Hi, I am from Latin America and will study in the US next year. I am in the process of researching universities and creating the list of univs I will apply to. One thing that I just don’t understand about many US universities is Greek life and its importance and influence on other students (especially southern Universities). What I have researched and learned about Greek life is good, their goals are mostly great for the community and students and they do offer a better social life, academic help and friends to their members. What I do not understand is how come they “rule” the social aspect and parties of many universities (as many students say in their reviews). I mean, Greek students are much less than 50% of the student body in most of US universities, so how come they are the ones who control the social life of the institution, they are less than non-greeks! It pisses me off when I read comments like “you don’t have fun if you are Non-greek” “the only way to party is going greek” “Frats and sororities are the ones who do all of the partying” etc etc… what the heck? Why students feel so dominated by greeks and let them control all (or most) of the social life at an university? If non-greeks are majority, why they don’t throw more house parties or events than greeks do? 70% of the student body is A LOT to plan and throw amazing parties! Do americans know how to have fun independently, or they need some organization like fraternities to throw parties? I don’t get how greeks have so much power over the entire student body… I know many of them are rich and have great houses, but student dorms and 70% of the student body is enough space and money to throw great parties… I know this varies between universities and Greek life is not the same in all of them, but this is my impression from what I have read in many websites, especially southern US universities…
The reason is because the Greek organizations are exactly that: organizations. They are groups of people who can pool funding, have access to large spaces, and manpower (work the door, serve the drinks, manage the music, manage the party itself, set up, clean up). The kinds of parties that make a real footprint/impression on the campus take a lot of money, time and space. It’s extremely difficult for an individual or two or an apartment of 3-4 people to do this - and even more difficult to do this on a regular basis. A greek organization, which at a southern school could easily be 100 people and have control of an entire building, can do this on a regular basis much more easily.
I’m about to be a freshman at UT, and I will definitely be rushing. The truth of the matter is when you’re confident and charismatic, things tend to work out well for you. Frat guys understand one thing very, very well: mentality is everything. There’s a reason these guys are in the limelight. Yes, they’re douchebags and they all dress alike. But for the same reason a sports team puts on a uniform; it signifies a collective effort to stand behind something bigger than one’s self. A fraternity is a well oiled machine, primed for those lucky enough to be in it to capitalize on a perpetual cycle of ambition and success. The many traditions, especially in the south, are still around because they work. Period. And even if people dislike all of the things that fraternities stereo-typically stand for, frat bros genuinely love their lives and there’s something to be said for that in a world where everyone is faced with their own pursuit of happiness.
I’m amongst the most vocal pro-greek voices on this forum and even I know that’s definitely not a broadly applicable statement. In fact most houses, even the really successful ones, will cycle through periods of complete and utter ineptitude. The better houses just cycle through those periods less often and get out of them more quickly.
Maybe wait until you’ve actually been a part of a greek house to comment on what it’s like.
Oh, you mean like: “There will never be a n_____ SAE”? Traditions are not inherently valuable or successful regardless of how long they last. Any good leader (what good houses produce) knows that.
Strength in numbers, ironically. A one hundred person fraternity with pooled social dues and sorority connections can throw a way better event than a bunch of independents. Don’t underestimate how much money goes toward alcohol and other party-related expenses. Moreover, Greeks automatically have the space by nature of their chapter houses. I can’t really see someone throwing a typical frat party in the university student union…
That, and a lot of non-Greeks don’t really want to party. By party, I mean getting significantly drunk, not just having a couple beers in a dorm room. (Yes, I know I’m generalizing.)
Also, if you are getting most of your information from cultural depictions of university life, you may be overestimating or exaggerating how much Greek life dominates university life, especially in the South. I went to a small Southern college where Greek life was really important to the people who went Greek but by no means dominated the social scene. I also know of people who perceived that Greek life dominated Southern university life because they had a difficult time making friends or breaking into the scene. I also have friends who went to universities that were stereotypically “dominated” by Greek life and said that wasn’t their experience at all.
Also, often fraternities and sororities might play a huge role in on-campus social life, because they are the only ones with social spaces on or near campus. But non-affiliated students may find or make most of their fun off-campus or in smaller venues.