Fraternities Are Not All Bad A fraternity is a men's student organization, formed chiefly for social purposes having secret rites and a name consisting of Greek letters. Fraternities get a lot of bad publicity, as with the hazing problems at U.T. Many people think of guys involved in fraternities as stupid, drunken fools running around pulling pranks and partying, but there is another side to fraternities that many people do not see. Fraternities do have plenty of social events, but they also participate in a lot of philanthropy, service projects, and other school and community related events. In order to join a fraternity, you need to sign up for rush in the first weeks of school. During "pre-rush," there are many parties and events put on by all fraternities so you can get to know them better. Then, there is a week called formal "rush", when you go to all the different fraternity houses and decide where you want to go and find out who wants you. After formal rush, the fraternity calls you and gives you a bid. If you accept, you are now pledging that you want to join that fraternity. Pledgeship is different for all fraternities. Some have a longer pledgeship, a harder pledgeship, and some have none at all. After you complete pledgeship and get initiated, you then become an active member. For a long time, fraternities have faced three main social issues: hazing, alcohol, and sexual harassment. The national fraternity organizations and individual schools have been cracking down on violations for hazing. There have been many reports of death or serious injury due to excessive hazing. Sometimes, the rules are ridiculous. Take SFA for example; carrying a pledge book around campus is considered "hazing". Also, members of fraternities drink substantially more alcohol than non-members. Even though there are more opportunities to do so, I would say that is mostly the fault of the individual, because they are choosing to do it. The main reason that people join a fraternity is for brotherhood. A special bond is formed between fraternity brothers. They will be there and will do almost anything for each other. They are friends for life. Most fraternities are like this but there are exceptions, such as bad chapters at a school that don't have good ideals and don't concentrate on school and brotherhood.
Once I am a fully initiated member of the Fraternity I will attend chapter weekly. The entire pledge class bonds and learns about the Fraternity, ideals, and history together. Chi Omega also plans activities that helps us bond together as sisters, such a flag football against the other sororities, or even something as simple as ice cream out together. These activities bring us together as a discourse community very frequently. This year we had the largest pledge class in the history of the Sigma Zeta chapter at 24 girls. Every year there are two recruitment periods, one in the fall and the other in the spring. It is during these periods that the fraternity replenishes the members that went alumna with new
Do people really understand the secrets behind the Greek community? There are many pressures girls face that the public is not familiar with that are specifically evident in sororities. Alexandra Robbins, the author of the book Pledged: The Secret Lives of Sororities, went undercover and followed four different girls during their experiences within the Greek system. Although there are many struggles girls can face in sororities, the five most prevalent type of pressures include: having a perfect body image, substance abuse, stress, silence, and hazing.
So what allows a campus fraternity to fall under the category of a social institution? Social institutions are commonly conceived as the necessary focuses of a social organization, which is common to most of society and usually deals with the problems and procedures of structured social life. General characteristics of a social institution involve regulated patterns of behavior that are specific, continuous, and organized. The patterns become the regulated norm, and are carried on from generation to generation, allowing the social institution to continue on through the years. Fraternities were first developed back in the late seventeen hundreds and continued to expand over the past couple of hundred years. Today there are about sixty different fraternities all over the United States, represented by different letters of the Greek Alphabet, with several chapters and various schools. Fraternities is a ‘member only’ social institution that is just for guys, (women have similar institution called sororities). Every fraternity has a board of members that they personally e...
Every year students at an accredited university have a decision to join groups/activities. In many cases a lot of students choose to join either a fraternity or a
Therefore, I was exposed to many different things surrounding this wonderful fraternity. However, I still never knew what it was I just always admired the bond that my father shared with the guys he called his fraternity brother. It was not until my older cousin that I looked up to cross into the Kappa brotherhood when I really started to understand somewhat. When I got to college, is when I started to take an interest in joining a fraternity. That's pretty much all everyone talked about was joining a fraternity or sorority. Many of my friends took an interest and some of the other fraternity. Mainly because how active they were around campus and how live their parties were. But for me it's was much more than that. I had the privilege of growing up around Kappa’s by attending many events with my father such as tailgates, Kappa Balls, as well as many different types of meetings. So I had the honor of seeing more than what my friends saw. And what I saw was a friendship unlike any other, built out of loyalty, respect and love. And true enough, there are many other fraternity with similar characteristic. However, to me it nothing like Kappa. Just seeing my father love for Kappa is overwhelming it’s nothing he won't do for his brothers. When we are out eating and he see younger brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. He pays for their meals and although that may not seem like a lot to some people. I’m like wow he doesn’t even know them but that is was just
That standard of academic excellence pushes you to become a great student, “if students want to become affiliated with academic discourse communities, or even if they want to succeed in school, they have to make considerable sacrifices,” (Johns 326). Johns’ outline of success academic discourse communities is on point. Fraternities are academic communities along with social. Much sacrificed time has to be taken to be apart and contribute to fraternity, for example a leadership role. A fraternity offers many opportunities of leadership opportunities.
Greek organizations, such as, fraternities and sororities have been a part of the college experience for centuries. We pride ourselves in brotherly and sisterly love, academic success, and helping others. There are countless stereotypes and myths that surround the “Greek life” name. Just some myths include: all Greeks haze their members, they only care about physical looks not personalities, and they go to college just to party and get drunk. Kappa Delta Sorority upholds none of these stereotypes. We have a strong no haze policy. Hazing is defined as an activity or situation that can cause emotional, mental, or physical discomfort. If a member is caught hazing or if a new member is caught allowing herself to be hazed, there will be major consequences, such as, national probation or deferral of initiation. Kappa Delta also does not look at physical appearance as the only quality for possible new members. We look at personality and qualifications that can benefit our sorority; instead of having a group of women that are pretty and popular, we like to have women with strong morals, work ethic, and have the willingness to love each and every member of Kappa Delta. Kappa Delta Sorority is like no other fraternity or sorority on campus; we do not waste our time with partying and drinking. We pride ourselves in our historical background, philanthropies, and our values. I know Kappa Delta is the best sorority not only on MTSU campus but in the whole country.
"Some have argued that fraternities are places where rape is likely to occur on college campuses and that the students most likely to accept rape mouths and be more sexually aggressive are more likely to live in fraternities and sororities, consume higher doses of alcohol and drugs, and place higher value on social life at college." according to the article "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous places for Women?" written by A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade. The article ...
The large number of sororities and fraternities around campus create a large party environment. Frat parties can get extremely rowdy and a number of them have to be shut down by local police. Obviously, the police being involved to shut something down is never a good thing and is clearly a sign of negativity for the overall atmosphere of any campus. Plus, the constant partying that goes on weekend after weekend really cuts down on the amount of time students spend studying. The excessive partying also takes away the significance of the education that is provided by universities, which is seen as a huge negative impact for universities and students. This argument is completely disputable! As stated earlier, Greek students have higher graduation rates and higher accumulative grade point averages than students who are not a part of Greek organizations. If Greek students can throw parties and continue to achieve admirable grade point averages, why can’t non-Greek students? I was unaware that every time I have a good time at a university, it would be taking away the significance of my education, that notion is honestly illogical and shouldn’t even be considered as problem caused by Greek organizations. This issue seems to be a non-Greek student problem that is being pushed onto Greek organizations. Maybe if they were all Greek students they could continue to party while maintaining a decent grade point
So I typed into Google just that, “what are the negative aspects of fraternities and sororities”. I came across numerous sources that did not really give me a solid base of research. Instead, I decided to use the first source I researched which was Positive and Negative Effects of Greek Life in College and use information on the negative section of the article. For those that are not aware, there are two major reasons as to why people do not want to part take in Greek Life. The first reason is the financial obligations are not a joke when it comes to these social groups. Many people would love to join Greek Life however money issues are preventing them to join. If colleges want their students to succeed and feel as if they are in control of their college life, prices should be lowered. Greek Life should be accessible to anybody that believes it will enhance their college success. The other reason people are hesitant to join a fraternity or sorority is that students do not want to be hazed. Hazing is humiliation during activities in which fraternities and sororities put you through to become a member. It is their way of seeing how prepared you are to be initiated into the group. Although this does not happen at FIU because it is forbidden, many schools throughout the United States haze associate members. This
Day in and day out we hear about high school and college students wanting to pursue a sorority and/or a fraternity based on the stereotypes these organizations uphold, well I chose to differ. I told myself if I ever decided to become a member of a sorority it would be based solely on their ethical standards, history, and values they are founded upon. Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated consists of ladies of distinction and exemplary character who excel in scholarship, leadership, and service, which are qualities I have chosen to uphold. From my perspective, I encourage myself to maintain a respectable appearance and reputation which doing so inspires me to embrace my self-concept; which helps me confidently excel academically and professionally as a “lady of distinction” and “exemplary character.” Most importantly, I continuously remain involved in community service, being involved allows me the opportunity to learn and understand the lives and circumstances of others by opening my mind, heart, and soul. Overall these qualities strengthen my passion to be a member of the prestigious Alp...
that fraternity life has a lot behind it and the members take it very seriously.
Hazing in universities across the nation has become a common tradition that develops mostly in Greek organizations. Hazing is seen in many different social groups such as schools, military units, sport teams, fraternities, and sororities. Prohibited by law for unnecessary reasons; hazing is a way to grow with friends in a closer way than independent students will ever have the chance to. Every year there are thousands of teenagers that pledge for a fraternity knowing of the possible chance of being hazed. People that join fraternities join for a sense of belonging and to meet people with similar interests. Trying to fit into a new college campus can be hard for a person to do. Almost every group pressures the new pledges to participate in hazing activities to create a sense of brotherhood. Hazing is a process that creates a sense of unity, also it teaches the one being hazed about himself and his brothers; being hazed into a group will help someone become a well-rounded person and will help them overcome struggles later in life.
...of hazing rituals is to have more supervision and be more cautious about dangerous activities. Alcohol is a common part of the fraternity life and using it to haze can have severe damaging effects; it can even be deadly. More comforting support should be given to the pledges, rather than intimidation and discouragement. Students have to mature and live the values of education and responsibility. Instead of searching for weakness in a pledge, active members should begin to test the hearts of new members. The love and support of a family are the main justifications for the Greek tradition on campus. Cruel initiations have lasted nearly one hundred years; but if hazing does not stop now, administrators are bound to put an end to the Greek system of communal life for college students. Students would then lose a system for forming friendships that ought to last a lifetime.
Over the years these amazing groups of men, also known as fraternities, have been given a bad name due to actions of a few individuals. This has led people to begin rumors and take on a poor perspective on Fraternities in multiple aspects. People see Fraternities as murders and menaces to society when they are much more than that. Fraternities are known for their helpfulness being dedicated to the community and the school. Always finding a way to give back and change the reputation they are known for. With so many different Organizations and chapters the possibilities are endless.