what is wrong with these students?
http://www.mypanhandle.com/story/d/story/warrior-beach-retreat-panama-city-beach-laketown/36101/aU70hNp3sUiRQCQl9iQ-GQ
College kids…whether in fraternities or not…always have and always will do stupid things from time to time. That said, it is hard for me to explain to my 16 year old that I was in a fraternity while in college. I assume these somewhat isolated bonehead things always happened and that media - traditional and social - are just better at capturing these moments today for all to see.
I think this just shows that all frats are bad and all students in fraternities are bad people. They don’t do anything for the community and don’t do any volunteer work. They all get terrible grades and don’t go on to be successful. All frats are like this.
It’s the herd mentality plus alcohol.
And fraternity is the perfect herd.
@Moonshot99 With all appropriate due respect, to call these somewhat isolated events, is a vast understatement–consider the following–http://www.realcleareducation.com/2015/04/08/30_frats_shut_down_in_last_month_across_us_30108.html
Ah yes, 30 fraternities were shut down last month. In a month where fraternities have been more actively targeted than any time ever.
This is either .5% of fraternities according to this link http://www.quora.com/How-many-individual-fraternity-sorority-houses-are-there-in-the-US or .25% of fraternities according to this link http://thefraternityadvisor.com/greek-life-statistics/
WIth new fraternities popping up every day, it’s really hard to not call this isolated.
Let me ask you something Gopher, if you were the head of franchising for say, Chipotle, and in the course of a month or so, 30 of your stores closed for specific reasons, would you call that isolated or systemic?
Now, again, if we all assume and accept that frats are merely private social organization meant to have a mutual and ancillary relationship with universities and colleges, then why are they the 6th most volatile risk management activity in the country–ahead of the transportation of toxic waste–does that not even seem remotely odd?
Now, you could say, well, colleges are inherently risky with young people and brand new experiences, if so, then I ask, with the 5000 or so chapters, why does a group like the fellowship of christian athletes, that has groups situated at most college campuses not also pose the same inherent risks?
But let’s not recognize the good things most fraternities do; that wouldn’t be as much fun (sarcasm)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/03/fraternities-doing-awesome-good-deeds_n_3857745.html 
To me, the flaw in your analogy is to assume that all fraternities are basically the same, just like a branded experience at a Chipotle. To me, the whole idea of national fraternities is laughable. To think that a “national” fraternity’s local chapters are close to being the same is from my experience not valid. For example, my chapter of a national fraternity did not haze pledges. I would not dare to say that every chapter of my national fraternity did not haze. Even at a state level, my experience was that there would be a wide variation in the mindsets, practices, views on life, whatever in each chapter. Even at the chapter level not everyone would be considered exactly alike. A broad generalization could be accurate for a majority but don’t assume it is applicable to all.
It was not meant as a broad generalization, but only to say systemic problems are real and present.
Yep basically this. All the bad fraternities are dying while the good fraternities are rising to the top. The good houses are succeeding and the bad ones are going away. Fraternities are evolving, getting better, and growing.
boolaHI, you’d have to change your example to Chipolte, Chik-fil-a, Chili’s, and all other ‘C’ chain restaurants, and then say 30 nationwide closed, but 45 are opening in September. All 30 closing are not from one fraternity but one here, one there. They don’t all close because of bad behavior. Some close because of no business, no one joining that house. The chapter I belonged to in college closed for a short time (I think 2 years) but now is the biggest house on campus. Things ebb and flow.
And btw, many chapters says as by way of institutional PR and comportment that there are no hazings and that they are dry. And every year, and this is for the last 40 years in a row, there has been a death related to both of these so called “prohibited activities”–again, that seems by most acceptable definitions, to be systemic.
This discussion wouldn’t be complete without a mention of where they got the alcohol, which leads us directly to sororities and their infamous coolers that are bedazzled and puff painted within an inch of their lives.
I would say you would find incidents like this at many college campuses across the nation. Let’s shut them all down! (the campuses)
@Trisherella re: Avatar. I’ve seen a Meth Lab before but that’s the first Meth Cat I’ve seen. 
The responsibilities of institutions versus individuals are not compatible, especially when these are at best optional entities.
Missouri Fraternity raises $132,000 in a weekend for cancer research:
http://www.komu.com/news/mu-fraternity-beats-own-national-record-by-raising-132-000/