If you know William & Mary Greek life, then you are fully aware that our Greek community is nothing like that of the stereotypical fraternity/sorority life that you would find in big southern schools. No, we don’t have tailgates where everyone paints up and wears cute outfits in school colors. Recommendations and models shots are not required for recruitment. And we attend “mixers”, not “socials.” Our Greek system is actually very reflective of William & Mary in general: it’s fun, unique, and a little bit strange. The uniqueness is most prevalent in the types of people who go Greek. As a girl on the William & Mary campus, you will without a doubt encounter a variety of fraternity guys. From my own experience in a sorority (as well as experiences of my friends), I’ve compiled a list of some of the most common types of frat guys on our campus (and how to deal with them).
1. The Frat Star: His smile is perfect, he has a sick bod, and he seems to have loads of guy friends. You constantly hear girls saying “OMG he is SO HOT!!!” He just never seems to have a girlfriend…Yeah, he may be hooking up with someone, but there’s a reason he is not in a long-term committed relationship. From the outside he may be Brad Pitt, but the personality just does not match up to the physical image. I guess it goes along with the saying, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” Here on our campus, finding a guy with model looks, genius brains, and a killer personality is extremely rare (if possible).
2. The Aggressive One: If you have a boyfriend, or just aren’t in the mood to hook up, get ready to use all your will-power to fight this one off. He’ll keep offering you drinks (a drunk girl is always easier to hook up with). If you’re dancing on a table in the units, he might come up behind and start dancing too. He’s going to be persistent. If you accidently give in, and start by just making out, he’s going to want more. “Wanna go back to my room?” “Let’s go outside.” Trust me, you are going to hear all sorts of lines. If you aren’t sober, you probably won’t be able to make the best decisions, and if you don’t know the guy, going back to his room might not be the greatest idea you’ve ever had. Your first move should be to find your girlfriends. Girls can be very protective over one another. Talk to them and ask for input on what you should do (or not do) with this guy. If he makes you feel uncomfortable, ask someone to walk home with you. Take it from me, your friends and fellow students care more about your safety then missing 20 minutes of a party.
3. The guy with the questionable sexual preference: He is super friendly, always happy to see you around campus. Guys love to hang out with him because of the gaggle of girls that seem to follow him everywhere. These girls mostly see him as just a friend, never a love interest, but you know he’s hooked up with some of them before. Maybe you’ve heard a rumor about his sexual identity. You’re pretty sure he’s straight, but there is something about him you just can’t put your finger on…
4. The Boyfriend Guy: Be ready to grab this rare breed if you find him. We attend a school with more girls than guys, so this type gets scooped up before you have time to introduce yourself to him. He’s good-looking, has a great personality, and is overall a winner. Hey, he could even be husband-material. He’ll take you on dates that don’t involve drinking, dancing, sleeping over, and then suffering the walk of shame. You might not even have to walk home in the morning if he is truly the boyfriend type. Seriously, hold on to this one if you can. You’ll be lucky to another one like him in the rest of your college career at William & Mary.
5. Your Best Friend: He’s going to be there when you need helping escaping from his “aggressive” brother. He’ll be there as a back-up date to formal if something goes wrong with your original date. With him in your life, you will always have an invite to a pregame at the unit and a guy’s perspective. He might even let you take a peek at his fraternity’s email list serv (if you are brave enough to look; those can be pretty revealing about the brotherhood). Keep in mind that you guys are just friends though. There is a fine line between friends, and friends with benefits. Hooking up with him, even if it only happens one time, could potentially ruin the relationship forever.
6. The Ultimate Bro: Don’t get the Ultimate Bro confused with the Frat Star. These two are completely different types of boys. The Ultimate Bro would rather spend hours playing Fifa than trying to hook up with a girl. He would sit in his unit bedroom blasting Chiddy Bang on a Friday night over going to a date party. This guy also has the interests of his brothers in mind, making for a great wingman. If he sees a brother struggling with a girl, he will try his best to make sure things work out between the two. This common type, found in every fraternity, also doubles as a backup date for any event. No pressure for either of you, he’s always down for a good time. Warning: do not attempt to develop a romantic relationship with this guy. He will choose his friends over you in an instant. The Ultimate Bro would die of shame if he were labeled as “whipped” or “wifed up.”
Although Greek life brings you into contact with all these types of boys, don’t let this article scare or intimidate you. The great thing about our school is the variety and quality of the students. Sure, everyone is a little strange (we chose William & Mary after all), but the number of genuine and hilarious people we go to school with definitely out numbers the few bad apples. So go out, meet new boys (maybe the boyfriend type??), and find the group of people you click with! (Just beware of the aggressive one…)