<p>Dude, I went rushing all of last week...got to see the houses, meet the people, what a hoax/joke! Not only were they all about show and tell, but they limit themselves to their organization. AND yes, the norm is true, you DO in fact "pay for your friends" when joining a stupid greek club, because that's how you meet them...through purchase!<br>
All the money you spend goes directly to the alcohol as well. And can we say arrogant, unapproachable, and intimidating people? That's the rhythm I got from them when checking out their houses. They pride themselves in their stupid clubs, yet fail to realize the true potentiality of college life by being open and broad-minded. Save yourself the expense of fraternities. The friendships you make are not even genuine, which is what I got from most people - they are only BASED on your PURCHASE, so their "receipt" is with you for your later years...but remember, the only way you got to meet such stupid people was through purchase.
-Proud to be indepedent!</p>
<p>lmao...........</p>
<p>I agree. I always thought of frats as being very assimilating. It seems like these frats don't let you keep your identity. What's the need to join a frat? I can make friends without wearing Greek letters on my chest.</p>
<p>I think it would be hard to make broad-based judgements accurately without actually having been a member of a frat. Not having joined a frat myself, I can't make a judgement either.</p>
<p>WHOA! The stereotypes are definitely NOT true. Joining a fraternity is so much more than drinking and partying. You will form bonds of friendship and brotherhood unparalleled by anything else. The friendships you form are geniune. I would die for my brothers. It is definitely not true that fraternities try to assimilate you and take away your identity. They want you to become part of the house, but in many houses you will find political, socioeconomic, and racial diversity. Also, it does not limit your involvment in campus activities. In my house we have student government officers, varsity athletes, and many more. I am a competitive triathlete and I'm on the club cycling team. I also play in an orchestra on campus. Paying for your friends is most definitely faulty reasoning. I guarentee you will have to pay some kind of memebership fee in any club you join around campus if it requires more funding than what the university supplies. It's true some money goes toward alcohol and partying (that's what we do haha), but other funds are required for national membership, house improvement, philanthropic events (yes we do it), and things like formals. The most successful and powerful people ever to grace this country's presence were in fraternities. For example, my fraternity has produced 6 United States presidents, JP Morgan, William Randolph Hearst, Howard Heinz, George Steinbrenner, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Cole Porter, Robert Peary, and many other influential people (our alumni list is probably the best out of all the houses though). Being in a fraternity also can make the campus alot more hospitable, especially if you go to a large school. From intramural teams to Greek Week to serenading sororities, Greek Life is definitely worth it. Speaking of sororities...it's A LOT easier to meet girls if you are in a fraternity. yes some of them are bit**es, but most of my friends in sororites are amaizng people. Also, wearing your letters does attract some degree of attention... Anyway, I believe there is no reason why any college man should not join a fraternity...all houses are differnet, and I can guarentee that you can find one in which you will feel comfortable.</p>
<p>I never found fraternities appealing even when going to different frat parties.</p>
<p>i agree with Nirvanaregeatm.</p>
<p>I don't. I know of several people who were in frats and even told me to avoid them at all costs (one guy even made a presentation about their stupidity during class!). He said they don't help you find yourself as a true individual, and that they drain you away during college (he was being serious here). I guess it all depends on the person, but if you like being independent, and want to figure stuff out on your own (like me), and don't want your $$ going straight to alcohol when joining, then you should avoid it. He even stated that he wondered "how his original college life" would have been had he not "bought" his experience and rather let it live freely like high school. I am going to stick with that analogy and live for myself - no one or nothing is going to pinpoint me at some direction.</p>
<p>Rofl, sorostitutes</p>
<p>Of course not EVERYONE will enjoy fraternity life, which is unfortunate, but you get out of it basically what you put in. In my house, we embrace uniqueness and diversity AND I have yet to see any of my Greek friends have their individuality drained. You can still be unique, independent, and figure things out for yourself and subsequnetly be in a fraternity. No one is going to tell you what to do with your life or these are the way things are and they can't change. In fact, I think that during pledge term when you are pushed to your physical and mental limits, you do grow stronger. I know for a fact I did. Also, maybe your friend didn't find the right fit and just joined the first house that gave him the bid. At least at Michigan the Greek system is designed so that you have ample opportunities to find the right house for you. Of course we have one or two of FRAT DRINK PARTY HAZE houses, but most are actually respectable inistutions. I cannot think of any other experience on the college campus where after one semester of pledging, you will have forged lifelong bonds of friendship and brotherhood with other people. I am fairly independent as I'm sure you are baller, but knowing that all 70 of my brothers are there for me whenever I need them and that I would do anything for them is certainly favorable. This experience is again unlike any other.</p>
<p>Oh no . . . not another one</p>
<p>If joining a frat is "buying" friends, I honestly don't see why anyone would do it and it wouldn't make sense to me why the people on campus with the most friends and the most diverse groups of friends are frat boys.</p>
<p>Anyway, first off I agree with pretty much everything nirvanarageatm said but I also warn you to figure out what the experience is like on different campus. nirvana mentions 70 brothers - thats an insane number for me, here it is more like 30. Also at your school maybe only a few kids join frats and maybe they do seperate themselves from the average person. But what about at a school like mine where 80% of guys are in frats. Clearly things have to be different.</p>
<p>wow, this is horrible flame</p>
<p>put some effort into it next time, okay?</p>
<p>as a proud fraternity member, i honestly hope that yall dont make yalls decisions regarding fraternities or sororities based on heresay on a message board or stereotypes. i can say, from experience, that joining a fraternity is a great experience. it is pretty cool to know that upon initiation i am instantly liked to over 220000 men. and that i share a Bond with all 75 of my active brothers and 700ish alumni. i just want to let yall know that yall shouldnt knock it until you try it... talk about being narrow minded</p>
<p>I agree 100% with the original poster. Save your money for something nice like a new car, because in the end it will mean more than some meaningless "pay per chat" friendships.</p>
<p>Your true friends are the ones who don't want cash for you to hang out with them.</p>
<p>nice try baller, who rushes at the end of april?</p>
<p>hahaha, i didnt even catch that... our pledges ENDED last thursday</p>
<p>He probably rushed and didn't get a bid from anywhere, thus making excuses why he thinks greek life sucks... (joking...or am I?) Anyway, what houses are you guys in and at what colleges? I'm in Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE or Deke) at Michigan. Dima, At Michigan i about 15~20% men are greek, and the average house size is around 50. Some of the biggest houses on campus (PIKE, AEPi, FIJI) have around 125-150 brothers.</p>
<p>i think at my college 10% were in frats.. and i thought the whole thing was pathetic. not just at my school, but at all schools. and to whoever said about having to pay membership dues, i've never once had to pay a membership due in any of the clubs i've been in. i did pay $100 three years in a row to go away with my one club for spring break.</p>
<p>I go to W&M and am a member of Kappa Delta Rho fraternity, and can honestly say I would have transferred had it not been for my frat brothers. When I joined I didn't worry about the money aspect at all, my main focus was on making friends with the brothers. Granted my best friend was already a brother at the frat, but I met some of the other brothers, became friends with them, THEN pledged. Not to mention I have extremely strong bonds with my pledge class. I think that frat life differs greatly from school to school, but anyone who disses all frat life in general and who says we "pay for our friends" is just being ignorant. It's the same as getting a bunch of your buddies together and pooling $ for a party and alcohol, expect on a larger scale. At my school, greek life is almost a necessity for a normal social life, everyone else just stays in and plays video games or studies all weekend.</p>
<p>Joining a fraternity was the absolute best decision I've ever made. I can say with 100% honesty that I would not be in medical school were it not for being in my fraternity.</p>
<p>If I paid for my friends, then I certainly got a freaking bargain of a deal. I mean if I were to really put a value on such friendships it would be such an astronomical sum that no one could afford it.</p>
<p>But you know what, last I checked, all my dues went to things like paying for a place to live, and for food to eat, to help various philanthropy events, and not a single dollar of that money ever went to alcohol...If I paid money to live someplace and became friends with the people living there, then you did the same thing for every single friend you made while living in the dorms. The only difference is that I got to choose who I was going to live with and you didn't. I was able to choose 85 guys who valued the same things I did: Getting an education (we have the house GPA to back it up), and having fun while doing it. They also valued being a gentleman, respecting women, and being a leader on campus and in the community. Finally, their loyalty is undeniable. </p>
<p>I mean, seriously, please tell me where I would have found 23 guys in my first week of classes, that when I graduated 4 years later, 17 of us would head to Vegas for four days? And more than that, one of the guys on the trip had transferred schools after his freshman year because of a tragic family situation, yet he still was invited and still had one hell of a time. </p>
<p>Again, please tell me where I would have found 23 guys in the first week of school that will all be present at my wedding, with probably 2 of those guys (and another younger guy in the pledge class below us) who will stand up for me on that day as some of my groomsmen?</p>
<p>And where in the first week would I have found 23 guys, who in 10, 20, 30, and 50 years from now, I will look forward to and rejoice in seeing as often as possible? I know pledge classes in the ranks of our alumni who plan yearly trips with wives and children some 20-25 years out of undergrad, despite being dispersed throughout the country. </p>
<p>And where will you find these bonds? With kids in your dorms? 30 guys you met in your chem lab?Puh-Lease...</p>
<p>I realize that the greek system is not for everyone, and at some schools, if you don't fit the mold, it's uncomfortable. But seriously, do you realize how pathetic you sound coming up with these lame excuses for why you didn't pledge? Just say it wasn't for you and leave it that, but to sit there and take this incredibly sour grapes approach is really just sad.</p>