Greek life has the ability to make incredible impacts not only on college students but their communities as well. Being a guy, I will speak to the operation and success of fraternities as I do not believe I am a credible source to speak for sororities. Of course, there will be both positive and negative impacts, but given the dwindling reputation surrounding fraternities, I think it is important to recall the positive aspects … the information that you don’t see in the papers.
On average, 10 percent of the freshman male population join fraternities across the United States. This is a small proportion of college males, but it shows the diversity among student bodies. That’s one of the best parts about college … There are endless clubs and organizations to join so that everyone can find their niche. Unfortunately, the niche that those 10 percent find is already heavily stereotyped by a majority of people who criticize the fraternal process. Fraternity members and pledges don’t do what they do so that other people understand it; they’re doing it because they want it to be a part of their college experience. I am writing this article with an intended bias that I stated above, but it will not have any personal bias as it pertains to MY personal first year experience.
1. Fraternities serve as a social platform.
Counterargument: You have to pay for friends.
This counterargument is a common one surrounding fraternities. It means that by joining you are simply paying to secure your spot in a person’s life for a few years. This is fundamentally not true. At the beginning of each school year there is a “rush” period where you go around to different houses and events and get to know members of the Greek community. You are not signing up for Greek life by going to these events … you are simply networking. If you find a fraternity where you really fit in, then you proceed down the pledging path into brotherhood, which provides a whole new meaning to the social platform. However, there are many guys who will go through rush and meet new friends but never join a fraternity, which is completely normal and acceptable. This social platform applies to everyone, not just the members of the fraternities.
2. Fraternities introduce leadership roles.
Counterargument: Every organization has to have leadership roles.
Of course most organizations across campus include leadership roles, but fraternities allow for even more people to get involved and grow into the leaders that they want to be. Many of the positions held within a fraternity require intense and quick decision making skills during critical moments. It’s pretty much a given that something bad will happen during the span of a year with 70 guys living in a house together … This is where those skills are tried and tested and where leadership development begins.
3. Fraternity members are generally very successful.
Counterargument: That’s coincidental … you can’t prove fraternities led to success.
It seems like a very general and biased statement, but I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves.
These are just a few figures, but those are not coincidental numbers. Keep in mind that only an average of 10 percent of college males join a fraternity. Out of those 10 percent a large proportion end up being quite successful. This can be attributed to a strong new member program as well as great role models who run the operations of the fraternities.
Schools are cracking down on Greek life and hindering their ability to operate in a way that has led to these networks and success rates. It’s no longer a fight against the few fraternities that still haze; it’s a war that is steamrolling across the United States, shutting down hundreds of fraternities each year, killing the very thing that has had such incredible impacts on millions of young men’s lives.
Credit and Fact Reference:
https://www5.njit.edu/greeklife/directory/facts.php
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