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College Fraternities

Thoughts_ArriveThoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
edited January 2012 in All Encompassing Trip
We don't have such a thing down under.
Do all American college students belong to one, is it a must?
What purpose do they serve?
I was just reading up a bit on them and want to know more....
Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • SawyerSawyer Posts: 2,411
    they're for people who need to buy their friends
  • Stardog3..Stardog3.. Posts: 1,527
    No, not all college students need to belong to one. Some schools don't even have them. My school didn't even allow them. Fraternities are an option for guys and sororities are options for girls. In order to join, you have to apply, be interviewed, then you are considered a pledge (i think). After an initiation period, you become a sister or brother. You have to pay dues, and many of them live in a fraternity or sorority house. If you live there you have to pay as well. You do all sorts of events and are involved in whatever it is each one does, and from my experience throw what Americans think of as a typical frat party, i.e. if you've ever seen Animal House, Van Wilder, Old School. I've been to some pretty fun frat parties and some that are horriblllllle. There are different types too. I know of one that is a business fraternity and it's more like a club type thing where they use it for networking, seminars, etc. And they do not live together or anything.

    I do not belong to one so I could be NOT 100% accurate, just taken from experiences and some friends who had joined them. And I think people join them as a way to belong to something and form strong bonds with people who have similar interests- whether that be the fact they are disgusting egocentric pigs or really involved in their communities or girls who like to shop....whatever that may be. Most who are involved in them don't view it as buying friends. It's kind of like why people pay and post here.
  • DS1119DS1119 Posts: 33,497
    Suave.27 wrote:
    No, not all college students need to belong to one. Some schools don't even have them. My school didn't even allow them. Fraternities are an option for guys and sororities are options for girls. In order to join, you have to apply, be interviewed, then you are considered a pledge (i think). After an initiation period, you become a sister or brother. You have to pay dues, and many of them live in a fraternity or sorority house. If you live there you have to pay as well. You do all sorts of events and are involved in whatever it is each one does, and from my experience throw what Americans think of as a typical frat party, i.e. if you've ever seen Animal House, Van Wilder, Old School. I've been to some pretty fun frat parties and some that are horriblllllle. There are different types too. I know of one that is a business fraternity and it's more like a club type thing where they use it for networking, seminars, etc. And they do not live together or anything.

    I do not belong to one so I could be NOT 100% accurate, just taken from experiences and some friends who had joined them. And I think people join them as a way to belong to something and form strong bonds with people who have similar interests- whether that be the fact they are disgusting egocentric pigs or really involved in their communities or girls who like to shop....whatever that may be. Most who are involved in them don't view it as buying friends. It's kind of like why people pay and post here.


    This pretty much somes it up. Fraternities and sororities are both a positive and negative...like everything in society. I personally loved my experience in college as far as fraternities and sororities go.
  • he still standshe still stands Posts: 2,835
    "buying friends" is kind of a lame argument... I spent about 60-70% per semester to live in a fraternity versus living in a dorm AND that included 2 meals cooked five days per week by our chef... and there were very few rules... and a party most nights (if you're looking for one).

    my fraternity was a "social & professional fraternity" so we had to maintain a 2.5 GPA or better, which is not difficult at all, but it weeds out the dumbasses who are only there to have a good time. It is also a great way to network for careers after college.

    but yeah, most fraternities are worthless and are just a bunch of beer-swilling idiots. I joined this fraternity (Alpha Gamma Rho) because of the professional and philanthropic focus.
    Everything not forbidden is compulsory and eveything not compulsory is forbidden. You are free... free to do what the government says you can do.
  • SatansFutonSatansFuton Posts: 5,399
    Thoughts_Arrive wrote:
    Do all American college students belong to one, is it a must?

    No, it's the opposite. I was looking for the numbers, and while not ironclad, the numbers from a few sites said that an estimated 10% of all college students in the U.S. belong to a fraternity/sorority. That could be wrong though, I don't know. 10% actually seems a little high.
    "See a broad to get dat booty yak 'em, leg 'er down, a smack 'em yak 'em!"
  • PJ-CubsPJ-Cubs Posts: 3,328
    SatansFuton wrote:
    Thoughts_Arrive wrote:
    Do all American college students belong to one, is it a must?

    No, it's the opposite. I was looking for the numbers, and while not ironclad, the numbers from a few sites said that an estimated 10% of all college students in the U.S. belong to a fraternity/sorority. That could be wrong though, I don't know. 10% actually seems a little high.

    I think the percentages really vary depending on the university. At Illinois, they had a huge fraternity/sorority system and I would guess that more than 10% of the student population belonged to one.

    As for me, I was not in a frat.
  • SatansFutonSatansFuton Posts: 5,399
    PJ-Cubs wrote:
    SatansFuton wrote:
    Thoughts_Arrive wrote:
    Do all American college students belong to one, is it a must?

    No, it's the opposite. I was looking for the numbers, and while not ironclad, the numbers from a few sites said that an estimated 10% of all college students in the U.S. belong to a fraternity/sorority. That could be wrong though, I don't know. 10% actually seems a little high.

    I think the percentages really vary depending on the university. At Illinois, they had a huge fraternity/sorority system and I would guess that more than 10% of the student population belonged to one.

    As for me, I was not in a frat.

    Right, that was a national number though. Of the total number of people enrolled at colleges in the U.S., 10% are in fraternities. Not the average percentage of student population in fraternities per college.
    "See a broad to get dat booty yak 'em, leg 'er down, a smack 'em yak 'em!"
  • JaneNYJaneNY Posts: 4,438
    They have them at the technical university in my town (I went to this university and my husband teaches there). Fraternities are a way of making connections that may translate into professional connections later. And some people join because it is cheaper to live at the frat house than pay for dorm rooms. Seriously. One guy told my husband once that he paid $50 a semester to sleep on the floor with a blanket. So there's more to it than just drinking and partying, though no doubt about it that is a significant aspect. This is a hard school, its a cold climate and people work insane hours on engineering stuff, so they unwind afterwards in a variety of ways.
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  • conmanconman Posts: 7,493
    my cousin was in a fraternity when he was in college and the stories he told me about becoming a member is something i never want to experience.... they made him do disgusting shit :?



    i never went to college but hazing, embarrassment, being treated like a dog?? just join the military, you get all that and you get paid for it ;)
  • Thoughts_ArriveThoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
    We should start a Pearl Jam fraternity.
    Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
  • pjfan31pjfan31 Posts: 7,335
    conman wrote:
    my cousin was in a fraternity when he was in college and the stories he told me about becoming a member is something i never want to experience.... they made him do disgusting shit :?



    i never went to college but hazing, embarrassment, being treated like a dog?? just join the military, you get all that and you get paid for it ;)


    So like the movies... I figure all this shit to get in, and then once you get in, sex and booze...
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  • JK_LivinJK_Livin South Jersey Posts: 7,365
    Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life!
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  • MayDay10MayDay10 Posts: 11,784
    at my college, I think only a couple fraternities and sororities were recognized by the school and one frat was nationally recognized. They were basically organized gangs who managed drug trade and had a stable of girls they would drunken and take advantage of. They were all very tough in numbers too. It was a bad experience and left me with a negative view of these things.
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