Greek Life has long been closely associated with the traditional college experience, from the zany comedy movies of yesteryear to the increasing popularity of Tiktok videos displaying the ins and outs of sorority and fraternity existence.
This leads in turn to questions, from parents and students alike, especially those who are less familiar with US colleges. Are college parties really like the ones in the movies? Is joining Greek Life worth it? What is Greek Life anyway? We’re going to explore the answer to these questions in this article; Greek Life is a major part of college for many students, and exploring it fully will help you be fully informed when making your own decisions about universities.
What are Fraternities and Sororities, and Why are they Called Greek Life?
These organizations have a long history, which we will sum up briefly. The first fraternities began during a fad of founding secret societies on college campuses in the late 1700s. While they retained some traits from these beginnings, they cross pollinated with dining clubs and literature clubs, transforming into a mixture of academic and social organizations.
There was initially pushback from universities on their growth and membership, but as their number grew, and their alumni gained influence, this was toned down. Sororities began later, but followed a similar pattern. The gender segregation in higher education at the time was reflected in these organizations, both of which were limited to a single gender.
All of these organizations identified themselves with Greek letters, despite the terms Fraternitas and Sororitas being Latin in origin; this is where the appellation Greek Life comes from.
Modern fraternities and sororities share the following traits in common, though there are some exceptions:
- Secrecy
- Single sex membership (not all organizations do this as we will examine later, but fraternities and sororities are specifically exempt from Title IX regulations)
- Selection of new members through a probationary and vetting process
- Ownership and occupancy of residential property
- A set of complex identification symbols to signify membership
A Note on Cultural and Religious Fraternities
Fraternities and sororities traditionally discriminated on the basis of race, only allowing white students to join, and sometimes religion, only allowing Christian students to join. These practices lead to the creation of traditionally jewish and traditionally black organizations which existed in parallel.
Federal regulations banned this discrimination, and there were court cases about it. There are still traditionally black and jewish fraternities, which hold their original character, but they allow members of all backgrounds, as do the formerly segregated fraternities and sororities.
The Different Kinds of Greek Organizations
The most common perception of Greek Organizations is that they’re all about the party lifestyle; these are the ones you see on tv or which trend on social media after all. There is more to this system however; indeed, there are three main branches to Greek Life:
- Social Organizations
- Academic Organizations
- Service Organizations
We’ll go through each in turn.
Social Organizations
These are the traditional fraternities and sororities, and their main purpose is to provide a social environment for people to gather and hang out. These organizations have retained the most elements of the secret society roots of fraternities. These organizations will often undertake some philanthropic activities, but this is not their main reason for being. The cultural and religious organizations almost always fall within this category.
These are the groups which maintain houses on campus where members can live if they choose, and which are used to host gatherings.
Academic Organizations
These groups trace more towards the literature club origins of fraternities, and act as academic interest groups and honors societies. Their main purpose is to recognize high achieving students, and to allow students interested in the same academic subject to meet and network. These organizations still have a strong social character, but this is significantly toned down compared to the purely social organizations. These groups usually don’t have a house on campus. If you ever hear of something referred to as a “business frat” this kind of organization is likely behind it. These groups are generally not gender segregated.
Service Organizations
These groups are primarily philanthropic in purpose. All Greek Organizations do some amount of charitable work, but it is the core purpose for these organizations. These organizations tend to be coed, and they are the least common of the three sorts of Greek Organizations. These do have a social aspect as well, but it is not their main focus.
The Pros and Cons of Greek Life
Not everyone approves of how the Greek system operates; when your Wikipedia entry has an entire heading labeled criticisms, then that might be a sign of some issues which need to be resolved.
That isn’t to say that fraternities and sororities are all bad, simply that there are some legitimate issues which you should be aware of. We will cover the major benefits these organizations provide as well; after all, there is a reason they have managed to persist for so long.
The Pros of Greek Life
The biggest perk of Greek Life is right there in the latin terms they took; brotherhood and sisterhood. It is an organization you are joining, one where by membership alone you get an immediate connection to a significant number of people, both current members to hang out with and former members to network with. This can help you on your career path, allow you to find friends to chill with in college, or find a place you may fit in. These groups are not the type enjoyed by everybody, but the social and networking benefits are real and noticeable.
Fraternities also often dominate the social scene on campus; they run the biggest parties, and host the ones most students want to attend, at least for underclassmen. They are not the only source of parties, and your reason for being in college is not, in fact, to party, but this is still seen as a benefit for many students. Note that this benefit only applies to social frats; academic frats are great, but they are not seen as the go-to for parties.
Finally, there’s the question of housing. This only applies to social frats, but many have houses near (or even on) campus, and allow members to stay in them. For students who do not want to live in dorms, this can be an enticing alternative to apartment hunting. Note that this will come with roommates, so you need to be sure that living with your organization’s members is something that truly appeals to you.
The Cons of Greek Life
There have been many news articles and exposes on the inherent flaws of the Greek system, and the risks it poses to potential members. We should note that these generally only apply to social organizations, but since these are the most popular, and by far the largest, of the various Greek organizations, we will go through them, and discuss how relevant these concerns are.
The largest concerns revolve around physical safety, stories of hazing or the overindulgence of alcohol are ubiquitous, if often overly sensationalized. That said, many fraternities do engage in some form of hazing, though sororities are less likely to. Overconsumption of alcohol is also common, but this holds true for most college students. It is particularly encouraged by some organizations however.
Elitism is a concern, and a valid one. These are selective societies with very selective requirements, in terms of personality, appearance, income, or any other factor they deem appropriate. This can create feelings of rejection based on inherent characteristics, which is never fun. In addition, these organizations have the same issue many secret societies have, in that they attempt to inculcate a sense of superiority among members, a prestige of being part of a select in-group.
There is a significant cost associated with being in Greek life, as these organizations charge dues for membership. These are used to fund the organization and activities it puts on; houses aren’t free after all. These can run into the thousands of dollars per year, which is prohibitively expensive for some students.
Finally, social Greek life tends to become the center of your social activities on campus. You may become involved with other activities, especially if the organization is associated with a sports team, but the organization will take most of your time and energy, and its membership will be most of your social circle. This is fine, and one of the perks of the life, but can limit your other opportunities to socialize.
We should note that not all of these cons apply to all organizations equally. Each has their own culture and traditions, and will suffer from these problems to different degrees.
Final Thoughts
Greek life is a core part of the college experience for many students, and forms a core for their college memories. Indeed, many students start thinking about joining a fraternity or sorority long before ever stepping on campus, especially as the social media presence of these organizations has greatly expanded. Some students even have this experience as a core motivation for where they apply to or attend college, though this is somewhat rarer.
That said, there are concerns about how Greek life can and should fit into the university system, and whether or not it is compatible with the mission of universities. Some colleges have banned it from their campuses entirely. We hope this article has fully explored what Greek life can offer you, both positive and negative, and whether or not it is the kind of thing which would add meaningfully to your time in college. Of course, you have to get into college first before worrying about any of this. If you’re looking for help with that sometimes stressful process, schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you. We’ve helped thousands of students on their educational journey, and love to hear from students like you.
