<p>I just finished my first semester, and I loved the social life. Sometimes I went out to frat parties, and sometimes I stayed in and hung out out with friends in my dorm. So what if I don't rush? Does this lifestyle change dramatically? I like frat parties a lot - do sophmores or even second semester freshman who don't rush stop going to them? If so, what is there to do?</p>
<p>Whoops, sorry I posted this three times - my computer was being weird.</p>
<p>with the major social scene being provided by greek life, it definitely slows down for non-greeks second semester. most parties are closed and private mixers with one fraternity and one sorority. there is still stuff to do, but still not so much. if people are looking for a party, they usually venture to collegetown (but its a lot harder in a cornell winter! lol) there are maybe 1 or 2 open parties a month and thats about it. </p>
<p>am i saying "go greek or go home"? no. even in a sorority, sometimes i jsut felt like skipping a mixer and hanging out in my dorm. if you enjoyed the parties, and most importantly, liked the brothers, i would give it a shot. you can still rush and decide not to join at the end if you really feel as though it isnt for you.</p>
<p>Once you go Greek, you never go back.</p>
<p>unless the frat is suspended :)</p>
<p>can an incoming transfers/juniors get in? or would it be too late?</p>
<p>Frats don't make or break life, but if you're in one, it's nice to have that option in one's social life. </p>
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<p>It might be more difficult for a junior to get a bid at some of the most competitive houses because of the lack of time they have left at Cornell. That being said, I worked with transfer students to help them adjust to my college when I was at Cornell a few years back, and I knew several juniors who joined fraternities.</p>
<p>Coup D'Etat...very rarely, people decativate on their own volition. The number usually isn't more than 10 or 12 out of the approximately 4,000 members of the Greek system.</p>
<p>Eh, for freshmen in second semester, there are fewer fraternity parties; but afterwards, when people start moving off-campus, plenty of people will throw house parties. Also, if you are in any clubs or organizations, people though parties there too. These may not be the same huge frat parties from freshman year, but instead consist of maybe 10-20 people that you know pretty well drinking and having a good time. I personally prefer smaller parties where I know more people. I don't think I've been to a frat party since 1st semester of freshman year.</p>
<p>Your connection with the Greek community will rapidly decrease if you don't decide to pledge your second semester freshmen year and by sophomore year, you may still find yourself at frat parties, but definitely fewer of them. You will still have a social life if you don't go Greek, but your social life will be very different than someone who is Greek. You'll be missing out on the many mixers, themed parties, and formals, so if that is important to you, rush and pledge.</p>
<p>But then again, there is more to life than CEOs and Corporate Hoes.</p>
<p>Most of it is perception versus reality. Most frats and sororities are looking to "sell" people on membership in order to survive, justify their existence, and compete with one another. And the image they're selling is that, if you join, you'll have more friends, more fun, more parties, more dates, and meet more new people. And some of them successfully attract some of the most outgoing and social people on campus, who would be at the center of social life regardless. But the 10,000+ people who have minimal contact with the Greek system (a few parties per year or less) find friends around clubs, interests, living units, classes, and so on. There's a lot of fun to be had, and a lot of new people to meet, but those things are found everywhere. Any dorm hall, apartment, coop house, or private house can throw a few parties of their own per year, which is more than many frats. The most competitive frats will have hundreds of strangers through their doors on some Friday nights, but how does that translate into your quality of life? Frats are generally about an image - in the form of letters worn across your chest. And it's mostly just that: an image. Those letters try to advertise to the world that you have lots of friends and fun, but the reality is that, 9 times out of 10, you're not any different from anyone else. If you're going to be social, you don't need a frat. And if you're not going to be social, joining a frat won't change that.</p>
<p>While I completely agree with a lot of what ffhrea says.. the reality is that at a school as big as cornell, the greek system serves an important purpose in improving one's social life, especially for underclassmen, as it exposes you to so many new people and events. For those who like to have regular opportunities to go out, it becomes a lot more difficult to do so as a non-Greek until you become an upperclassman and have more connections/friends who throw house parties. </p>
<p>And while there certainly are plenty of social people who dont go greek, there is nothing central/overarching that unifies these people, and you may never get a chance to meet many of them, at least not as immediately as you would having joined greek life. There are so many great people at cornell both in and out of greek life, but the fact of the matter is, as a greek, you are simply exposed to so many more people many of whom you might never meet otherwise. If you are the type of person that always likes to meet new people, greek life will enable you to do so, especially early on as a freshman/sophomore. </p>
<p>Sure there are flaws with the system that shouldnt be denied, but it would be a shame to miss out on a potentially meaningful aspect of your college years just because you demand perfection out of all your experiences. and if you try it out and decide it really is not for you, you have all the freedom in the world to deactivate. soo.. you really have nothing to lose by rushing, and potentially, regret to deal with if you dont at least look into it..</p>
<p>^just to add</p>
<p>you always hear at big schools ways to make the size of the university feel "smaller". greek life is one of those ways to do so.</p>
<p>i definitely agree with pm123. with my small major, i basically saw the same people every single day, every single class. going greek has given me the opportunity to meet and become close with students representing all 7 colleges, all different places of the country. yes, there are flaws as nothing can be a perfect system, but i would say that the pros of becoming greek definitely overshadow them</p>
<p>If we're going to be able to look at the Greek system objectively and compare it with the rest of campus life, we need to step back from all the "advertising" and "testimonials" from insiders whose very existence of their organizations depends on perennial recruitment. (Not to mention competitive recruitment against other houses.) If you ask a Glee Club member, you'll hear them say that the Glee Club made them most of their new friends, exposed them to new people, had great parties, etc. But they don't walk around advertising this every day, recruiting based on this, or puffing their chests with a feeling of great status because of it. They don't need to. They're not organized for this purpose. Their existence doesn't depend on this. And it's the same with the Rock Throwing Club or the Bulgarian Living Unit or even the residents of the apartment on 123 Maple Street.</p>
<p>The Greek houses are massive propaganda and recruitment "machines", and have been so for hundreds of years. They enjoy huge "status" on campus for being "the fun folks". But that's all. The average Greek has no more fun than anyone else. They have the same average number of friends. They attend the same average number of parties per year. They have the same average number of dates. 90% of what the Greeks are "selling" in their recruitment is hype. And status. They're selling letters to wear across your chest that makes many people believe that you are having the most fun. And that's all.</p>
<p>someone sounds a little bitter. didn't get the bid you wanted?</p>
<p>or do you have a self-righteous mission to rid the campus of its Greek presence?</p>
<p>you'll probably only go greek if you click with someone during rush or w/e...</p>
<p>if you havent made the connections already dont feel pressured into joining a frat...</p>
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someone sounds a little bitter. didn't get the bid you wanted?
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<p>Let me jump in here just because I think that there is a lot of truth to ffhrea's statement, and I did get the bid I wanted way back when. (But ultimately chose not to pledge.)</p>
<p>I agree with the central argument that the Greek system serves a social purpose on campus no different than a performing group, co-op, athletic team, or student publication. As long as you are socially inclined, you are not going to have any trouble finding a social life on Cornell's campus, Greek or non-Greek.</p>
<p>That said, I also agree that your social life is going to be marginally better as an underclassmen if you join a house. But on the flip side, your social life will probably be better as an upperclassmen if you stay an independent. Why? Well, because you won't have to be trucking back to the house as a junior or senior to participate in some lame activities. As an independent, it was striking to me to see that the number of Greek upperclassmen who complain about their ongoing responsibilities to their house as an upperclassmen. It's especially prevalent among girls, who wake up one day their junior or senior year and suddenly realize that there are a lot of great people out there who never joined a Greek organization, and all of a sudden their own affiliations and worldview appear a little bit sophomoric.</p>
<p>One person once made the argument to me that it's better to be in a fraternity than not because while you can be in a fraternity while pretending to be not, you can't not be in a fraternity and pretend that you are. To such a suggestion I would retort that there are a lot of opportunity costs in terms of academics, research opportunities, and extracurricular activities that you might not be able to explore your freshmen spring when you are going through the toils of pledging.</p>
<p>The beauty of Cornell is that it is a very diverse place with everything under the sun to offer to its students. But you need to find the right place for you. The Greek system may be the place for you... and there are certainly a lot of good people across the system. And you do need to feel for the houses these days, as their recruitment base dwindles every year as Cornell becomes more and more diverse... less and less of those upper middle-class white males to draw from. </p>
<p>But at the same time, be wary about what the system or a particular house may institutionalize, and be cautious as to whether or not you actually want to affiliate with such activities. Don't succumb to the social pressure of rush week if deep in your heart you don't want to.</p>
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They enjoy huge "status" on campus for being "the fun folks".
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<p>I thought the architecture students, the track team, and the kids who lived in Watermargin (all three of which were known to host a nude party or two) were the fun folks, but that's just me.</p>
<p>I think many of the low-profile frats at Cornell are great places to live, make friends, study together, and have an occasional (usually low-key) party. But they're no different than most other living arrangements. But I think a lot of frats try too hard, or aspire to be things that they aren't, or feel somehow inferior if they don't seem to match up on the social scale. And I think a lot of people join frats based on wrong assumptions, or for reasons of status, or because they don't know enough about all the options. The Greeks have the biggest propaganda and recruiting machines. But that doesn't mean that they have any more to offer than any other club or living arrangement. I wouldn't get rid of them. I personally never pledged any frats, and I certainly could have gotten bids from any number of them if I had put my mind to it, but it wasn't for me. Or a lot of other people. And I knew a lot of people in frats, and I don't see that I missed a whole lot.</p>
<p>Who mentioned Watermargin?</p>
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Watermagin? Who mentioned Watermargin?
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<p>It was just to illustrate my point that there are a lot of great aspects to Cornell outside of the Greek system. </p>
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I think many of the low-profile frats at Cornell are great places to live, make friends, study together, and have an occasional (usually low-key) party. But they're no different than most other living arrangements. But I think a lot of frats try too hard, or aspire to be things that they aren't, or feel somehow inferior if they don't seem to match up on the social scale. And I think a lot of people join frats based on wrong assumptions, or for reasons of status, or because they don't know enough about all the options.
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<p>Agreed.</p>
<p>You are correct that Watermarginals have the most fun. Well noted. But the sad thing is that 90% of the people on campus don't know what Watermargin is.</p>