MayaFlower

When my parents bid me adieu and sent me off to college they were very concerned with my not wanting to "rush." I decided my sophmore year I'd try it and see if I liked it. Unfortunately, the only friends I made during rush were those interested in my car, money, social status of my family....basically everything they were supposed to. Now, at a different college and seeing people walk around with their label of greek life on them I feel like I'm looking at a herd of cows. They gather together, eat together, and essentially puke up everything they talk about together...in order to form a feeling of "togetherness." I find this "greek life" somewhat to be freakish, in a way. They pay for the attention and acceptance of people, who really only care about those nastly little things called material possessions. Don't get me wrong, I love my car and all the other fun things in life....but why would I pay someone to like them along with me??? Crazy? I think not.

Mael

i think if you took the time to get to know some of them, you'd find that your pretty off base about them. get any group of guys together, and you'll get a lot of talk about the stuff they're interested in (ie. computers for some, drinking for others).

i've always really hated when people say that by joining, your just "paying for friends." get real. you rush a house, if htey like you, they offer you a bid. they won't offer you one if they don't like you. it's essentially a selective club. you pay dues so the house can pay for it's various expenses. your not buying yoru friends any more than joining any club that requires you to pay dues does. this one just happens to be social, as opposed to a "Insert type of group here" that also has a social side.

edit: oh, and there's no reason to act like they're doing something bad/dumb, whatever, just because you're not interested in teh same things. to each their own, live and let live. don't waste your time being concerned about them if your not interested.

lurkette

I've never understood the whole Greek thing - can someone explain to me the appeal of it? It always seemed like such a shallow, conformist system. Perhaps I've bought too much into the stereotypes - collections of pretty much interchangeable dumb jocks guzzling beer, snooty stuck-up women who are either sluts or prudes. We didn't have sororities or frats at my college - we did at the University where I did grad school, but by then my biases had already been formed, albeit admittedly in a relative vacuum.

So - what's good about the Greek thing?

__________________
"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

dy156

I think greek life really helps two kinds of people. For those that have a hard time being outgoing or finding a place where they fit in, it provides instant social status and a comfort zone of friends/a place to sit at football games/something to do on the weekends/a way to meet guys or girls/etc.. I knew many people for which this was the case, whether it be in a computer majors fraternity to the "top" national fraternities and sororities on campus

For others, it provides an excellent training ground for leadership, developing business contacts and career possibilities, experience in organizing events, fundraising, or organizational plans and carrying them out. It really is what you do with it.
Oh, and it really is fun. It's a rare individual that can organize his friends for a trip or party and pull it off like a fraternity or sorority can.

P.S. not many friends will let you pledge them, either!

Cynthetiq

my sister and her husband did the greek thing... they were very active in the whole system, and continue to do so with the rest of their "brothers and sisters."

IMHO I never got it. I don't like to do things because I have to or it is expected of me, so the greek way didn't work for me at all. I'm through and through a man of my own self and definition, which is a conflict of the whole greek rah rah comraderie.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Kaos

Same here. I'm way too independant to have to change my schedule around to accomodate group activities, expecially ones that I wouldn't be particularly interested in.

Booboo

As far as teh Dues go... how do you think they pay for all the Alcohal? heh some frats around here have parties 4-5 times a week... and they normally let a lot of people in for free (usually girls).. so thats a lot of money they arent getting back. /shrug.

I dont think I would ever join a frat... but I dont consider it paying for friends. You can make some of the best friends of your life from a frat. Not only that but its not something that just ends when you graduate. My step dad still gets stuff from his frat from college years ago.
Think of it more of a community... a group of people with common interests.

__________________
"Your life is yours to live, go out and live it" - Richard Rahl

Jolt

I recall some huge amounts of anti-greek activities during my third year of college...there were signs put up all over the place proclaiming "fuck frats! Do you really need to pay for friends?"

I had nothing to do with those but was one of a large mass of humanity who silently agreed...

The Residence Life office or whoever responded to this by setting up dorm floor meetings where we were lectured by some frat rat or another on why they were so cool and shit. On my floor, most of us walked out during the harangue.

As far as I'm concerned, it's something to do for the spoonfed snobbish kids who think they aren't already spending enough of mommy and daddy's money.

I wanted to get involved in leadership and organization so I participated in student government and several para-academic clubs. Didn't spend a dime, and didn't ever wake up in Detox.