CollegeReflections.com

I am a huge proponent of the Greek system. Let me state that right away. I am a member of the largest, most respected fraternity on my campus and I’ve never once regretted my choice to join. But in this article I will try to be a little more objective about what considerations a new freshman to college needs to make when considering rushing and then pledging a fraternity.

1. Fitting the Mold
Fraternities are not normally known for their diversity. Yes there are jocks and non-jocks, geniuses and idiots, and Republicans and Democrats. But let’s be honest, both fraternities and sororities expect you to fit a mold. Everyone dresses very well. Most people like to party and are very social. The three favorite pass times of most frat guys are sports, drinking, and chasing girls. While I am stereotyping to an extent, it is a fact that these places are not the most diverse in the world. They will also tend to pressure you (without meaning to) to fall into their mold. I don’t believe I owned a single polo shirt, loafers, or kroakies before joining. For some people this is what they’re looking for and it will drive others mad. This isn’t to say you can’t be yourself, but you are choosing a group of peers with a more rigid sense of what is and is not acceptable attire and behavior.

2. House Life
If you like to party there is no better place to be in the world. There are always people drinking, dancing, and playing music. There is always something to do, and you are now living in the most best place on campus to meet a ton of girls in a short period of time. There will be guys to sit around watch tv, play video games, and just hang out with pretty much day and night.

The other side of the coin is the lack of an off switch or mute button. Remember there is no RA. There is no one to shut those drunk people up at 4 in the morning, when you have a mid-term at 7:30. If you like your living space quiet, clean, and without distraction, then consider where you will be living as a member. Sleep and quiet can become a rarity. When I lived in the house Sunday through Tuesday were relatively quiet. Wednesday was a tossup, and Thursday through Saturday were one long party.

3. Partying (and Drinking)
Partying and drinking is not a requirement to being in a fraternity, but it is often a way of life. And while it is entirely possible to party and be social without drinking, it is also atypical. Drinking might be one of the most prevalent social norms in Greek Life and college as a whole. Again, I do not mean to stereotype and you will know if this is true at your school, but at 99% of campuses this is the case. If you have a problem with this type of situation you may want to reconsider drinking. Meeting a ton of guys and girls similar to you that like to party is basically the number one reason people join Greek life.

4. Your school’s Greek Life
Consider the tradition of Greek life at your school. Are the people in these houses quality people? Do they live in nice places? Do they exude the things you want exude in 2-4 years? Are they leaders on campus and have good GPA’s and get good jobs? These are questions to consider both for Greek Life as a whole and the individual house you have the option to join. Fraternities have a rich history and strong presence on my campus, but there are certain houses I would not have chosen to join.

5. Instant social status and connections
This is the other major reason people join Greek life. You instantly have a pledge class of friends a few weeks into your freshman year. You will also have lots of older guys to meet you likely would have never met otherwise. These guys will run the student government and are in charge of organizations. These people will be great for helping you choose classes, meet girls, and get jobs. You will have the chance to network with both the people around you, older members who will be on the front lines of recruitment as you graduate, as well as current alumni in a variety of positions.

On the other side of the equation, you will meet tons of girls. For freshman there are dates with each sorority pledge class. There are also tons of parties and functions. Girls will constantly be over at your house just hanging out and having a great time. A fraternity house is the only major housing on campus with little supervision and rules, so it will be the hangout of young people on campus. It would be very difficult to create this kind of social network on your own in the short period Greek life will provide.

6. Pledging (Being A Bitch)
This is basically what you will do as a pledge. While hazing is supposedly been eliminated, let’s just be honest. It’s not. The degree to which you will be hazed will vary by both school and university so it is hard to generalize. But I can make at least a few generalizations: You will do mass amounts of cleaning. You will clean the kitchen, the dishes, the floors, the walls. You will take out the trash. You might clean the bathrooms. You will have to drive many nights a week until 2 or 3 in the morning so that older members have rides to and from the bars. You will likely have to be at the house early in the morning (6, 7, 8am) for a good portion of pledging. You will do every bullshit task that members do not want to deal with. Finally, for most houses, there is at least a semblance of traditional hazing that involves getting yelled at and messed with for hours and you just have to take it.

I would also like to say that because of the large crackdown on hazing in recent years this will not be near as bad as you (or your parents) picture. Very few places force binge drinking or force any other dangerous behavior that was once common. Physical hazing and humiliation is also now a rarity. If you can deal with some yelling then you have little to worry about on most college campuses.

7. Drivers and Cleaners (Your bitches)
The advantage to going through the above is that after that semester of bullshit you will have a nice clean house and drivers for the next 3 years. People will clean your room (and car if ask) run your errands, and drive for you when you’ve been drinking. Pledging was terrible when I did it, but it sure is nice now. I often see pledges running all over town for members, taking them to class, and anything else they don’t feel like doing. Regardless of what you think of this, it is nice to have a free personal assistant.

In conclusion joining Greek life is not for everyone. Some people hate to conform, others aren’t big partiers. Maybe loud music and sports isn’t your thing, or you can’t handle the egomaniacs that a lot of houses tend to bring in. Or maybe you are like me and you figure out that Greek life isn’t so bad and that there are a ton of advantages and a lot of fun to be had from joining the Greek community. I can at least tell you that my fraternity has been an integral part of my college experience, and has allowed me to make some of my fondest memories over the past 4 years. It’s also allowed me to meet some of the best people in my life, my best friends, and some great mentors.