<p>Some colleges don't have fraternities and sororities. Do frats have negative impact on college students?</p>
<p>I've always thought frats as group of guys gathering around to drink all night and hook up... is there any more meaning to frats?</p>
<p>well, the original purpose of fraternities and sororities was to create a bond between students, hence the sisterhood and brotherhood roots of the words. in many cases, these organizations provide support and comfort and work very hard to contribute to the community through humanitarian action or otherwise.
not to say that there aren't fraternities and sororities that only party, but it would be insulting to those meaningful organizations to generalize in that manner.</p>
<p>if you're particularly shy, or somewhat introverted, a frat can really help turn you into a more confident outgoing person. it really depends on what frat @ what school, and what kind of person you are. It can really be a whole lot of fun.</p>
<p>Morangotango is right.</p>
<p>That's not to say that there aren't chapters like the OP described at some places - even entire Greek Systems. But in general, there is a lot more to it than just parties.</p>
<p>For me, personally, joining my chapter was the best decision I could have made. I wouldn't be in medical school were it not for the structure of the chapter, and the encouragement, guidance and support I received from my brothers. I recently tallied it up and there have been about 76 guys who have graduated from my chapter from the time I was a freshman until this past May. Of that 76, by my best count, 39 are currently pursuing, or will likely be pursuing advanced degrees. That includes 8 MD's, 4 DDS, 14 JD's, 4 MBA's, 2 (maybe a third if he's been accepted) PhD's, 2 Master's of Architecture, 2 Advanced Practice Nursing, 1 Master's in Agricultural Engineering and 1 PharmD. And that's just the guys I've seen or talked to recently enough to know what they're up to. There are at least 4 other guys that I know who could be going on to earn advanced degrees in their chosen fields. Believe me, we had our fun, but if it was all just drinking, there is no way we'd have that amount of success getting into those programs.</p>
<p>Really, the way my experience was, being in a fraternity just enhanced my entire college experience. It kicked it up a notch.</p>
<p>You'll get mixed opinions on whether or not being involved in greek life is a good or bad thing. It depends on the school's culture and the individual chapter. The best advice is to keep an open mind and go check it out for yourself. I personally have found joining to be one of the best decisions of my life.</p>
<p>If you like your own gender, go ahead and rush. Personally, I don't like and cannot trust that many guys in one place at one time.</p>
<p>What the hell does that mean!?! You can't trust having 70 of your closest friends in one place?</p>
<p>I joined a sorority and depledged after a few weeks- not because of stress from pledging, but because I realized that I felt that this was truly not for me. </p>
<p>I mean, at first the sisterhood, having very close friends, and all the other stuff was very appealing, but later on I felt that I wasn't too comfortable with keeping such tight bonds with only a limited number of people. I am sure many people who are in a frat/sorority do have good friends outside the greek community, but it is true that you will spend a lot of time with your brothers or sisters. </p>
<p>I think it's a personal choice. I deeply regretted my decision for not thinking it over carefully when I received my bid (In retrospect, it was a rather sudden and emotional decision, and I did not really think it through all too well.) Also, many of my friends were extremely surprised when I told them I was going to join. (Apparently, in their eyes, I'm not sorority material ;) )</p>
<p>Many of the people I met were wonderful people, and I am still in contact with them on pretty friendly terms. But if you really want to commit to a Greek organization, I would advise thinking it over carefully-is it right for you?</p>
<p>See, but at least you tried it out. You went through recruitment and gave it a fair shake. There are many people who would be in the exact opposite situation as you - it is right for them, they would be perfect for a chapter, but never go through recruitment because they don't think they are sorority or fraternity "material" and end up missing out. I agree people need to make the right decision for themselves, but they also need exposure to what chapters have to offer in order to make that decision. Because you went through the process, I can completely respect your decision, but it bothers me when others dismiss it out of hand (or even further, call for its demise).</p>
<p>Call me jaded, but no one in the wide world has seventy friends. Do you know how hard it is to have seventy ACTUAL friends?</p>
<p>I guess it's easier when you're around them all the time, have similar interests, and are friendly?</p>
<p>I wouldn't call that friends. Using that logic, I could call everybody at my college my "friend". We're around each other all the time (we go to the same school), we have similar interests (getting a degree), and are friendly (well, most of them are friendly).</p>
<p>Bigred, from what I read and hear, just because you're in the "brotherhood" or "sisterhood" doesn't mean you actually like the girls or boys you're living with...</p>
<p>I am who I am, do not be so hard on yourself. I would join a greek communitiy just to see what it's like. I still have no clue. What people tell me really realyl really does not enlighten me at all.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I wouldn't call that friends. Using that logic, I could call everybody at my college my "friend". We're around each other all the time (we go to the same school), we have similar interests (getting a degree), and are friendly (well, most of them are friendly).
[/quote]
I didn't say that makes you friends, I said that makes it easier to become friends.</p>
<p>Personally, I don't really see the appeal unless you're looking to feel like you're part of an exclusive organization or you're looking to have a guaranteed place to party on the weekends. All the other benefits can be gotten through outside means as well. But to each his own.</p>
<p>I also never really liked the idea that you're supposed to automatically be best friends with all 70 or however many members there are, just because you all joined the same organization. That's a lot of people to have to like, and a lot of people that have to like you, as well. Even if it were 20 people, it's still a lot. There were about 20 people on my floor freshman year, and I didn't end up being friends with any of them, let alone all of them, just simply because we lived in the same place.</p>
<p>I think it's weird how my comment about friends was the one that picked up...</p>
<p>Anyways, I never said that it was automatic you were friends with someone in the chapter...believe me, the kid I hate most in this life (he could tell me the sky was blue and I'd argue with him about it), was a guy in my fraternity. Absolutely despise the kid. But part of the reason you join one chapter and not another is because of how the values of the guys or girls who are current members line up with your own values. It's not just a random assortment of people like a dorm floor. In my experience it's also a lot different than joining any other organization as well, because, your joining at a deeper level - not just career goals, or an interest in student government or whatever, you're joining because of the people. And yes, many of the benefits can be found in other sources, but a good fraternity or sorority chapter provides all those benefits in one place, but I digress.</p>
<p>And Jason, you are jaded. But of course how you define friend will play a large part in determining how many you have...I mean I could choose to say everyone on my Facebook friend list is technically my "friend" because I at least knew them long enough to get that far. Or I could narrow it down to people I'd be happy to run into at a bar or on the street, or all the people whose phone number I have, or people I'd go on a trip with, or people who I might ask to crash on their couch if I were passing through their town, or those that I would explicitly make plans to fly to see them if they moved away, or all the way down to only the people I'd have stand up for me at my wedding. That's a pretty wide spectrum, all the way from over 600 to about 7 for me.</p>
<p>Ew. I think I agree with BlahDeBlah. Something must be wrong.</p>
<p>Ok I saw this thread and thought I'd add my two sense. I'm a fraternity man at at Johns Hopkins and despite all the bad stereotypes and all the misinformation, it was by far one of the best decisions I've ever made. Forget all the other nonsense, and I certainly can't for every chapter, fraternity and school, but my closest friends and the people who stand by me no matter what when i really need them are my brothers. A brother goes into a fight knowing he's going to lose for one of his brothers. A brother puts his body infront of a gun for another. A brother leaves work to drive to another state to bring medicine to a brother in need. These are all things that have happened. Don't brush us off as drunken, female demeaning people. I'm a top student at a top school and i'm a proud member of a Fraternity</p>
<p>"the people who stand by me no matter what when i really need them are my brothers. A brother goes into a fight knowing he's going to lose for one of his brothers. A brother puts his body infront of a gun for another."</p>
<p>agreed.</p>
<p>Fraternities and sororities are superficial, and initiation is determined based on skin color, race, fame and wealth. You are being discriminated against if you don't follow or possess the norms of the white, heterosexual default culture. If you can't afford to pay dues, you can't even join a frat or a sorority. What kind of system is that? That's right. It's a discriminating, elitist system that aims to uphold the dichotomy of masculinity and femininity. </p>
<p>I know from a friend's experience that when she rushed, one of the sisters in a sorority was nosily checking the brands of the rushee's coats. Alpha Phi, a sorority at University of Virginia, for example, ranks the girls accordingly and awards them "points" for best hair, looks, legs, etc. What kind of sisterhood do they foster? A superficial and judgmental one indeed. </p>
<p>I'm not speaking of all fraternities and sororities, but I'm characterizing most of the social ones here.</p>