Most of the time, when a fraternity man hears the word “frat,” it’s met with a pang in their gut as a list of stereotypes are brought to the forefront of their mind. While some of these stereotypes may be accurate in certain cases, others often forget to look at all aspects of what it is to be in a fraternity.
It makes us seem uneducated, or like we don”t care about our education.
The most negative encounters I”ve had through being in a fraternity has been from professors. Wearing letters, or dressing to pin, you begin to worry about what professors might say or think. I”ve often heard side comments about our drinking habits, which they have no idea about.
This is both aggravating and inaccurate. Greeks are known to have an overall higher GPA across the board, both locally and nationally. We also host dinners often known as “professor dinners,” where we invite our professors to our houses for dinner to thank them for the work they do.
Greeks care about academics. We are held to high standards and face losing membership should we not be able to perform. We are far from uneducated. In fact, many houses have pillar values with a majority of them including scholarship.
It makes us sound like all we care about is partying and drinking.
I am not going to try to lie and say that Greeks do not get social sometimes. In fact, we live by the motto of working hard and playing harder. But if we get higher GPAs, why should our social habits matter to anyone?
We also do a lot to help others, especially our communities. According to “I am a Fraternity man,” a campaign by Beta Theta Pi fraternity meant to reduce Greek stereotypes, last year U.S. fraternities completed 3.8 million hours of community service hours, and raised more than $20 million to go toward philanthropic causes.
Alexander Milles
It connects us to national fraternity scandals.
Every organization or group has someone that makes them look bad. Have you always liked everyone in a group project?
While Greeks are mortified at some of the events that have happened to our fellow brother and sister chapters, we have to continually remind people that it does not reflect on our individual chapters.
Texting someone, as a fraternity man, you realize that everyone thinks you are a “hit it and quit it” type of person. In reality, this idea is untrue in a lot of cases. Many fraternity men wait for marriage or only have sex when they are in serious relationships.
It makes people think we might be homophobic, racist and sexist, among other things.
At the University of Oklahoma, the school”s chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) recently was shut down due to a scandal about a chant that spread over the Internet about being racist and never accepting African Americans.
In contrast, at the University of Idaho”s chapter of SAE there are, and have been, African-American members. But I don”t doubt that members of UI”s SAE have seen impacts of the scandal at their own chapter, despite them having done nothing wrong.
I am an out and proud gay man in Greek life. Being a Greek member, I have encountered people who could be considered homophobic, even in my own house.
It was through being a member of the Greek community that I was able to meet with these people and educate them on what being gay and Greek means. I am proud to call many of those people my close friends.
It makes people think we are elitist.
The Greek system is inherently elitist – it is simply not meant for everyone. We strive for standards that some may not be able to achieve, through our academics and philanthropy. Some people may not be equipped for living with 60 or more members of the same sex.
However, anyone can be accepted into a house. There are truly letters for everyone, especially on this university”s Greek row. The system may seem selective, but the people in the system are far more accepting than others believe.
It is associated with rape culture.
All houses go through some type of education about sexual assault prevention through programs like Green Dot, and we learn how to define what consensual sex is. While Greeks are about having fun, we are also about being safe, too.
Most fraternities have risk management policies, which include things such as always walking girls home to the door, and these policies help keep members accountable for their actions. We absolutely do not tolerate rape culture.
It makes us seem like we have no lives.
“Too Frat To Care,” or TFTC, is often a slang term used in fraternities. While others may think we are delinquents who don”t do anything with our lives, the “I am a Fraternity Man” campaign begs to differ.
According to the campaign”s site, huge portions of U.S. presidents, senators and congressmen have been Greek. At least 50 percent of the Fortune 500 top businesses are run by Greek alumni and 10 percent of Fortune 100 CEO”s are also Greek.
It is associated with hazing.
Most fraternities have strict national policies against hazing. The way things are now, one joke can get houses reported to their national organizations and potentially shut down.
Being Greek does not mean you will be hazed, nor does it mean you will contribute to hazing.
Fraternity men find it offensive.
While it may be easier to say, many men find the term “frat” to carry many of the negative stereotypes of Greek life with it.
So instead of asking someone what frat they’re in, just ask what fraternity they”re a part of. It”s that easy.
Alexander Milles can be reached at [email protected]