<p>ephesus- a couple of thoughts. How your S will react to eating clubs depends a lot on his personality. My d is a senior at Princeton and is not a greek/bicker club kind of person. Even though she was a legacy at a very selective bicker club she knew that club wasn't for her. She is not a big drinker and cares very little about proving her self worth by what club she gets into. She joined a sign in club with a bunch of her friends and it has been great for her. She is an officer this year and has made a lot of close friends. I think the worst part about bicker is not the stuff you have to do, it is the simple fact that lots of people don't get into their top bicker club and that can be very hurtful. And although I don't necessarily think the greek system is growing (there is one less sorority now than four years ago) I think their main role is as a funnel to particular bicker clubs.
Bottom line, if your s needs to be part of the very "in" crowd (as defined by that crowd) he may be disappointed. If not, the eating clubs themselves won't bother him at all. If he wants a club he can join a sign in club with his friends or just be independent.</p>
<p>the stuff i have read and heard from pton students about bicker is very tame compared to a lot of fraternities, including some of the more serious ones at other ivies (at dartmouth, cornell, yale and penn in particular). i guess the way negatives of bicker arent necessarily the hazing but the pyschological effects of not getting in, but it all seems pretty thin to me.</p>
<p>lets be realistic about the size of the greek population at pton - there are 3 soroities and around 7 frats... overall they have a combined population of around 90 people a year... </p>
<p>yes they throw parties, just like every other organizations on campus, from a capella groups to sport teams...</p>
<p>they in no way dictate campus social life, and instead provide a further outlet for a few kids who are looking for their own community to be part of...</p>
<p>the image of a frat boy at pton is NOT the same as one at any other school, such as UPenn or any UC school where they are very much prominent in the social scene. most sports teams do not join a frat/sorority, but rather bond within their own team. from the slightly nerdy kid in your chemistry class, to the drama girl or orchestra boy, all could be in the greek system.</p>
<p>I'm rico06 dad so don't flame him. My D goes to Pton, she is a soph. In the beginning what mattered most to her was the group of friends she made. A few of them, but not all, joined a sorority. The group remained intact. All of them expressed an interest in Ivy and Cottage, because its what most people know about. Now they have all bickered. Even though some say you pick an eating club with a group of friends, in my daughters group they picked eating clubs based on where they felt comfortable. My D picked Cottage because it had "the best food" and was the "most southern". Bickering was "fun and kind of silly". Some of her friends picked other eating clubs, but they really didn't seem to be too focused on that. The biggest source of stress seemed to be wether to bicker at your significant others eating club, as it could get awkward if you broke up.
I myself was curious about the myths of the clubs so I had my daughter show me around. It is a very pretty "frat row", with its accent on beer and dancing, but a far cry from the world of eating clubs described by F Scott Fitzgerald in "This side of Paradise".</p>
<p>Having known a ton of people who bickered (including those who got hosed), nearly all of them found it to be an enjoyable experience. Yes, stuff happens, but it's all overemphasized. The majority of kids have positive experiences because bicker is highly regulated by the ICC and is meant to be about icebreaking and getting to know members, not about hazing.</p>
<p>BTW, I'm not even in a club, so there's no propagandizing of what I've seen and heard.</p>