he doesn't drink. In fact, they are supposedly allowing him to pledge alcohol-free. Frankly, I never thought I'd see that.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>My D is a junior at Dartmouth and does not say very many positives about the frats. My S is trying to decide between Brown anbd Dartmouth currently and she is directing him to Brown for this reason. Can anyone else comment on this?</p>
<p>Frats are a big part of the Dartmouth scene. There are a number of non-frat related groups that one can find that can serve as your primary "circle" throughout college, but it's a lot easier if you are in a frat. The administration has claimed to want to change this for years, but they are so epically, massively, cosmically incompetent that they haven't come up with a single constructive idea despite ten years of trying. Like, if college administrations were parts of space, Dartmouth's would be the gigantic black hole in the center of the Milky Way. Frankly, their incompetence is as much as, if not more of, a problem than the pernicious elements of the fraternity culture. Ultimately, I wouldn't let the presence of the frats be a deciding factor in choosing whether or not to attend Dartmouth because it's not that hard to find a frat with a decent group of guys that'll become your best friends (as long as you search a little bit), but if your son is the kind of person that knows right off the bat that he doesn't want to be in a fraternity, I would think long and hard about coming to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Xanatos, that's not been my son's experience.</p>
<p>Good for your son.</p>
<p>Viewer, I am also a Dartmouth 09, and many of my close male friends are not in fraternities. I don't think any of them regret their decisions not to rush, and they love Dartmouth just the same, and have a great time here. So do not think that Xanatos's experience is exactly the one your son would have. I hope he is planning on visiting -- if he does, PM me, and I would be happy to introduce him to some of my friends who might be able to show him the less-frat-y side of Dartmouth.</p>
<p>ETA - although, I suppose having a child here already, you don't need any help from me :)</p>
<p>Just for the record, I was/am in a fraternity.</p>
<p>Xanatos, I'm in a fraternity and completely agree.</p>
<p>i will be going to dartmouth in the fall. eventually i would like to rush a fraternity, but i’ve heard stories about the hazing is, especially in regards to alcohol. do you have to partake in drinking?</p>
<p>As my S said, his fraternity likes their pledges. They don’t want to hurt them.</p>
<p>There is “hazing”, but of the bonding fun variety rather than the dangerous or demeaning variety. No he won’t be hurt, no he won’t be on the verge of death or physically harmed. I believe the expression is “the most fun I only want to have once” to describe pledge term. Rush is like 2 days for guys, because its more dependant on having hung out at a house and knowing the brothers and fitting in with them and having them know you, and then pledge term is until the end of the term in which a guy rushes, usually sophomore fall. Only one of my close guy friends is unaffiliated, although I have a number of other unaffiliated social friends. Of my many affiliated friends, some drink, some don’t, all have made amazing friendships in their house and really enjoy being affiliated. I know there are unhappy students and the system isn’t perfect, but I think the majority of affiliated students have a net positive experience. Oh, and a guy can absolutely rush dry, and even if they rush “wet” they’re not going to be drinking to the point of danger.</p>
<p>I’d say Dartmouth’s greek system is so different from most places that it really is only something that can be experienced…I cannot stress the importance of a visit enough.</p>
<p>I had my son watch “Animal House” last night to perpare himself for Dartmouth as a '14. </p>
<p>He knew I was kidding, and that the movie was based loosely on Dartmouth in the '60s, but he said he would figure it out once he got there. I am not worried.</p>
<p>is it frowned upon if a person does rush dry, even in the most popular frats? also, my parents are worried that my grades will tank during pledge term. how busy is pledge term?</p>
<p>“Most popular” frats? Among whom?</p>
<p>A little off topic, but some local low-tier universities here (not big ones, and not in America) have hazing to the point that people get hospitalized, get drunk and violated, get cut with knives, get burnt with chemicals, has to eat totally inappropriate stuff, etc. </p>
<p>It’s totally horrible when, come late summer, almost every year there’s a news report about freshman casualties at student-organized orientation that it’s totally scary. Luckily the government has a serious campaign going on about this, however I still doubt the trouble goes away permanently. Last year there was a group of freshmen were forced by seniors to apply some kind of paint on their back and then it was ignited, burning their backside, totally horrendous and inhumane.</p>
<p>I guess none of these things happen in America?</p>
<p>Well, none of them happens at Dartmouth, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>I think it’s a very fair question to want to know if a person who doesn’t drink at all will be welcome at any, some, or all of the frats. A secondary question would be whether a person who doesn’t drink at all would be happy at those frats.</p>
<p>'10 son loves everything about his dartmouth experience. he does say it can be a tough environment–everyone works hard and plays hard.</p>
<p>there seems to be a closeness amongst the kids there that isn’t often duplicated. maybe it’s the remote location, maybe it’s the traditions, maybe it’s the history, but they are one close group of students. drinking or non-drinking all included!</p>