PROS and CONS ...

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kmac1914

Golden Member
Apr 2, 2002
1,030
0
76
Wow...there's a huge difference between NPHC and IFC/AGC. Our dues are like $50 a semester...I shudder to think of having to pay 700+ for dues.

I can see why everyone listed that as a con.
 

alm4rr

Diamond Member
Dec 21, 2000
4,390
0
0
Originally posted by: BigJ
Speaking from experience with the frats at UMCP (friends are in and currently pledging frats right now), you will drink and party alot if you live in the house. It takes up a lot of your time, so be ready for it.

you forgot $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ x2
 

iamwiz82

Lifer
Jan 10, 2001
30,772
13
81
The frats at my school always make for the best stories.

Example: The Pikes were painting the school's stone statue of our mascot (school tradition) and a few FIJI guys decided to spoil their fun by burning off the paint. The plan started with a van, 5 buckets of gasoline, and some matches and ended with the Pike guys being covered in gasoline and a police report :laugh:.

<- Not in a frat, but finds their antics to be comedic.
 

GreasyBurger

Banned
May 25, 2003
285
0
0
Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
Originally posted by: GreasyBurger
Do what I did. Join the military and you get to have some of the best friends in life, and Uncle Sam pay you and let you shoot automatic rifles on top of that. Who the hell spend their money just to have friends anyway?

ps: chicks dig guys in uniform more than some rich college boys get his BMW from his daddy.

At least he'll get some writing skills in college.

So you're saying you can never go to college if you join the military? And I thought the topic was about fraternities?

no i'm saying greasyburger can't write for sht

and i already made a post about fraternities


You're right. I should have listen to my parents and went to college to learn how to write instead of enlisted in the armed forces. What was I thinking when they sent me to Afghanistan and got a shrapnel in the leg and watched one of my friend die just so we could give you peaceful sleep at night knowing that you won't get blow up by terrorists. I was 19 years old and I should be in college to party and get my dick wet.

I'm very sorry.
 

MrPShah

Member
Aug 13, 2002
86
0
0
Originally posted by: Nik
Why the hell is Anandtech Off Topic the place that everyone asks every goddamn question that pops into their head instead of looking into it on their own, or finding a more appropriate channel to ask their stupid questions?

that's why it's called "off topic" and not "What Nik wants to talk about"
 

MrPShah

Member
Aug 13, 2002
86
0
0
Originally posted by: Beattie
I am a brother at Phi Kappa Tau

Pros:
meet people
campus activities
group sports
parties

Cons:
dues (they go to pay for parties and stuff though so it's not really an issue)

Also a Phi Tau Brother....

All things aside, it's what you make of it...truth be told, there are many facets of college life open to you via a fraternity. You can become the "animal house" type guy as so many people stereotype, but you can also become extremely involved on campus through so many events/groups/orgs that are extended to you because of your affiliation. All in all, it all depends on what you think of the guys in the fraternity. Could you see yourself being friends with them outside of the fraternity connection? If not, then you might reconsider houses or options....
 

MrPShah

Member
Aug 13, 2002
86
0
0
Originally posted by: acemcmac
Originally posted by: Deeko
people outside the fraternity system tend to think we're all assholes who do nothing but drink and rape girls.

:shocked: you mean you don't?

Pros: The leaders will get you play and booze

Cons: They will want you to conform, pay dues and be subserviant

Basically, if you need surrogate parents, join a frat. If you need to be told how to think, join a frat. If the idea of having a good job while you're in college and living well while you are in college is something that turns you on, this lifestyle is not for you. You can get all of the booze and ass in the world without a frat.

...ahh the bitterness of one's regret...it's ok, not everyone deserves a bid....
 

Mathlete

Senior member
Aug 23, 2004
652
0
71
Originally posted by: hdeck
pros - hookups when you graduate

cons - paying thousands of dollars a years for friends
getting humiliated and made to act like a fool just to get in
paying money to say you have friends
frat beer sucks
paying for friends
frat parties are overrated
having to pay money to fit in

Ever been in a fraternity?

Ever have a friend that is?

The whole "paying for friends" argument is the dumbest thing that I have ever heard. I am a member of Delta Sigma Phi and it was the best decision that I ever made.

Pro's
1. Meet new people
2. Friends that have the same values as you.(In our preamble we state that the belief in God is essential to our welfare)
3. Networking(Many of my brothers have helped me out in times of trouble)
4. Service to a community(we did service projects all the time)
5. You learn cool songs

Con's
1. Ignorant people like hdeck will stereotype you as the type of person that needs to "buy your friends"

YITBOS
 

dcdomain

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2000
5,158
0
71
There has been so many threads related to this issue, hell even I started one just asking who was in the Greek system after I crossed. And man did I get flamed like none other. You should search the archives for other responses.

First off, you transferring to Cornell and you can't spell fraternity right? C'mon, at least go back in and edit it hehe. I love Cornell, last semester I drove up there from Pittsburgh at least 5-6 times to visit the brothers there. Great atmosphere, I wish I went to school there.

I wrote a paper about fraternity life for my Organizational Behavior class during my junior year. You can read it here if you would like: fraternity life @ Carnegie Mellon (I just glanced through it and caught some mistakes, please excuse them). It's mainly about the Greek life on my campus, but there may be some things that interest you in it. And though I should be biased, I believe I have a pretty neutral stance about it. I know of and accept the negatives that come with Greek life, but all in all, I feel pretty positive about the entire thing, even though it has caused so much stress during my college career (I was one of the founding brothers of the chapter at my school, and served as president for the first two terms).

During my first year at Carnegie Mellon, I swore to myself I would never get into the Greek System. I saw some of my close friends pledge a few of the more traditional fraternities on campus and from the stuff that I heard from them and saw them do for pledging... a lot of it was just plain dumb. But I met a few LPhiE brothers on a trip to Taiwan that summer and roomed with one from Johns Hopkins, and that changed my view on fraternity life. Two years later, we received a charter and pledged...

So yes, I've been on both sides of the fence and I'm happy to say that I'm glad I went through the entire experience. I can't say that people who have never given it a chance and base their decisions on stereotypes or what they see from select fraternities are making a sound judgement.

One of the main aspects of my fraternity that I enjoy is the tight national bond, nothing beats getting in a car and driving around the country, staying at the other chapter houses and meeting a bunch of brothers that went through the same experience with you. It was during my pledgeship that I re-acquainted myself with some elementary school friends who I lost touch with. They were actually brothers already at SUNY Binghamton. I could probably drive cross country and spend every rest stop at a chapter... so when rushing, ask if the brothers go on road trips a lot, or if they are at least tight with brothers from other chapters. That definitely wasn't the case on my campus with some of the other houses. Hell, they'd get in fights with their own brothers from a chapter down the road at UPitt.

Any specific questions feel free to ask away. I know some brothers from other chapters frequent this forum a lot. Whisper from UGA, Got Milk from Cornell etc. They might have some comments to add.
 

gflores

Senior member
Jul 10, 2003
999
0
0
So, from what I've read, there hasn't been a person here that has joined a fraternity and not liked it. Correct?
 

spacelord

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 2002
2,127
0
76
Joining a fraternity and living in the house for 3 years were some of the funnest days of my life.
We had kegs almost every thurs, fri, saturday. other days as necessary..

We weren't known for our grade point average (mine was above avg..) nor our service, but we partied hard. probably a little too hard but it was all good. I loved going back to school in the fall.
 

dcdomain

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2000
5,158
0
71
Actually no... I know a few brothers and sisters who despise hanging out with their pledge bros/sis. I guess rush long and hard and make sure you know EXACTLY what you are getting into, and that you are really down with the makeup of the house.
 

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
greasyburger......do you want a cookie??

I have plenty of respect for people in the armed forces. I have friends from high school in Iraq right now. Ones that have been injured in combat too. But are you instantly 'better' than anyone who goes to college because of it? Hell no. Get off your high horse dude.
 

gigapet

Lifer
Aug 9, 2001
10,005
0
76
Nu Delta Chapter of the Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America est. 1847

I joined my sophmore year after I had already established a solid group of friends.

Best move I ever made in my life.

It easily multiplied the size of my social circle 10X....not just brothers but ppl in other fraternities, sororities and clubs!

Having graduated....I have a network of at least 60 people right now that I know even if we dont talk for 6 months or a year or whatever, that when we talk/meet it will be like we are best friends(brothers) again. I know as we all advance in our careers there will be incredible networking opportunities that will be available to me. We all keep in touch through email lists and in general we all look forward to returning to campus alumni weekend....so we can meet the new guys and live it up college style for a weekend. Now I don't know many people outside of greek organizations that can say the same thing.

I paid about 300-400 a year in dues.....a drop in the bucket compared to what i spent at just one bar in a semester.

I cant even begin to name the amount of times a brother bailed me out of a bad situation and I did the same for them.

I developed leadership skills, decision making skills, strategic planning skills, networking skills, marketing skills, negotiating skils, debating skills, persuading skills. Through the many social parties I gained an immense amount of knowledge about social dynamics. I learned how to drink. I learned how to funnel. I learned how to bar tend. I learned how to tap kegs and tap hot pieces of ass...and al lthat other fun but essentially useless stuff.

Over all it was an incredible experience. Its made me a better person in all aspects of my life.


some famous zete's include:
Dr. Howard B. Dean former Governor of Vermont

Dean Cain Superman from "Lois &amp; Clark"
Dr. John Machray Author of "In Flander's Fields"
Steven Leacock Noted Canadian Author
Dr. Benjamin Spock Noted Author, Physician
Dr. John Bardeen Two-time Nobel Prize in Physics
Henry Ford II Former Chairman, Ford Motor Company
Eric Molson (and 3 other Molsons)
Chairman, The Molson Companies
Joseph F. Cullman Former Chairman, Phillip Morris, Inc.
Dean Witter (and 6 other Witters) Dean Witter Reynolds
James Cantalupo President, McDonalds International
William A. Shea Man for whom Shea Stadium is named
Roy McMurtry Canadian High Commissioner to Great Britain
Pete Wilson former Governor of California
Lesley Aspin Former Secretary of Defense for President Clinton
Erskine Bowles White House Chief of Staff
 

GreasyBurger

Banned
May 25, 2003
285
0
0
Originally posted by: Deeko
greasyburger......do you want a cookie??

I have plenty of respect for people in the armed forces. I have friends from high school in Iraq right now. Ones that have been injured in combat too. But are you instantly 'better' than anyone who goes to college because of it? Hell no. Get off your high horse dude.


You watched any of them died before your eyes?

Actually, I don't need your cookie. I need a time machine so I could turn the clock back 4 years ago to tell "myself" to go to college and learn how to write like one of the forum member suggested.
 

NikPreviousAcct

No Lifer
Aug 15, 2000
52,763
1
0
Originally posted by: MrPShah
Originally posted by: Nik
Why the hell is Anandtech Off Topic the place that everyone asks every goddamn question that pops into their head instead of looking into it on their own, or finding a more appropriate channel to ask their stupid questions?

that's why it's called "off topic" and not "What Nik wants to talk about"

Holy crap, that's a GREAT forum description!! :Q
 

gigapet

Lifer
Aug 9, 2001
10,005
0
76
Originally posted by: GreasyBurger
Originally posted by: Deeko
greasyburger......do you want a cookie??

I have plenty of respect for people in the armed forces. I have friends from high school in Iraq right now. Ones that have been injured in combat too. But are you instantly 'better' than anyone who goes to college because of it? Hell no. Get off your high horse dude.


You watched any of them died before your eyes?

stop whining will you? people have tradgedies in there life on a daily basis whether they are war related or not. You are not any better than anyone else because you had to deal with a tradgedy.

I want to personally thank you for your sacrifices and You should be proud that you had the courage, integrity and fortitude to defend this country but don't exploit it.
 

GreasyBurger

Banned
May 25, 2003
285
0
0
Originally posted by: gigapet
Originally posted by: GreasyBurger
Originally posted by: Deeko
greasyburger......do you want a cookie??

I have plenty of respect for people in the armed forces. I have friends from high school in Iraq right now. Ones that have been injured in combat too. But are you instantly 'better' than anyone who goes to college because of it? Hell no. Get off your high horse dude.


You watched any of them died before your eyes?

stop whining will you? people have tradgedies in there life on a daily basis whether they are war related or not. You are not any better than anyone else because you had to deal with a tradgedy.

I want to personally thank you for your sacrifices and You should be proud that you had the courage, integrity and fortitude to defend this country but don't exploit it.

I'm not whining. I'm regreting because I signed my name under the dotted line and threw away 4 years of my youth and almost got killed in the process. I could have spent those 4 years in college and learn how to WRITE like somebody suggested earlier.
 

gigapet

Lifer
Aug 9, 2001
10,005
0
76
Originally posted by: GreasyBurger
Originally posted by: gigapet
Originally posted by: GreasyBurger
Originally posted by: Deeko
greasyburger......do you want a cookie??

I have plenty of respect for people in the armed forces. I have friends from high school in Iraq right now. Ones that have been injured in combat too. But are you instantly 'better' than anyone who goes to college because of it? Hell no. Get off your high horse dude.


You watched any of them died before your eyes?

stop whining will you? people have tradgedies in there life on a daily basis whether they are war related or not. You are not any better than anyone else because you had to deal with a tradgedy.

I want to personally thank you for your sacrifices and You should be proud that you had the courage, integrity and fortitude to defend this country but don't exploit it.

I'm not whining. I'm regreting because I signed my name under the dotted line and threw away 4 years of my youth and almost got killed in the process. I could have spent those 4 years in college and learn how to WRITE like somebody suggested earlier.


well just so you know....my fraternity did not have requirements regarding whether or not you actually had to be a student to be in....soo if you really want to.....you can probably still rush a fraternity and not miss out on these things....and i'm sure your war stories would earn you boatloads of booty calls.
:beer:
 

acemcmac

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
13,712
1
0
sorry deeko, I went to a few rush parties... the guys were great, but with a full courseload and two jobs at about 55 hours a week, I only have time for a select few activites... eating, pooping, girls and sleep with frequent tradeoffs in between. I just imagine how hellish my life would be if I had an organization to lead me around on top of it all...
 

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
Originally posted by: GreasyBurger
Originally posted by: Deeko
greasyburger......do you want a cookie??

I have plenty of respect for people in the armed forces. I have friends from high school in Iraq right now. Ones that have been injured in combat too. But are you instantly 'better' than anyone who goes to college because of it? Hell no. Get off your high horse dude.


You watched any of them died before your eyes?

Actually, I don't need your cookie. I need a time machine so I could turn the clock back 4 years ago to tell "myself" to go to college and learn how to write like one of the forum member suggested.

Listen. I already said I have respect for what you did.

You act like writing is not an important skill to have in life. You shouldn't have had to go to college to learn that anyway...my guess is you learn proper grammar in 6th grade.

Just because you went to the army and you saw people die does not make you a better man than me. How do you judge what makes someone a better man? There are so many measures. How "good" or moral a person is. What they contribute to society. What they contribute to their country. To their family. To themselves. Or, from a biological or evolutionary standpoint, how many children they've had. Who are you to tell me you're better than the millions of college students in America, just because you went to the army and saw a friend die?
 

GreasyBurger

Banned
May 25, 2003
285
0
0
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: GreasyBurger
Originally posted by: Deeko
greasyburger......do you want a cookie??

I have plenty of respect for people in the armed forces. I have friends from high school in Iraq right now. Ones that have been injured in combat too. But are you instantly 'better' than anyone who goes to college because of it? Hell no. Get off your high horse dude.


You watched any of them died before your eyes?

Actually, I don't need your cookie. I need a time machine so I could turn the clock back 4 years ago to tell "myself" to go to college and learn how to write like one of the forum member suggested.

Listen. I already said I have respect for what you did.

You act like writing is not an important skill to have in life. You shouldn't have had to go to college to learn that anyway...my guess is you learn proper grammar in 6th grade.

Just because you went to the army and you saw people die does not make you a better man than me. How do you judge what makes someone a better man? There are so many measures. How "good" or moral a person is. What they contribute to society. What they contribute to their country. To their family. To themselves. Or, from a biological or evolutionary standpoint, how many children they've had. Who are you to tell me you're better than the millions of college students in America, just because you went to the army and saw a friend die?


Obviously all your college education didn't help on your reading comprehension.

I'll repeat "Actually, I don't need your cookie. I need a time machine so I could turn the clock back 4 years ago to tell "myself" to go to college and learn how to write like one of the forum member suggested."

Please tell me which part I said that writing isn't important?
 

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
Considering I'm a computer science student, no I don't take my reading classes.

Are you being serious with that statement? The way you've been acting all this thread, and I'm not the only one who's taken it this way, you've been acting like its sarcastic.