For me, Greek life really isn’t for me. I’d rather just do my own thing. But, I wanted to hear from you:
IMO social fraternities are not worth it.
If you say Greek Life “isn’t for you” then don’t look into joining. As with most social outlets Greek Life works well for some people and not for others. If you want to read more you can search CC – there are many threads on the topic of Greek Life.
If you are into binge drinking and the risk of death then fraternities are worth it I guess.
^Also creeping on girls
sigh I guess this is one of those topics that will never die on here.
I agree with @iwannabe_Brown . I considered but decided not to pursue pledging since I was on scholarship and wanted to maintain my GPA. I had a great time in college and a very active social life, including attending Greek life parties and events. My husband pledged and was active on through to the grad chapter. We both have friend in a variety of Greek organizations and my husband’s fraternity members came to support him and our family when his mother died and through other heart aches, as we have done for them. They didn’t have to do that, but the bond was strong over the years.
I’ve always felt that with Greek life (as with a lot of things), what you get out of it depends on what you put in. Not monetarily, but in terms of time, energy, and relationship building. The friendships are not automatic in Greek life any more than they are in other organizations. I was in a sorority in college. It was a meh kind of experience. Not because of the other people in the sorority but because of me. I was more focused on my boyfriend and my departmental relationships, so I didn’t really get all that involved with my chapter. My daughter, on the other, has been more involved with her sorority and it’s been a more important part of her college experience. She’s developing the kind of relationships that I didn’t because she’s put effort into them.
Both my husband and I got a lot out of being Greeks. We still travel with and hang out with my husband’s fraternity brothers going to his alma mater’s football games. I haven’t kept in touch much with my sorority sisters but it was a positive experience for me while in college.
I think it is worth it. I just had a 40th reunion with my sorority sisters and I was amazed at how much these women had accomplished. Many were became engineers at a time when there weren’t all that many women in engineering. I enjoy being in the alum group and doing public service work with women 22-85 years old. I could arrange to do volunteer work on my own, but I wouldn’t.
People say ‘oh, you can just keep in touch with dorm roommates,’ but do you? Can you send an email to 50 old dormmates and have 40 show up for a reunion?
My father just spent the weekend with his frat brothers. They are 82-85 years old and three of them live in the same town (retirement) and golf together once a week. They have spent a lifetime raising their kids together, vacationing together, working on each other’s houses and yards and patios.
While many people have enjoyed their Greek experience, many others have suffered greatly because of it.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/03/the-dark-power-of-fraternities/357580/
The people who enjoyed their Greek experience, as employers will favor you, no doubt.
Those who see the Greek experience as foolhardy and stupid, will look at you as if you’re a little more stupid for having taken part in it.
Exactly!
This is why you can’t just list your membership and expect it to mean anything. You have to have accomplished things so that your achievements stand for themselves.
@iwannabe_Brown – having a Frat on your resume will always mean that you joined a Frat.
Frats are associated with some of the world’s stupidest behavior–deathly behavior, behavior that maims its members and member wannabes. Behavior that results in misogyny and sexual assault. Behavior that sends people to jail. And if they don’t go to jail, much of it is illegal anyway, they just didn’t get caught.
No amount of other accomplishments helps at least this writer from thinking: what an idiot to have CHOSEN, nay COMPETED to join through acts of humiliation, such a risky group of people that you’re forced to be friends with for the rest of your college career? And you have to pay for that experience too? Your being in a frat tells he that on average you make poor decisions and are not to be trusted because of that. Your being in a frat tells me that you cave too easily to the group-think of others and will do so though it puts others and yourself in danger.
waits for someone to bring up the fact that Frat members have higher GPAs – Is that because frats have old exams on file? I’ve heard that some do. Even if the grades were hard won like for other students, you’re still left with the aura around you of poor decision making, like the scent of a carpet caked with years of spilled beers and vomit.
waits for someone to talk about all of the community service frats are supposed to do
Does that make up in any way for the several people – frat members – who are maimed and killed each year? Do you really need to join a frat to do community service? What does that say about your character? There are many other ways ot make friends who are interested in doing community service.
Post-college, the benefit continues by being active in the grad chapter and networking there. I have seen many job and small business connections flow through my husbands fraternity.
lol some of these replies
Once again I am truly baffled by the huge amount of energy some put into their hatred of the greek system (ie, “buying friends”, you’re an “idiot” who makes “poor decisions” and so on, ad nauseum).
@Dustyfeathers Everyone gets that you think poorly of anyone who gets involved with any greek fraternity anywhere, at any time. It’s clear that you feel that by not joining one, you’ve displayed superior judgement and character and that your community service is somehow better than any performed by anyone as part of a sorority or fraternity.
My only question is; why is it so important to denigrate people who choose to participate in greek life? I’ve never seen anyone who is in a fraternity or sorority come on this forum to talk about what losers non-greeks must be, but boy some who aren’t a part of greek life are really consumed by their resentment. It’s very curious.
Clearly your mind is firmly closed on this topic so it would be a total waste of time to offer counter-arguments but it seems very odd to consider greek membership alone as a basis for deciding that a person is a poor decision maker, a masochist and probably a criminal. I really hope you aren’t in a position with any hiring responsibility.
@Dustyfeathers Not all frats and sororities are bad. Some are good, professional organizations. Even though that some deaths can occur, it’s due to the fact that some people take the hazing too far, which hazing is wrong in the first place. The frat party scene is just how it is. They make you pay so the house stays there. The same goes for non-frat house parties. And you can tell if a house is trying to save money: they will still make you pay no matter what, but they have BYOB parties instead so they don’t have to buy drinks and make kegs for everyone. But, with me not being apart of a frat, I can tell you this: We don’t know what’s going on unless we’re apart of it. We only hear what happens after the fact.
Really great article which I think explains stuff pretty well:
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-10-06/the-fraternity-paradox-lower-gpa-higher-incomes
@Dustyfeathers thankfully the residency program directors at the top hospitals in the country are not as close minded as you as to think that all chapters are created equal. In fact at my interview the other day the program director said “I often think of frats as having lots of problems but you really accomplished a lot and did a lot of good work.” Keep in mind he is referring to stuff from 2007-2009.