While fraternities may seem simplistic at a glance, fraternity men will always argue otherwise. The fraternal lifestyle is too often misunderstood. Thanks to news headlines, most people believe our main goal is ultimate debauchery. While it may have been so in the past, it is not so now. The best fraternities are the ones whose individuals conduct themselves nobly. In truth, fraternity has been and always will be a gentleman’s game. Here are six reasons why.

1. Gentlemen do the right thing.  Many people believe that movies like Animal House and Neighbors are the essence of what we do daily. For whatever reason, the media loves to report only negatives about us. When was the last time you saw a headline like, “UNL Fraternity Raises Thousands For Cancer Research” or “UNL Fraternities Come Together For Service”? The sad truth is that many of our achievements go unnoticed. Despite this, fraternities continue to do good deeds. While it would be easier to succumb to the stereotypes, fraternity men on our campus seek to improve the world around them. In the deed, the glory.  

2. Gentlemen seek knowledge. No matter the letter, we were all students first. Men of every creed and color have joined fraternities, but we are all united in our journey for higher knowledge. The Greek male average at UNL is consistently higher than the non-Greek male average. In fact, most fraternities on our campus require their members to maintain a GPA higher than that average. When it comes to learning, fraternities venture much further beyond GPA. The men who come and go through the doors of our fraternities gain priceless life skills. Patience for other people starts to come easy after you have lived with a house full of strong personalities.      

3. Gentlemen listen before they speak. No one skips to the top of the food chain. The organization of fraternities establishes this principle by instilling a sense of leadership. Men are taught to respect seniority, but also merit. Men who refuse to swallow their pride will ultimately fail in any organization, and fraternities are not an exception. A man who cannot follow, is a man who cannot lead. By joining a fraternity, a man learns to earn respect instead of demand it.    
4. Gentlemen inspire rivals. Life is competitive and there is no recipe for competition quite like a house full of alpha males. Whether it is scoring the most points in an intramural game or achieving the highest test score in a hard class, it seems we are always out to be the best. This is one of the most underrated effects of a fraternity because it prepares a man for the dog eat dog world we live in. Even though the rivalry is always strong, that does not mean we create animosity between people, in or out of our respective houses. In fact, it is just the opposite; healthy rivalry within and between fraternities teaches us to compete with pride and respect.      

5. Gentlemen see the worth in everyone. A true fraternity man sees the worth in himself. If he didn’t, he would have never believed in himself enough to join an organization that focused on making the world around them a better place. This belief translates directly to how any fraternity treats non-members. Our organizations are measured by how we interact with everyone, whether they are sorority girls or independents.      

6. Gentlemen live with purpose. It may seem arbitrary, but this fact is often overlooked. This doesn’t mean we all have our lives figured out, but at the end of the day we are always working for something. Even in the face of adversity, men can always return to the arms of their brothers for guidance. We may not have our lives completely figured out, but at least we can come together for a common goal. Being in a fraternity is an individual sacrifice for the accomplishment of a group, one of the noblest purposes there is.                  

No man is the perfect embodiment of all these ideals. No fraternity is complete, either, but that is the point. At times, we are a source of headaches for our university. We are the subject of scrutiny for journalists, as well as the backup plot line for Hollywood directors. We are leaders of men and the speakers of our generation. We are fraternity men.