Re: Re: Hazing on the rise, and its getting worse.

[Guest guest]

There is a lot of truth in this. Most frats these days are just about partying and sex. Studying is a far distant third, or maybe fourth behind sports.

When I first went to college in 1991, we had to go to the big lunch room where the fraternities and sororities had tables set up and where they would give presentations. My seat was near two of the frat tables. Before the presentations began, I could here them talking about the people in the crowd. They got to me and it was laughs, jokes and insults that in a just society I could have called them out for a duel over. The presentation were all about how much fun people would have in the group, but no direct mention was made about drinking, drugs and sex, but it was as heavily implied as they could get away with.

After the presentations, everyone got up to go to the various tables, except me. Since we were being sent around as a block of students, I had to wait for the others to finish before we went on to the next thing. One guy from one of the frats that wasn't getting much attention came over to half-heartedly ask if I wanted to join. I told him no and he asked if I was just there to study. I replied that I was, and that I heard what they were saying about me and if they thought I would join their frat after that or tolerate the way I knew they would treat me he was sadly mistaken. That seemed to rattle him and he went back to the others and told them. They seemed a bit taken aback too, but no one else bothered me.

When I visited other college campuses as a prospective student, when younger and as an adult, or when near one for other business, I would sometimes get hassled by frat boys. This is so because even though I am in my mid-30's, I can pass for a college kid if I am around them, though that is getting less so.

I also agree with your assessment that fratboys get ahead only by the social networking with other fratboys. From what I understand, this even happens in the military where having gone to one of the big academies like West Point or polis will give one far more weight that someone who went to VMI or just ROTC, even those are the better officers.

Frats probably are also degenerating as you say. I have a friend who's sons went off to college and he forbade them from joining frat, even the one he formerly belonged to because of what they are becoming.

In a message dated 4/16/2009 12:07:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

While it was considered irresponsible to assume why this may be, there was the belief that it was due to the lowering of morals that fraternities and sororities promote.

Oddly enough, these policies were instituted by executives who had themselves been part of a fraternity. There was once a time when they made it a point to hire only those (if possible) who HAD joined fraternities, as this was their "brotherhood" but they saw how much of a failure this was and turned their back on that policy. Great deals on Dell's most popular laptops - Starting at $479