It is not good for a man to be alone, - says the Old Testament; because man is an animal social, scientists added. A student who goes to an American university, it turns out, if I may say so, is doubly one - a beginner in school, an alien in another country.
One way to firmly take root in a new cultural ground is to join a student brotherhood or sisterhood .
These original organizations are often mentioned in Hollywood films and English literature, but our student's general idea about them is usually rather vague: Greek letters in different combinations, absurd ceremonies, lots of alcohol, secret handshakes, for which they identify themselves, bullying candidates for admission , beautiful girls from the support group.
Real fraternity and sorority include all of the above and much more; they are real corporations with multimillion-dollar budgets and their own lobby in the government.
They deserve a serious attitude to themselves, so before leaving, it is worthwhile to probe the soil for the brotherhoods and sisterhoods of your university.
_________________________________________________________________
How did brotherhoods and sisterhoods appear and what are they now?
The first "Greek brotherhood" arose for the same reasons that people continue to join: because of the reluctance to feel rejected and lonely. In 1776, a student at the College of William and Mary John Hiff, who was not accepted into the two brotherhoods of Latin letters (the club of "Flat Hats" and the "Please Do not Ask" group), decided to organize his community, with blackjack with Greek capital letters in the title. This is how the "Fi Beta Kappa" appeared, a community organized on the principle of Masonic lodges: with the test of newcomers, with a solemn initiation ritual, with secret signs, by which they recognize their own and obligatory mutual support.
Then, the branches of the Fi Beta Kappa opened in other universities, and soon there were new brotherhoods, with their own set of letters. Women's communities organized on the principle of brotherhoods appeared almost a century later, which is not surprising, given that women began to enroll in universities only in the mid-nineteenth century. Of course, Sorority, of course, behaved much better than Fraernitti: on the one hand, women had to defend their right to learn alongside men, and the results less than brilliant were already counted as a defeat, on the other hand, the students still tried to match the Victorian ideals of "the angel in the house ".
_________________________________________________________________
The members of the sisterhoods and brotherhoods were considered (and for the most part truly were) the student elite. The Civil War suspended the development of the brotherhoods, but at its end came the so-called Golden Age, when the already existing student organizations were developing rapidly and new ones were being created. Brotherhoods and sisterhoods have become an integral part of America's student life. During the First and Second World Wars, the fraternities were oriented toward helping military servicemen-former students, in general being effective volunteer organizations.
After the Second World War, the brotherhood gained a distinctly military spirit; the tests of candidates for joining the brotherhood "inherited" the brutality and ingenuity of the army hazing (although they were not so philanthropic before).
_________________________________________________________________
Benefits of joining
The fraternities consisted of half of US presidents, five out of ten businessmen of the current top-10 magazine Fotrune; one third of all Supreme Judges and three quarters of congressmen of the last convocation. The figures seem even more significant when you consider that the members of the fraternity make up only four percent of the economically active population of the United States. The first female senator was a member of sorority.
A member of the fraternity almost triples his chances of a successful graduation. Without helping services like payforessays. Gallup's poll of thirty thousand Greek graduates in 2014 showed that members of fraternity and sorority in their later life feel more satisfied with their work, their place in society and even their health than those who did not belong to such communities.
In general, the brotherhood is a family that supports its member throughout life.
The unity of the members of the brotherhood is illustrated even by the vehemence with which the society of the "Keeper of the Keys" prevents the sale and collecting of the badges of the brotherhood. This may seem funny, but collectors themselves regularly receive threats by mail and try to make their auctions as secret as possible (which, in effect, echoes the tradition of secrecy fraternity and sorority).
_________________________________________________________________
What is the price for such cohesion?
First, the question of price is to be understood literally: brotherhoods mean contributions, because the violent student revels, which likes to show Hollywood, are very expensive. The price varies depending on the university and the brotherhood.
According to data for 2015, at the University of North Carolina , membership costs $ 1,631 per year, and membership with living in a "brotherhood house" is $ 2,970 per year. At the University of Kansas, membership in food and accommodation will cost $ 5,300 a year. At the University of Boston - from 800 to 1000 dollars a year.
It's not for nothing that brotherhoods are called rent-a-friend, friends rent out: the newcomer does not acquire them, but buys them.
Secondly, alcohol, which unites, liberates and so on, is used by members of fraternities in such quantities that the insurance communities formally made membership in the brotherhood the sixth in the list of insurance risks.
Thirdly, the shared past - the very thing that makes a tear in the alumni meetings - involves trials that are no longer equal in the biography of the average American. After several months, filled with the execution of instructions from the senior members of the brotherhood, the final "hellish week" follows, and then, if the candidate has withstood it, initiation into society.
_________________________________________________________________
It seems that it is the cruelty of these tests and the pride of the memories of the experience that holds the members of the brotherhood together.
However, the list of deaths during the tests of candidates is steadily increasing every year. Causes of death demonstrate both continuity and the considerable ingenuity of fraternities. In 1892, the student was killed, collided with the crew, in 2010 - in a car accident.
But it should be noted that the brotherhoods have cruelty mechanisms: once a test is allowed to kidnap and torture one of the older members of the brotherhood (if this can be found time).
So, both the advantages and disadvantages of the "Greek" life are equally serious.
_________________________________________________________________
Before making a decision, it is worth exploring: which communities are active on the territory of your university, are they on the list of deaths from the hasing that are written in student forums, and, finally, how isolated is your university from the city. The further the campus from city streets, the greater the influence of brotherhoods.
All the best,
Alex
- Alex Clayton's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
