Fraternity Pros and Cons

http://www.thebestschools.org

Fraternities have many benefits but also many drawbacks. Students going to college, like me, need to decide if it is more beneficial to join greek life or not. In an article titled “Joining a Fraternity or Sorority,” the author talks about the pros and cons of joining a fraternity. This article is credible because the author is not biased at all because he mentions both sides of why joining a frat is both good and bad. The author makes many arguments which include costs, social life, and hazing. This article has helped me establish further knowledge of fraternity life.

In the article, the author lists many pros of joining a fraternity. The first pro he lists is networking. Greek organizations help build networks for students that prove beneficial when looking for internships, employment, recommendations or employees. The connections gained by being Greek are often the best gains of Greek life. Another pro he lists is philanthropy. In the article, he states “most chapters find involvement in some sort of community service project or philanthropic endeavor, and many chapters have leadership positions dedicated to this aspect of Greek life.” Not only are greek organizations having fun but also giving back to the community. Another pro he lists is social identity and skills. What do 85% of the executives of Fortune 500 companies and 80% of United States Presidents since 1900 have in common? They were all members of Greek organizations during college. Fraternity and sorority membership cultivates young leaders by affording young men and women a social identity and context in which they develop valuable social skills. The last pro he lists is diversity. When students join a fraternity, they are joining with a lot of other kids and it gives you a chance to meet all different kinds of people.

There are cons to. The first con the author lists is the cost of greek life. He states that “at an average public institution, dues for a single semester can cost as much as $1000., At the same university, students may pay around $4000 per semester, for tuition. Thus, going Greek increases college expenses by as much as 25%.”  Cost should not be a problem for me though because my brother is in a fraternity so I will be able to join one too if I choose to. Another con of greek life is hazing. Sometimes the hazing can get out of hand and a little too much. He states that “hazing plagues many college campuses. Over the last 38 years, there has been at least one death per year as a result of hazing in the US. This is the main contributor to the high cost of insurance. However, not all new member activities are hazing; in fact, most are not. More commonly, pledges are asked to do trivial, pointless tasks, that may be demeaning.” I am going to have to decide if it is worth it to be hazed and treated poorly in order to join a frat. Another con the author lists is drug and alcohol abuse. There is a lot of alcohol consumption by college kids. Most college kids binge drink which can be very dangerous for your health. “82% of the hazing-related deaths result from binge drinking.” I will have to think about my safety when deciding to join a frat or not.