Sometimes there seems to be nothing to do on a Saturday night; you don’t know of any good parties, the mods are uncharacteristically quiet, and it’s almost 11 pm and you are still in your room with no promise of exciting plans for the night. It is at this very moment that I have wished that BC had frats. Similarly, when I see pictures of my friends on Facebook at events where they have expertly mastered the “sorority squat,” I get a slight twinge of jealousy. It seems from the movies and TV shows that Greek Life is a pivotal part of the college experience, and yet BC has none. There are about 123 fraternities and sororities nationwide with over 9 million members. I am bewildered when I see the Greek alphabet on apparel and hear people talking about Delta Gamma Gamma Phi Kappa Sigma Pi Epsilon. And I have to admit that I still don’t really know what they are all about, so I went on a mission to demystify fraternities and sororities and share the basics with you.
FRATS
Pros
For girls there is not much benefit besides a place to go on a weekend night. But for guys frats promise automatic inclusion in social life and, as the name suggests, a strong sense of brotherhood.
Cons
Frats tend to get a bad reputation, but it is not all undeserved. Fraternities are associated with dangerous levels of binge drinking, hazing, and even rape. That is not to say that these things do not occur outside frats as well, but within them the effects are intensified.
SORORITIES
Pros
Like frats, sororities give members a sisterhood and a close network after graduation. They promise inclusion in social life and events. Frats and sororities also often spend a good amount of time volunteering together or doing fundraisers for charity.
Cons
Sororities get a bad reputation for being exclusive and catty. There have also been reports of seriously dangerous hazing, not just because of the level of alcohol intake, but because it is often emotionally taxing.
*There are also cultural, social, academic- or community service-based GLOs (Greek Life Organizations) that are often co-ed.
My friends are always throwing thousands of terms at me, so if you get confused easily like me, here are some general definitions:
Rush: period of time for membership recruitment, which provides an opportunity for non-Greek students to learn about individual organizations
Bid: an invitation to join a fraternity or sorority
Pledging: the act of trying to join a frat or sorority in which you have to do whatever the active members tell you to do
Crossing: when pledges officially become members
Big: short for big brother/sister; active member assigned to be the personal mentor for a new member
In my opinion we have the best of both worlds at BC – you can get that feeling of community with your Appa group, a sports team, or by joining a club – without the emotionally taxing pledging process and exclusivity that comes with sororities. And it is fairly probable that you know someone at another Boston school with frats, so you can visit them and go to a party on the weekends!
Sources:
http://thefraternityadvisor.com/greek-life-statistics/
http://teenadvice.about.com/library/weekly/bl10thingsfratsoro.htm
http://dos.cornell.edu/greek/about_our_office/definitions.cfm
http://www.greeklife.vt.edu/resources/definitions.php
Photo Source:
http://www.uscupstate.edu/studentaffairs/organizations/greek/default.aspx?id=34422