scouser 4 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 OK so I've seen some movies that go on about "Frat Houses" (?) and big parties and what crazy things that go on when new guys enter (pledge?) ------ but I don't know if it's true. So come on US dudes, can you shed some more light on all things Frat? Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Lesson one: Don't call a fraternity a "frat", same as you wouldn't call your country a... Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted December 18, 2003 Author Share Posted December 18, 2003 Oh ok, but that doesn't really tell me much now does it? ...? Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Sorry, that was only Lesson One. I did not mean to seem uninformative What in particular would you like to know? Parties varied from school to school and from fraternity to fraternity. I don't think there is any "typical" fraternity experience. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I know the frat (sorry Goemon, but I always refer to my country as a count) stories I have heard from Danz about MIT are considerably different than what went on at my public University. Frats, on the W.Coast at least, have a stigma of being mainly for the jocks and dudes that wish they were jocks. They drink a lot, screw chicks, and throw big parties. I wasn't in a frat, but the more I write, the more appealing they are sounding. They have certainly made for hilarious movie subject matter over the years. Link to post Share on other sites
Dims 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 And don't forget a large part of the educational and recreational background (who wants another line?) of your current president. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted December 18, 2003 Author Share Posted December 18, 2003 enderzero- thanks, too right lots of good movie moments. Whats with when someone new wants to join and they have to do crazy shit? Is that a movie thing or what? Sorry - know nothing about all this apart from flick scenes. "I wasn't in a frat" - whys that? who gets to be in a frat? In fact, what is a frat?! Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 You have to pledge. Anyone can pledge, but they get to select who gets in. Hazing is toned down form what it used to be, mainly because of legal issues. Still a lot of crap you have to do when you pledge and you occasionally hear about a frat getting sanctioned for hazing. Baiscally it just wasn't a big deal at my university and it never appealed to me. Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 In general, you also have to make it through the entire hazing period in order to become a full-fledged member of the fraternity. Making it through was intended to show your perserverance and desire to be a member, but it also gave people a chance to sh*t on the pledges (maybe literally at some schools). Due to the nasty mixture of litigation and death by hazing, the initiation process been toned down in many places, but still exists in various forms. You can probably turn up alot of stories by doing a Google search of "fraternity hazing deaths". My own pledging period was a little bit less than a semester and I got treated pretty well. There were some tough times, but it was well worth it and alot of fun along the way. We had to drink alot, but I think I would have done that anyway, even if I wasn't pledging a fraternity. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Do you think it is pretty different on the E.Coast than on the West? Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I think it's different at every school. Even at the same school, fraternities will behave differently. It's not so much a East Coast/West Coast - Biggie/Tupac thing. And it changes every year too. The stuff I had to do was much different than the guys who pledged the year before me (if I believe what they told me). Link to post Share on other sites
wendy-cake 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 What's "hazing"? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 > What's "hazing"? It's a polite term for sodomy. Link to post Share on other sites
mikazooki 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 sounds like street slang for sniffing glue to me Link to post Share on other sites
nekobi 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 hazing is the shit you have to do while you are pledging the frat or sorority (for the ladies). i didnt have any at my school, but my friend who was in a sorority at another school said the pledge period consisted of lotsa binge drinking and being a bitch (as in beer bitch not mean bitch) to the other sisters. theres a whole big pairing of sorority sisters each year- new pledges are assigned an older member to show them the ropes, and their big sister's sister is in the same family. you then buy a bunch of crap with your sorority's letters and colors for your little and big sisters or something. Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Quote: theres a whole big pairing of sorority sisters each year .... in a "mating" lesbian kinda way?? Link to post Share on other sites
crazyski 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Hopefully this clears a few things up: As far as I know, not just anyone can pledge a fraternity, you must be asked first. Before being asked to pledge, you must "rush" (during "rush week"). "Rushing" involves a lot of schmoozing, introducing, smalltalk, and other such bullshit for about a week. A potential fraternity member can "rush" more than one house, and most do. After this, there is a "pledge period," which varies in length, time input required, hazing intensity, etc. from school to school, fraternity to fraternity. After period, a number of "pledges" become full active members (aka "brothers"). Rushing and pledging usually occurs in the first year of college (university for everyone that's not American). Fraternities range in size from a few members to perhaps 200 members, with most at my school between 50 and 100 members. Many members live in a house that accommodates a varying number of the members (not all members will live in the fraternity house, probably) The fraternity and sorority system is collectively called the "Greek" system, and members are often referred to as "Greeks." The specific fraternity name (e.g. delta chi) can be used as a noun for a member (e.g. "He is a delta chi). Members pay dues to the fraternity, and funds are allotted to both the local university chapter, as well as the national fraternity (if it exists - it usually does). Critics of the fraternity system often state that members "buy" their friends with their dues. Although possibly valid, this seems a gross simplification and dismissal of an idea that can be a lot of fun for the entire college campus. And hazing is not another word for "sodomy." Ocean11, I would expect that your many years of living in Japan, far from your home country, would have shaped you into a slightly more tolerant, open-minded person. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 > And hazing is not another word for "sodomy." Ocean11, I would expect that your many years of living in Japan, far from your home counry, would have shaped you into a slightly more tolerant, open-minded person. That's a non-sequitur if ever there was one. crazyski, I sometimes like to post misleading information, especially in cases where it can easily be verified by such expedients as using a dictionary. Also I was indulging in some puerile (that's from the Latin that is) fun at the Greek aspect of this tradition. Having seen some of the homoerotic behaviour that goes on in all-male societies at English colleges, I suspect the same applies to the US. There's nothing intolerant or closed minded about finding it laughable(and slightly contemptible). Some of my otherwise admirable friends at uni were into that. Here we go; Main Entry: haz·ing Pronunciation: 'hA-zi[ng] Function: noun Date: circa 1855 : the action of hazing; especially : an initiation process involving harassment And sodomy. Link to post Share on other sites
crazyski 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Sorry, o11, I skipped a step in my logic on that last post. 1. read "hazing is a polite term for sodomy" 2. quickly realized that o11 cannot possibly mean that these are the same thing, so made the next logical jump that o11 might be referring to the often inaccurate, albeit sometimes funny, stereotype that fraternity hazing involves nudity and other such drunken fiendishness. 3. thought this was a bit close-minded since o11 is not from the US and has no experience with such things, so I pointed it out. I'll try to be more clear in my reasoning next time, folks. And it's non sequitur, without a hyphen. So there! And besides, the monkey walk is fun! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 That's just an ad-hoc spelling. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted December 19, 2003 Author Share Posted December 19, 2003 Hmmm. Keep them coming will you? Link to post Share on other sites
barok 0 Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Here at my 40,000 student State University Jock-ocracy, frat life is all about Abercrombie & Fitch, drinking the cheapest beer possible, football Saturday, date-rape, buying friends, pissing on the underclassman members as much as possible, and cheating on School of Business exams. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 > pissing on the underclassman members as much as possible Literally or figuratively? Either seems possible... Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted December 20, 2003 Share Posted December 20, 2003 Hmm., the us equivelant of The Young Ones? Link to post Share on other sites
cheeseman 1 Posted December 21, 2003 Share Posted December 21, 2003 Do they sit round a fire with cheese and crackers talking about study (and things like that)? Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts