Your parents, the news, the Internet and movies all tell you what being in a fraternity is really like, right? I mean, if it isn’t like it’s made out to be in "Neighbors," then how can we trust anything any movie tells us? Your standard frat guy is drunk all the time, he’s an idiot, and all he wants to do is get laid and party. At least, that’s what every mom and journalist in America thinks. But, if we stop and think about it for a second, we realize that they are wrong. Fraternities are victims of stereotyping just as much as everybody else is. You hear a lot of the bad stuff about fraternity and sorority life in the news, but you never hear any of the good things. So when you’re deciding what college to go to, or whether or not you want to join an organization on campus, read this list of five things you haven’t heard about fraternities, and you’ll see that it isn’t necessarily "Animal House" all the time.
1. Accountability: When I joined my fraternity freshman year, I had no idea what I was getting into. I figured it would be a good way to make friends and meet women – and I was correct on both counts – but what I wasn’t expecting was how much I would learn about being responsible and accountable for my actions. I currently sit on the executive committee of my chapter, and oversee the goings-on inside and outside of our letters. The number one thing that I’ve learned so far is that everyone – EVERYONE – holds me responsible for my own decisions. The school, the chapter, my friends, my parents, you name it. On top of that, I am also responsible for my brothers’ actions, as I am a representative of the chapter. So you’ll learn very quickly that stupid decisions get noticed immediately, and not only do you have to assume responsibility, but so does your chapter. And the easiest way to deal with that is not to make stupid decisions. By the time you graduate, you’ll be an accountable, forward-thinking, smart decision maker.
2. Fiscal Responsibility: Dues suck. They’re too high, you can’t afford them, you need to cover rent and text books, feed yourself, and now you have to pay an extra couple hundred dollars just to be a part of this fraternity? What a joke! But guess what, my friend; you learn to budget your money. First off, while dues suck, they’re necessary to keep your chapter running smoothly. They pay for insurance, food at events, trips to wherever, and all the miscellaneous expenses that organizations incur. And if you don’t want to pay them, then you can’t be a member of the organization. So the only way to keep your membership and enjoy the spoils of a brother is to budget and save your money. And by the end of your tenure at college, no matter your major, you’ve learned to pay your expenses on time and in full, which is something I didn’t learn in all my years in school. Instead, I learned how to budget and save by joining a fraternity.
3. Community Service: Most social fraternities have philanthropic causes. They raise money and work with the community to help those in need. My chapter takes pride in our community service efforts and our philanthropic donations, because being a functioning and charitable member of the community is just as important as being a socially competent member. There are literally thousands of opportunities to help those in need on and around virtually every campus in America. Joining a fraternity will not only give you access to those opportunities, but also a group of friends and brothers with whom to cease them. Not to mention, community service looks awesome on your résumé. EliteDaily.com says that Greek organizations account for 75 percent of all total college and university donations.
4. Drinking Responsibly: Colleges and universities across America are taking more and more steps every year to ensure their students are drinking responsibly. In fact, every fraternity nationwide has a system in place to educate its members on safely and legally indulging in alcoholic libations. Of course, until you are 21, you shouldn’t be drinking anyway. But let’s address the drunk elephant in the room – everyone in college drinks. Fraternities take ample measures to ensure that there are sober brothers present at any event involving alcohol and, even though the media likes to highlight the tiny, little percentage of times alcohol causes problems in fraternity and sorority life, they neglect the huge majority of the time when nothing bad happens at all. The fact of the matter is 99 out of 100 “parties” go over completely smoothly, without a hitch. Don’t let the media scare you or your parents. In addition, according to EliteDaily.com, Greeks are far less likely to become alcoholics after graduation than non-Greeks.
5. Getting and Keeping Jobs : According to TheFraternityAdvisor.com, of the nation’s 50 largest corporations, fraternity men head 43. 85 percent of Fortune 500 executives belong to a fraternity, 40 out of 47 U.S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were fraternity men and 76 percent of all Congressmen and Senators belong to a fraternity. Furthermore, every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825 have been members of a fraternity. It’s no secret that fraternity men wind up running major organizations, from charities, to professional football teams, to Margaritaville, to the US Government, to internationally recognized companies.
In summary, I hope this list gave you a little more insight into the great things that come from being in a fraternity. At the end of the day, people will base their opinions on what the news and what their parents tell them, but a lot of the time, those people don’t know the full story. Ask a fraternity brother what it’s like to be in a fraternity. Ask a sorority sister what it’s like to be in a sorority. They’ll tell you all the amazing things that the Greek world has to offer, without blowing the bad things out of proportion like the media is wont to do. I owe a ton of my current and future successes to the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and I couldn’t be more proud to wear my letters. And no matter what fraternity he is a part of, anybody you ask will tell you the same thing.
