Fraternity
From LoveToKnow College
What Is A Fraternity?
A fraternity is a student organization with a selective membership. The group may be purely social, service-oriented, cultural, an honor society, or devoted to career concerns. Fraternities and sororities are commonly referred to as the Greek system because the vast majority of their names contain Greek letters. While fraternities can be male-only or coeducational, sororities are only female in membership. The word is often shortened to "frat," especially when used as an adjective, such as "frat house" or "frat party."
Potential members must "rush" a fraternity, and they are referred to as pledges. During the rush process, sometimes designated as Rush Week, students attend informational meetings and social events to learn more about fraternity life. While fraternities are evaluating and selecting pledges, the pledges are also making a similar decision about which group is right for them.
Advantages of Joining
- New members gain an instant social network, helping them find their niche in a much larger university.
- Greeks have an active social life, with some of the biggest parties on campus, and a house full of friends ready to have fun at a moment's notice.
- Opportunities for leadership abound on both the local and national levels.
- Living in the frat house gives members a chance to get away from the dorms while still enjoying the learning experience of community living.
- Through fraternities' devotion to philanthropy, members have a great chance to give back to the community and raise money for worthy causes.
- When joining a group in the Greek system, a student becomes part of a storied tradition. On one level, this leads to a sense of pride and brotherhood. It also allows members to tap into an extensive alumni network for career help and internship opportunities.
Image Problems
Despite the many good works performed by fraternities each year and the groups devoted to academics and professional development, when you think "fraternity," the image that comes to mind is much more likely to be of the crazy parties and juvenile antics immortalized in movies like Animal House and Old School.
Not all groups take steps to eliminate this image, either. On individual college campuses, frat houses are prone to getting in trouble with local authorities, usually stemming from violations related to noise and drinking.
Hazing is also a hot-button topic in fraternity life. Hazing refers to any humiliating or potentially harmful activity required to join a group. Officially, it is forbidden by both local campuses and national Greek organizations, but the practice still exists. At its least dangerous, hazing is simply embarrassing, such as when pledges are told to wear women's clothing to the cafeteria, but the psychological tactics can be demoralizing, and in the worst cases hazing turns dangerous when pledges are forced to drink excessive amounts of alcohol or are beaten or sexually assaulted.
Skeptics of the Greek system often refer to the practice of paying dues to join a group as "buying your friends." Since fraternities don't have open membership like many college organizations, there is a long-standing belief that the groups are elitist.
Online Resources
- Check out Wikipedia's extensive lists of social fraternities and sororities, cultural interest sororities and fraternities, service fraternities and sororities, fraternal honor societies, and professional fraternities.
- Interested in contributing to a Wiki about Greek life? Check out the Greekopedia.
- The Association of Fraternity Advisors offers publications, an online community and professional development for chapter advisors.
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