Can someone please explain the whole frat thing to me? What goes in rushing and what is it all about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was most definitely not a "cool kid" and frankly am not a cool adult either, which suits me just fine. When I see the "cool culture" displayed on TV makes me kind of happy to be a quasi nerd

However ironically my kids are anything but. I secretly wish they were more like me but they seem happy and good for them. They are super social, well liked and outgoing. So my son is "rushing for a fraternity". I know nothing about this and maybe i am better off. I don't think being the worrier that I am, I would want to know the details.

However in layman's terms, can someone tell me how long rushing is, what kinds of things they do (please make it G rated for this prude) and once they are "in" what then? Whats the point of belonging to a frat? This may sound stupid but are there min. GPA's that are required to stay in a frat? I would like to think so but not sure if that would be considered "uncool" Thanks ahead for any insight into what is to me a foreign world.....

It depends on the school and the fraternity. When I was in college, rushing some fraternities meant basically ruining your semester GPA due to weeks of hazing, binge-drinking, and worse. Other fraternities did not do that and were more academic or political. In general I don't approve of them or like them, but kids who join often make friends for life, so I guess something good comes out of it.

[Anonymous]

This website was equal parts enlightening and horrifying. I can't quite tell if it's satire or not.

http://totalfratmove.com/

[Anonymous]

Greeks sometimes hang out on anonymous comment boards called "ACBs." The level of materialism, elitism, sexism and racism that takes place on these boards is mind-boggling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Greeks sometimes hang out on anonymous comment boards called "ACBs." The level of materialism, elitism, sexism and racism that takes place on these boards is mind-boggling.

It is disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh...popularity contests....

The whole process makes me cringe. Why not just make friends with the other people in your dorms and/or classes? I've never understood the need to be "selected" or "worthy" of someone's friendship. Yuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rush is dry in your parent wet dreams.

Exactly. Two boys died drinking while driving during a rush activity. No more frat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Greeks sometimes hang out on anonymous comment boards called "ACBs." The level of materialism, elitism, sexism and racism that takes place on these boards is mind-boggling.

It is disgusting.

Doesn't sound much different than the prattle of the middle upper-class types here on DCUM. The latter were just unpopular in college and speak in more subtle code language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The actual "rush" period (lots of parties and drinking) is about a week- maybe 10 days. Then the picking happens. With guys the actual "acceptance" is less formal- I think you are just told by your new buddies. For girls they have this horrific ceremony (at least at Carolina) where all the girls stand in the horseshoe (the main part of campus) and are given bags that they all open at the same time. Some bags are empty, and some have t-shirts. The t-shirt has the name of your sorority. You open you bag and either cry or go hug your new "sisters." In front of everyone. Kids (Greek and Non Greek) hang on the sidelines to watch.

That's awesome that he already has friends in the frat so he has an "in." Pleducation classes are usually one or two nights a week for about 2 hours. If he really wants to do it, it will be up to him to budget his time and produce the grades amongst the frivolity.

Ouch - empty bags?!

That is disgusting. Disgusting, cruel, mean.

The purpose of Greek organizations is to exclude and define who is "in" and who is "out." Why colleges and universities continue to think practices like these are acceptable is beyond me.

My DC is looking at schools with little or no frat life because he thinks they are stupid. Smart boy.

+1

[Anonymous]

The actual "rush" period (lots of parties and drinking) is about a week- maybe 10 days. Then the picking happens. With guys the actual "acceptance" is less formal- I think you are just told by your new buddies. For girls they have this horrific ceremony (at least at Carolina) where all the girls stand in the horseshoe (the main part of campus) and are given bags that they all open at the same time. Some bags are empty, and some have t-shirts. The t-shirt has the name of your sorority. You open you bag and either cry or go hug your new "sisters." In front of everyone. Kids (Greek and Non Greek) hang on the sidelines to watch.

I was one of those "empty bag" girls. I ended up transferring to a different school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Greeks sometimes hang out on anonymous comment boards called "ACBs." The level of materialism, elitism, sexism and racism that takes place on these boards is mind-boggling.

It is disgusting.

Doesn't sound much different than the prattle of the middle upper-class types here on DCUM. The latter were just unpopular in college and speak in more subtle code language.

"Unpopular in college" ... that is just so ... silly. It's college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was in college and rushed a sorority, only the girls who got bids went to the bid ceremony, if you didn't get a bid, your Rho Chi (rush counselor) came to your dorm/apartment and told you personally.

+1 Same. There was no public shaming like the empty bag thing. No way would I have opted to be a part of something like that. Greek life varies so much by region, school, and individual chapter. And over time, even the chapters change.

I went to UVa and it wasn't ceremonial, but you got your bids at a meeting with a bunch of girls in your same dorm, so everyone knew immediately who got in and who didn't. It was not fun. It was even less fun because they drew it out over a series of weeks, so that each week you got "cut" from a number of sororities, until either you got in somewhere or got cut completely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh...popularity contests....

The whole process makes me cringe. Why not just make friends with the other people in your dorms and/or classes? I've never understood the need to be "selected" or "worthy" of someone's friendship. Yuck.

It's really shameful. I think the Ivies did away with them a long time ago, and everyone else should have by now. It's the worst kind of elitism and the very worst of the high school cliques made official. I dropped out of rush as soon as I saw what it was all about (and because my parents said a sorority was too expensive anyway), and was so disappointed that all my new friends kept going and eventually joined different sororities. We had a great group of friends, but after that everyone went their separate ways, since sororities discouraged friendship outside the house. None of them ever spoke to me again. It was a miserable four years, so needless to say I am not well-disposed toward the Greek system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was in college and rushed a sorority, only the girls who got bids went to the bid ceremony, if you didn't get a bid, your Rho Chi (rush counselor) came to your dorm/apartment and told you personally.

+1 Same. There was no public shaming like the empty bag thing. No way would I have opted to be a part of something like that. Greek life varies so much by region, school, and individual chapter. And over time, even the chapters change.

I went to UVa and it wasn't ceremonial, but you got your bids at a meeting with a bunch of girls in your same dorm, so everyone knew immediately who got in and who didn't. It was not fun. It was even less fun because they drew it out over a series of weeks, so that each week you got "cut" from a number of sororities, until either you got in somewhere or got cut completely.

that is HORRIBLE!! I am so stunned that this is still allowed in an era and time where we are tiptoeing around every issue from skin color to the lesbian/gay community, etc....and we allow THIS? Shameful! I cannot even imagine a young girl away from home having to deal with being shunned like that...and a boy too who in some ways has it harder as he has act tough and like it does not matter but it so does. Shocked! Glad I went to a school that did away with that long ago.

[Anonymous]

I can't imAgine why any thinking human being would want to participate in something so disgusting on every level. No way would I allow my child to go Greek. And yes we are looking. At elitist ( meaning the students have brains and are primarily going to college to
Learn from a wife diversity of people ) SLACs that don't tolerate this ridiculousness.

[Anonymous]

Make that a wide variety of people