What do you guys think about joining a fraternity?

[Brighty]

I've been pledging a fraternity throughout the entire second semester this year (I'm a freshman) and I'm beginning to have some doubts on it. The benefits of joining a fraternity don't seem to outweigh the cons in my opinion, but maybe I have a skewed perspective on these things so I was wondering if I could get some other peoples' opinions on this matter.

- I feel like the friendships I make in the fraternity, only a handful of them are genuine, otherwise the rest are just "oh he's in my frat so we're friends" and feel superficial. I already have a pretty substantial social circle and parties aren't hard to find, so it's not like I need to be in a frat to have a social life.

- I have a hard time relating to a lot of the actives there, I feel like they either talk about sports or random business/college stuff or girls (the girls topic I can contribute to, but 1 for 3 ain't good)

- I don't see how hazing promotes brotherhood or anything that the fraternity stands for, in our line-ups that the pledges have to do, we get blindfolded and screamed at by actives, and there's a few scrawny little guys there who get a taste of power and go ballistic on us... I seriously want nothing more than to stick them in the face, and the idea that I'm going to be calling them brothers next year disgusts me. Being someone's ***** isn't my idea of becoming friends with them.

- I can't help but feel like being in a fraternity is a crutch for people who are just boring and unremarkable so that they can feel apart of something bigger or be apart of something special in their lives.

These are some of the concerns I have, and I'm wondering what you guys thought on the subject. Did you guys join a fraternity/not join? Did you regret it? Am I alone in having these concerns?

 

[Teflon_Mcgee]

I could've never joined a frat.

Number one, after spending 4 years as a rifleman in the Corps, a frat boy trying to haze you is like Mickey Mouse trying haze you. It's hard to take some college kid, who just got off his momma's tit, serious when you've been "hazed" by guys who spill guts for a living.

Second, almost all frat boys are sheep. I like to surround myself by free thinkers. I've always had a hard time associating with people who have to follow the crowd.

 

[Robert28]

if you want to pay, and i mean pay alot of $$$, then joining a frat is for you. if you want to make friends for free, then it's not.

 

[2bAlpha]

if you want to pay, and i mean pay alot of $$$, then joining a frat is for you. if you want to make friends for free, then it's not.

Exactly, if you got the funds, by all means DO IT. But if there is a remote possiblity that you'll not afford it, live in a dorm.

 

[Julius_Seizeher]

I was a member of a highly esteemed frat in college, it was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone who can afford it.

But if it's the "douchebag party frat" on your campus, don't waste your time.

 

[Brighty]

Yeah, I don't think these guys are the "douchebag party frat", but it definately is hard to have some scrawny upperclassmen yelling at you when it would be so easy to just stick him in the face. And I can definately relate to what you said Teflon, I feel like there are a lot of followers in frats and they wouldn't necessarily help me grow as a person other than the free parties and such.

I'd like to get some more opinions on the subject, though

 

[speed dawg]

I was in a frat. I had no clue what to expect going in, but coming out I have some advantages and disadvantages of it:

Advantages:

- It forces you to get out and meet people - and probably a good bit more than you'd have met on your own.
- Gives you something to do, sort of tied in with the above.
- You may get a few pieces of pvssy based on the frat alone. Quality of the girl depends on quality of the frat, which comes back.
- It does give you an identity. On big state college campuses, this can be a good thing.
- You will meet some good friends, who you'll probably remain friends with the rest of your life.
- You could possibly make contacts for networking later in life. I personally have not seen any examples of this, however.

Disadvantages:

- Don't think for a second that guys in your frat are automatically your "brothers for life".
- Money.
- I personally think the guys all serious about the frat are a joke and wasting their time. Let's treat the Greek system like what it is - a fvcking college country club.
- The identity I spoke of earlier can backfire on you.
- You'll experience how crappy people can really be..

So in closing, I'll just leave you with what I would have done if I could go back in time. I'd probably join again, and enjoy it for the first two years. I probably wouldn't have acted like an idiot, but that would have happened with or without a fraternity. Later in my college career, I probably would have quit the frat, or just sort of hung around the guys I liked instead of all of them, and backed off my direct involvement.

But right now, the frat just really doesn't matter to me. Just my $.02.