<p>This is the type of argument that is never going to be solved but I'm going to give me 2 cents about the positive and negatives i see about greek life (I am a fraternity member by the way).</p>
<p>Positives: </p>
<p>-It provides you with a great group of friends. Also, dont take this to mean that your buying your friends. During rush and pledge period you really get to know the guys. Rush allows you to meet the people in the house and see which house fits you the best. Pledge period allows you to really see if the situation is right for you.</p>
<p>-It provides a broad network of connections that you can in no other way get from college. Now thats not to say you cant get connections in other ways, but not connections that are as broad and as strong and through greek life. For example. the fraternity that im in has over 120 chapters nationwide. Now i'm not gonna do the math but thats alot of alumni. And trust me becasue i have already gotten emails with job oportunites that if someone sees that you have a fraternity bond it will get you an interview or a leg up over another person. </p>
<p>-Leadership oportunites- where else can you be a treasurer of an organization or a president that has budgets of $20-30 thousand dollars a semester. Looks good on your resume.</p>
<p>-Community Service- I know my chapter raises upwards of $10,000 or so a year.</p>
<p>-Discipline- this might be obscure for some to see, but when your in an organization like a fraternity your actions effect the organizations reputation as a whole and your brothers will get on your case about that</p>
<p>-Fun- Don't forget about the great parties</p>
<p>I'm sick of typing so maybe i'll do some negatives and think of some other positives later</p>
<p>Oh and you have to realize that at most schools (i know its true at mine) the all greek avg GPA is higher than the campus AVG GPA...so greeks do care about school</p>
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I think a lot of people have a problem with greek life because there are so many negative things about it. Hazing is still a problem at many schools and all the attention its been attracting in the news lately makes greeks look stupid because why would anyone do dumb/gross things like that? obviously not all frats/sororities do this anymore but its probably what the greek system is best known for. secondly many people involved in it have an elitist attitude. proton saying "i think people who knock it are just jealous" just shows the stereotypical ditzy sorority girl with a superiority complex, i'm sure you'll make a great sorority sister. also its funny that most sorority's mission statements are about doing community service but most will only go out and do service once a year. sure there's the philanthropy with throwing parties to raise money but really most consider that another excuse to party and get drunk. some individuals in the system might be really into community service but most greek organizations as a whole are not. also you seem to be convinced that if someone actually knew what greek life was like, they would love it. that's definitely not true. I have friends in many different frats and sororities at different schools, i've hung out at sororities with the sisters, and gone to parties and i'm still unimpressed. I didn't really care one way or the other before but after understanding what they're all about I can see they're really lame. people can join other clubs because of a common interest or talent, but joining a sorority is just being part of a social cliche, trying to fit in and being encouraged to conform.
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<p>you sound jealous of your school's sororities and how much fun they are having</p>
<p>haha not at all. friends have encouraged me to join their sororities and honestly, with my social status I could easily get in but I choose not to. maybe its hard for you to grasp that many people turn down greek life but I did because I have a lot of better things to do to have fun.</p>
<p>I always found this accusation from fellow students to be simply a red herring, and in fact hypocritical. After all the process of rush is very similar to the process of finding a college for oneself. Colleges are trying to impress candidates as much as the candidate himself. Both will eventually have the option to choose or turn down each other. Here's the kicker. A student doesn't need to move out of his or her own home state to go to college. In fact, it would be cheaper if a student simply stays at home and commutes to a good state school or community college; however, many students want the opportunity to meet and "socialize" with their peers on a college campus away from home. A built in social life and instant friends come with dorm life, wouldn't you say? However, is it ego that takes many students out of their homes and away from mom and dad...most likely, they don't want to be under mom and dad's watchful eye anymore. This costs more money. I could argue that this is an instance of buying friends if you want to be consistent with your argument.</p>