For all you COLLEGE STUDENTS & GRADS in the US?

Question

i am an english citizen and have read loads of american fiction books about teens in USA,

but the one thing i want to know is..

what are greek sorroities and why do you have them?

do you have to be in them ?

Answer 1

Dear Asker,

Sororities/Fraternities are groups of like-minded students who usually live together in a building, separate from the usual dormitory accommodation provided by the university. In other words, these are special-interest groups, for example, music, or foreign language ..... etc. etc. Unfortunately, fraternities and sororities have earned a bad reputation because they often (not necessarily always) become hothouses of binge-drinking, s*x, etc.  

To answer your second question, you most certainly DO NOT have to join a sorority. You can live in the dormitory room provided by the university.

Wish you a happy student life.

Answer 2

You don't have to be in them.  Many people aren't.  Many people are envious of people accepted into them, many others are disdainful of them.

They are like a social club.  They will often have a large house that members live in (and pay a fee to live in).  I don't know why their names are often Greek letters, but there are a very few whose names are not Greek letters.  At Purdue University, for instance, there is one called Farmhouse.  Basically it's just a way to live with people who are similar to you, who you like.  There are allegations of organized cheating on exams, etc.

Also, there are some that are simply service organizations.  For instance, Kappa Kappa Psi is for music students.  They don't have a house (at least, not at any school I'm aware of).  But they will organize social activities, do things like pick up garbage, etc. under the banner of that organization.

Answer 3

Fraternities actually started back when there were no dorms or cafeterias, at colleges.  Young men of means would pool their money, rent a house and hire a cook and maid.  In this way, they had a place to live, housekeeping services and meal to eat.

I'm sure getting into one of these "brotherhoods" was desirable, much better than living in a boarding house or whatever other poor accommodations might be available.  

More than likely, over time, a competition developed to get into one of these brotherhoods for the benefits it offered.  I imagine if your dad had been in the fraternity house, then you had a better chance when it was your turn to go to the school.

I don't know if sororities started in a similar way, or if fraternities were basically just part of the campus scene when women began attending the same schools as men, and the ladies just cloned the clubs and called them sororities.

So, anyway, there was originally a practical reason for starting these groups, but I imagine the snobbery and the competition to get in has been a part of it from almost the beginning.