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Slims · 02-02-2004, 08:40 PM

Here in Boone, frats don't have a particularly good reputation. And for that matter, neither do sororities.

You will have to make a choice, and your perspective will probably be shaped by it.

My younger brother joined a frat when he hit college, before he was done pledging, he had frat tatooes, got wasted every night, and had shaped his entire worldview around fraternity life. I see his 'friends' as a bunch of sketchy good for nothings who are all about getting drunk and convincing drunk girls to sleep with them. Their house is pretty much straight out of animal house, and I picked up a bunch of flea bites on my ankles when I went to visit one time. He dates a sorority girl, who thinks the most important thing in the world is appearance. Oh yeah, and he was given the boot from the school of engineering in his junior year, and is now starting a new major...philosophy....because he thinks it will be easy. he is also only taking one class.

I chose not to join a frat. I looked at them, and I was unimpressed. Much the same way I was unimpressed by the 'ceremonies' the boy scouts held. The things they did largely seemed pointless. All the fraternities that I looked at also seemed two faced.....They tried to present the image of a group of upstanding young gentlemen setting an example for our generation, but the behavior of *many* of their members was exactly the opposite, and while their poor conduct may not have been encouraged, it was condoned. The only girls I know who were taken advantage of while drunk, were taken advantage of by frat boys (which is made worse by the fact that only a small percentage of our university is greek, and most parties are not frat parties). I used to live right next to a frat house, and they would chuck beer bottles out into my parking lot, get in drunken fistfights outside, hit other cars in the parking lot while trying to drive somewhere drunk, etc. Most people who aren't in fraternities avoid frat parties (at least at my school) because they just aren't friendly, and many girls get harrassed/groped/etc.

My overall impression about the average person who joins a fraternity is that they are socially insecure and are looking to establish themselves as part of a group by pledging, rather than just making friends the old fashioned way.

Of course, not being a part of a fraternity, I probably only see the bad side of them, and I am sure there are good fraternities out there. However, I think my opinions accurately reflect those of the average college student....Do you really want people to mistrust you simply because you are in a fraternity? Is it worth it? It wasn't for me.

02-02-2004, 08:40 PM	#12 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	Here in Boone, frats don't have a particularly good reputation. And for that matter, neither do sororities. You will have to make a choice, and your perspective will probably be shaped by it. My younger brother joined a frat when he hit college, before he was done pledging, he had frat tatooes, got wasted every night, and had shaped his entire worldview around fraternity life. I see his 'friends' as a bunch of sketchy good for nothings who are all about getting drunk and convincing drunk girls to sleep with them. Their house is pretty much straight out of animal house, and I picked up a bunch of flea bites on my ankles when I went to visit one time. He dates a sorority girl, who thinks the most important thing in the world is appearance. Oh yeah, and he was given the boot from the school of engineering in his junior year, and is now starting a new major...philosophy....because he thinks it will be easy. he is also only taking one class. I chose not to join a frat. I looked at them, and I was unimpressed. Much the same way I was unimpressed by the 'ceremonies' the boy scouts held. The things they did largely seemed pointless. All the fraternities that I looked at also seemed two faced.....They tried to present the image of a group of upstanding young gentlemen setting an example for our generation, but the behavior of many of their members was exactly the opposite, and while their poor conduct may not have been encouraged, it was condoned. The only girls I know who were taken advantage of while drunk, were taken advantage of by frat boys (which is made worse by the fact that only a small percentage of our university is greek, and most parties are not frat parties). I used to live right next to a frat house, and they would chuck beer bottles out into my parking lot, get in drunken fistfights outside, hit other cars in the parking lot while trying to drive somewhere drunk, etc. Most people who aren't in fraternities avoid frat parties (at least at my school) because they just aren't friendly, and many girls get harrassed/groped/etc. My overall impression about the average person who joins a fraternity is that they are socially insecure and are looking to establish themselves as part of a group by pledging, rather than just making friends the old fashioned way. Of course, not being a part of a fraternity, I probably only see the bad side of them, and I am sure there are good fraternities out there. However, I think my opinions accurately reflect those of the average college student....Do you really want people to mistrust you simply because you are in a fraternity? Is it worth it? It wasn't for me. __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence