Recently, a girl published an article titled " 8 Reasons Why I'll Never Date A Frat Boy." She went on to explain why she wouldn't and honestly put them in a stereotype. I have no problem with someone choosing not to date a frat guy, date who you want to date. I'm not here to tell you that's wrong or anything but I'm here to say that what she said is completely off.

1. "A fraternity is a breeding ground for sexual assault"

One case that was screwed up by bad journalism. Just because a male is in a fraternity DOES NOT mean they will treat women badly. I'm actually offended that you would say this. I have many male friends in frats who would never touch a woman without her permission. I feel completely safe around a lot of my guy friends in frats. Are you taking into account the amount of males who rape women on college campuses that aren't in fraternities? Because you know what? There are a lot of rapists that aren't in fraternities. Oh and btw not all fraternities are white guys, I know guys of every race in IFC (Interfraternity council) at my school.

2. "Those stupid socials"

Those stupid socials are actually fun socials. It's a way to meet people and to have fun with your brothers. Some fraternities here have date parties to NBA games. That's not stupid at all, that's fun. Obviously you haven't gone on one before. Nothing about socials are stupid. I have friends who met their boyfriends at date parties and swaps.

3. "It's a white-centric culture. Do you really wanna be associated with that?"

I will say some fraternities have some dumb members in them that do uncalled for things. Not all fraternities are that way and saying they are is making a generalization of them. I can assure you that what those guys did doesn't represent the fraternity as a whole—it was just some guys being idiots who end up getting kicked out of their fraternity because of it.

4. "They're obnoxious"

You know there are obnoxious guys not in fraternities right, and just because someone is greek doesn't make them obnoxious. I have become friends with many sorority and fraternity members who are the most down-to-earth, and selfless people I've ever met.

On the note of philanthropy events, they are not bad, I love how you didn't mention any good ones. Philanthropy events are a time to raise money for their philanthropy. At my university, Sigma Nu host an event called Charity Bowl. Started in 1990 after Chucky Mullins, a football player for Ole Miss was paralyzed during a game. He passed away not too long after the accident. The charity event consists of a football game between Sigma Nu and another fraternity, a cheerleading competition between the sororities, and homecoming court during halftime. Each year a recipient is chosen who suffers from paralysis and some of the money is also donated to Blair E. Batson Hospital. Charity Bowl has become to be the largest collegiate philanthropy event in the country, with over 1.5 million dollars raised.

Another one is Iota Phi Theta fraternity at the Kean University purchased a plot of land, but instead of building a new house on it, they are building a house for a homeless family to live in.

The guys of ATO at Grand Valley State gave up their Spring Break last year to walk 160 miles across Michigan (with snow on the ground) to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The men averaged walking 20 miles per day, and raised $39,000!

And to go on, Sigma Chi at UT raised $100,000 for cancer research.

Pi Kappa Alpha at Montclair State University honors the survivors, victims, and first responders of September 11th by having an event called the "Pike Hike". "On September 11, 2001, thousands of people walked from Manhattan, over the George Washington bridge, into New Jersey, as the only way off the island and back to their families was by foot." Every year on 9/11, they sponsor the event and walk the 17 miles, (the number of miles it the survivors walked from Ground Zero to New Jersey on that day) in reverse, from New Jersey to Ground Zero to honor "the memory of that day". The fraternity encourages other Greek community members, and students from NYU, Columbia, Rutgers and other schools to participate in it.

5. "Hazing"

Okay, I don't support hazing but it happens and guess what? No one is gonna lose sleep over your opinion on it. Hazing has happened for years, and years and it's not gonna change. It's when men prove their loyalty to their fraternity. When these guys you pledged with become your brothers. I noticed Greekrank was her source for this paragraph. Well GreekRank is not the most reliable source to get information, I know here and at some other universities GreekRank is used in a negative way for "self-ranking" and making ones sorority or fraternity look better then others.

6. "Alcohol? Stay very far away"

You do realize that one can dry rush right...? The men respect that and you don't drink at all during pledgeship or at parties. Also, it's college, people drink it happens. I bet you have drank before too. Just because one fraternity did "butt-chugging" doesn't mean that every fraternity does it. I've never heard of that until I read that article. I bet not every fraternity at UTK is like that too.

7. "Party, Party, Party"

"The only reason he's even dating you is to parade you around in front of his little frat brothers, like 'oh look, here's my latest."

There is a very good fraternity here that only had three parties last semester...Yes, parties happen but that's not the only thing to a fraternity. I can also tell you that many of my friends have boyfriends in fraternities and none of the guys "parade" my friends around to show off to their brothers. I have friends who have been dating their fraternity boyfriends for years. Many of my parent's friends met their spouse in college and were Greek. They dated all throughout college and never dumped the other if they saw a girl that was prettier or smarter. I will say some guys are immature when it comes to dating but that isn't exclusive to just fraternities. I can think of non-fraternity guys who have treated a woman badly or just took a girl out to prove something to a friend.

8. "They're not here to study"

I have many fraternity friends that are in the honors college here, pre-law and pre-med. They take their grades very seriously and won't let anything come in between them and their grades. I bet if you looked at the GPA of guys who aren't in frats some of the numbers would be the same. Just because that's the average of the fraternity doesn't mean everyone made that GPA. I can bet you some guys made really high GPAs. I noticed only the GPA's below a 3.0 were highlighted. The fraternity GPA average at The University of Arkansas is a 3.1.

I know UTK uses the plus/minus system like Ole Miss does. So a B- (80-84%) here is a 2.7, a C- (70-74%) is a 1.7, and a A- (90-94%) is a 3.7. Just because someone has a low GPA doesn't mean they don't study or aren't here to study. I worked my butt off and studied hours for a class every night and ended up with a C-. Some classes here allow a D to pass the course because it's so hard. Some people really don't care and are here to party but others aren't, so don't you dare say that someone's GPA defines if they are here for the right reason's or not.

Finally, I would like to point out that she wrote this with a very biased opinion. If you're gonna argue or debate something like this you have to say the other side of it. No matter if you don't support something you have to show another side of it. The other day I read an article on Facebook about Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) at the University of Central Arkansas that carried a cerebral palsy up a mountain. The six fraternity men took turns carrying her up the mountain (http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/aug/29/uca...) .

I am very involved with a campus ministry here at UM and we have leaders that are in fraternities (and sororities). Are they like the guys that you described in your article? Of course not. I would also never consider my father or cousins who were in fraternities like the guys mentioned in her article.

Being in a fraternity means having a brotherhood. These guys have so many guys looking out for them, that actually care about them. I have friends that joined a frat because it looks good on a resumé, and to network. There is more to a frat then what she mentioned in her article. Here are a little facts to back me up on this: every President and Vice President but two have been in fraternities since they started in 1825; "The Greek system is the largest network of volunteers in the US, with members donating over 10 million hours of volunteer service each year"; Out the biggest 50 corporations, 43 are run by men that were in fraternities; and "A U.S. Government study shows that over 70 percent of all those who join a fraternity/sorority graduate, while under 50 percent of all non-fraternity/sorority persons graduate."

Lastly, there are more to fraternity guys then you think. They are more than their letters. Some are student athletes, leaders in student government, mentors to kids in the community, and some are on full academic scholarships. They are more than what you described.