Ask An American: University Sororities & Fraternities 

when I hear those stories, I always think of "Monsters University"

Oh my God, that sounds horrible to me from beginning to end. No thanks.

That really sounds like a culture of exclusion and rejection. Nothing for the poor guys and girls! How despicable....sorry, I had to say it.

popularity/wealth contests should not be a part of educational life

So obviously sororities and fraternities are for the rich kids...

As an actual Greek (the real ones, from actual Greece 😜) I feel quite offended that our name is being used for such a shitty purpose. Sororities sound horrible to me... Why not get out and make actual friends instead of buying them? Thanks Dana, very informative video as always 😊

Sororities and fraternities sound pretty useless to me. I don't understand the appeal at all.

I'm so happy I was born in the UK

I was always confused by the frat system, Dana, Thanks for explaining it.

The whole Greek thing added into it kinda sounds horrible tbh, if I were Greek I wouldn't really want stuff from my home associated with this

My freshman year of college I joined a sorority. It was a horrible experience. There were weekly sorority meetings that were at 2pm every Sunday afternoon. I was paying my way thru college and worked most of my hours at my job on the weekends since I had class during the week. My sorority sisters were not very understanding that I couldn't make the weekly meetings due to when the meeting time was. Most of my sorority sisters weren't having to pay their own way thru school like I was. I always paid my weekly dues, which were expensive, and attended most of the sorority functions, parties, etc during the week. But I began getting nasty notes put on my car telling me to quit wearing my sorority letter clothing and to take the sorority sticker out of the back window of my car. I was so hurt. I wanted to have a good fun experience with the Greek life. I let my sorority president know what was going on and she was trying to help me but the harassment continued. All because I had to work Sunday afternoons to be able to pay for my college and missed so many meetings!! I was devastated. So I decided to get out of my sorority, which is NOT an easy task. Lots of paperwork and of course a big fat fee I had to pay.

This is a well articulated and informative video especially for non-Americans. I'm quite jealous that you can talk for that long in one take without stuttering or losing you train of thought.

Thank you for explaining, I think most of us learned about it in movies from the US. I dislike with all my being those kind of clubs, I find them really useless and mostly morally corrupted.

I was in a fraternity and paid less than my cousin, who lived in the dorms. Fraternity and sorority chapter houses often have "dining halls", where the members sit down for meals together, however, the only mandatory meals for us were on Monday evenings and special events - otherwise, we weren't required to eat there, and occasionally I didn't like what the chefs cooked, so I went out to eat.

Yeah Dana! Breaking it down for the masses! I'm glad you made a video to explain this.. I have so many conversations about this with some of my German friends.. it's a mystery to them

In the Netherlands "fraternities" are mixed (boy/girl) organisations with a central building where all the parties and drinks are held and where you can eat on the cheap. The biggest once are in the 1500 to 2000 member range and these student societies tend to have large organized structures offering a large range of activities and often owning houses throughout the cities where members can live. they often work closely together with universities signing contracts that make sure the party life doesn't interfere with academics. Which works because they are bigger more "professionally" ran organisations. The way it sounds the dutch student society system is basically a large collection of fraternities and sororities working together since you tend to join a society and then internally more closely nit groups are formed that are encouraged to organize activities and vacations together. And while nothing is manditory if you want to "move up" in the organization you would have to attend. There is also a range of intesity. Where some you can just join year round and some have a several week long initiation period and therefor, generally, a more brothers and sisters type connection to "the team"

At the University of Florida it was very expensive to be in a Sorority or Fraternity. Some men I knew in a Fraternity at U of F did it for the camaraderie and also they were all going to be lawyers and they could help each other down the line.

I went to a school with a huge Greek system and for sorority rush it was four stages. The first stage you go to all of the houses. You find out who accepted you at each stage and can pick a certain number to go to. Fourth stage you can only go to three. I honestly wish I'd skipped out on sorority life because it wasn't for me.

Great videos; I enjoy each episode. Do you have any info or comparisons on medical and dental care in Germany as opposed to America? Thanks. Jmc

That was super interesting! Thank you for sharing your experiences. Are there special requirements to join a sorority? Like I'll live in America for a year but I doubt that I can join one. I have heard some hazing stories and man that's just crazy! But I think in the end you're just happy and proud of yourself that you got through it.

Finally all those american highschool/university movies make sense. thank you dana! Stundentenverbindungen arent that common in the area where I live. Well, I don't know if that would work for me. It sounds like a community or a "WG" with certain ideas about life... I mean for some people it could be really helpful, cause its hard to make friends when youre now on the campus. So they are kinda lonely and don't get the best out of the time .... I mean eating alone in a crowded canteen isnt fun. Sometimes you just wanna share whats on your mind, and your parents wont understand your problems. Even your friends outside university wont understand it. So I think those communities could help. Thats why I sometimes miss school - we were a class of 30 people and we did everything together. That was really nice.

What the heck is Hazing? I am afraid Dana forgot to mention what hazing means in the video..

Good overall video, but when it comes to the structure portion you mentioned, that is also very much dependent on the particular fraternity or sorority. Our fraternity never had meal plans, required meals together, or required social events. We might every now and then have a big BBQ at the house and call everyone up to let them know to grab some steaks and come over, but it was optional and didn't happen very often. Other than that, the kitchen at the house was for the guys who lived there. As for events, the only mandatory events were weekly meetings and pledge events where we needed to make sure we had enough guys there. Even those could be missed if you had a valid reason.

Is there just like an unless amount of Greek letter combinations? Or is there just a set amount of frats or sororities? I’ve heard of different chapters in different universities of the same frat/sororities, but they have different names which confuses me lol

Are there fraternities/sororities that dedicate themselves exclusively to the research of financial aid?

I started the rush process when I was in college. most sororities have a gpa requirement, at least where i went to school, and have mandatory study times. I did not go all the way through the joining process because I got sick and decided my health was more important.

Hey. I generally like your video :3 But found this one really interesting. For me as a German student, my only knowledge of "Greek life" was of movies and tv-series. And it seems, that it's displayed maybe not wrong, but not entirely. Keep up the good work. :)

In Germany, there are Studentenverbindungen or just Verbindungen in short. But I wasn't in any of them and actually, I didn't anyone personally that was. But I looked into it as well, because they fished for students at some introduction courses, and it was a nice evening. But it wasn't anything for me, either.

german frats, called "Studentenverbindung", are hard to explain. But there are some English videos about them on RU-vid. Would be nice if you could go and visit a German frat in Munich and make a video about your experiences there! I joined a mixed one for a year and loved it but didn't had enough time to spend with them.

I wasn't part of a sorority myself. I went to a smaller college, so I didn't feel like it was necessary. However, I suppose I can see the benefit of being in a fraternity/sorority if you are going to a big school far from home, where you don't know too many people. It gives you a circle of friends and a network of people that you can rely on. I also know that there are fraternities and sororities that cater to certain groups of people. Example: fraternities/sororities that cater specifically to African-American students, to students who practice a specific religion, or to students pursuing a specific major. These can be beneficial because it helps students connect with people who are like them, so they don't feel like they're "the only one" -- and also, the fraternities/sororities that cater to students pursuing a specific major can be helpful in securing a job in that field after graduation.

In Belgium we do have some kind of fraternities but they are mostly girls and guys mixed and most of the things are a lot less strict :P It's just about drinking and having fun with the people :D in some cities they also sell books you need for the lectures to a more affordable price and/or organize cultural events and parties :D

How do they pay for the house

I like yoar videos I'm from germany and because your videos I can look at my language from the your side and its rally funny thx

A friend of mine was a member of a "Burschenschaft" and he told me that you don't just have to pay for it during your university/college time but for a lifetime! The more you'll earn the more you'll have to pay.

I would be very interested if non-sororities/fraternities people get insulted by these groups or if other 'factions' get harassed by them as seen in many tv shows? Is there a benefit in being in a sorority other than participate in activities?

Also wie bei den Burschenschaften?

I also think it depends on what region of the country you are in. Here in the South Greek life is huge and a big deal. Whereas out West, from my experience, not so much. Also depends on the campus at the University of Alabama its a big thing for example.

Also, there are fraternity-like organizations out of America in colleges.

does anyone know the series greek? :D its exacly about this, the life in the greek system :)

Two points still unclear to me: Are these local or national institutions (say, is Phi Upsilon Kappa at a Californian university "the same" as Phi Upsilon Kappa at a New York university? And do the Greek letters have any meaning behind them (such as abbreviation for some Greek motto)?

In Austria, as well as in Germany there are different kinds of associations. They divide up in male and female associations (as far as I know, there are no mixed ones) and in fencing and not fencing associations.

I would love to join one because you get a "family" and you also get better opportunities for jobs later on

also, what do you do if you don't join a sorority

Don't get me wrong, college sororities and fraternities (some of them at least) do great work in the community. But I'll never understand them. It's more of a exclusive group than anything else. And it doesn't really fit my liking. I know quite a few college graduates who make such a big deal about the fraternity they were in, which I really don't get the hang up about it. No matter how much people try to explain it to me, they're still so weird. Don't really know why some are so desperate to join one.

I like your positivity :)

On a completely diffrent not. What do you think about TTIP? It is a hot topic at the moment and it would americanize Europe. Big Companies could then do whatever they want here. What is your opinion on that?

Thank you for this explications ! I'm French and I'm part of a french sorority (Zeta Lambda Zeta). There are sororities and fraternities in France but we are "cooler" (if I can say that xD) We are quiet new, we don't have houses or big organisation but it's really fun to be part of this !! :)

I’m with you, I like my free time for myself and I wouldn’t want to be under obligation to do stuff. Definitely not for me!

I had tons of fun during my fraternity days in college. Some of the best people I ever met and I'm still in touch with most of them a decade later. All the hate directed towards us was mostly based on assumptions on what they thought we were and misconceptions portrayed in movies like "Animal House" and "The Skulls".

Thank you for placing Greek letters on the video's display image!!!

Omg thank you girl I needed basic understanding of what this whole thing is and no ones doing that. Everyone goes too deep into it. I need to know the basics first to understand the criticisms lol

wow that sounds really crazy, sadly I don't know a smilie with the eyes popping out! I remember that I saw a documentation once with a little "studentenverbindung" but it was definitely not that big/important ... as far as I know!

In my Fraternity the house bill and meal plan were cheaper than the dorm.

In Latin, brother is fratris and sister is soror. Those Latin words help explain why fraternities are called fraternities and sororities are called sororities.

Can anyone explain why the use Greek letters? Is this traddition? In Europe we dont have sororities or fraternities

Not all of American social Greek Letter Organizations fall within your generalization. There are different fraternities and sororities such as Black Greek Letter Organizations or Multinational Greek Orgs. The process for joining these social Greek org. is very different than that described in the video. These organizations, also, have graduate and alumni chapters to allow those to be active after college/university. Those who did not join in college have the potential to join a graduate chapter afterward.Their focus is on brother/sisterhood, servicing the community, and scholarship.

Is it possible that there are sororities at Arizona

My only fear of a fraternity is there being a fake vibe, like you can’t be yourself around the people, or petty stuff, fake friends etc, all of that isn’t worth being included if you don’t even enjoy it

Everything I've heard about those before were things in movies where someone died and they seemed like cruel people who were always partying. I didn't know there were different "personalities". I wouldn't want to join one though because it seems like something for quite wealthy students and the pressure to do certain things with them on a regular basis and of course the possibility of them being cruel doesn't seem appealing to me

What is Hazing??

I always wondered about the greek letters. Do they mean anything?

I will say this, every job that I have had, my interviewer has told me that it was my military experience or that I have been in a fraternity. I have also, in my career used those traits to narrow my field of qualified candidates. So, for me as an adult it has helped. Now, in college I didn't join with that in mind. I joined because they were a bunch of guys that I was hanging out with and having great times with, so I took the leap and it has been one of the best decisions in my life. I just turned 40 and I am still involved, and try to help the younger brothers as much as i can in getting them ahead in their career.

that also explaines some adult movies I.... ehhm my friend told me

PLease wait to be seated?

There are "Studentenverbindung" in Germany. Many get a bad rep because they are pretty backwards and/or traditional. Some call themselves "Burschenschaften". Those have names like "Germania", "Franconia", "Saxonia" or stuff like that and are usually exclusively for Christian (often even a certain confession e.g. catholic), "German" (meaning people whose families aren't immigrants) males. Traditionally they do certain sports like rowing or fencing (in some really old-fashioned ones that's mandatory). They often have very luxurious dorms with rooms that cost not a lot of money, so you usually stumble across them when you're looking for a room. They have certain traditions, often involving drinking. There are other, more liberal Studentenverbindungen. But they are often associated with that kind of stuff. There are some "Studentenvereine" that are usually really open and want to distinguish themself from the Burschenschaften.

There are actually loads of German fraternities and a really much smaller number of sororities but they differ greatly from what you know in the US. Well first of all, like US fraternities, there are many different sorts, I think they are even more differentiated than in the US but they also have a kind of social stigma that just doesn't apply to most fraternities (or sororities) but still makes potential members really wary. From what I know, they actually have the same origin, but whereas the US fraternities developed to something somewhat more modern, the German ones are still pretty traditional (in my profile picture you see me in the traditional uniform of our fraternity). So I'm kind of surprised that you didn't know anything about German fraternities (or sororities, but as I said, those are pretty rare) but I think the last count was that only about 1% of German students are actually in fraternities, so yeah, they struggle a bit with membership, other than in the US

So they are basically societies ? In uk university life we have societies e.g African Caribbean society, law society … is it that + another question is why Greek out of all languages I’m just tryna understand

OMG when she said it has gone too far, I though she meant some had breakdown or something, but DIED?! Yeah the other is shitty too, BUT DIED!?

What's hazing?

Soo... unrelated question for another Ask an American episode: Is it true that the one that hangs up the phone pays the call in the US? I heard that once and this seems kind of crazy to me! As far as I know, in most of Europe, the one that called in the first place is always being charged, which makes logical sense.

I feel like this is a limited explanation of Greek life. Many colleges/universities have Greek life. At some schools, there are fraternity/sorority houses that are owned by the group and allow for some members to live off-campus together, often in "Greek Row" if the houses are located near each other. You rush a few weeks into the start of your first year. Perhaps this is kinda buying friends, but more accurately, you are paying for membership in a group. During rush, you find a group of people, in various stages of their journeys, who share likes and interests with you. You get hooked up with a group of potential mentors right from the start. Each sorority/frat is a local chapter of a national group, with national oversight and permission from the college to operate. In the long term, Greek life is very beneficial for networking. In the same way that @NotEvenFrench describes Grand Ecoles, you immediately have contacts throughout all disciplines and all over the country (if not the world) who are willing to give you a shot because you come from the same place -- even if it is not a physical place, but just the same club.

you have to look it up - there are a lot of fraternities in Germany (not so sure about sororities) and from what I know it sounds pretty similar, except that the guys also fight? Not sure about that.

Now I want to watch a teenage-collage-movie. Should be funny. Any recommendations?

And it's possible from the name to say what is what? Like if I had for example Lambda Kappa Gamma Pi Theta Delta It's possible to know what one is a sorority and which one a fraternity? Or like I have to guess while applying? :DD

The college I went to had some strange Greek life dynamics. I was too much into my books and too much of an introvert to feel compelled to participate in rush. Most sororities at my college seemed to attract the ditzy party girl type and that was definitely not me. And the chapter of Alpha Phi Omega (service oriented coed fraternity) struck me as being quite clique-ish for the nerd/geek/dork set. Plus I didn't have a lot of spare cash and I'd rather spend that on grocery shopping.

What is hazing?

Sounds like a way to make people get in line... Which is exactly what fraternities are like here in the Philippines. They're likely to be very similar due to the fact that fraternities are an American import from the commonwealth era. The biggest difference here is that we don't have any sororities as far as I know due to the fact that "fraternities" take both men and women (the Filipino word isn't gender specific and Philippine society is much more feminine than the US).

Makes sense that people go to all those lengths just to join a fraternity or a sorority, lot of people just want to be a part of something and feel included, even if it’s dumb

Burschenschaften in Germany are often very elitist and conservative and often have a very very long history and tradition. In some of them (around 300 Schlagende Verbindungen) you have to learn academic fencing and get a dueling scar during during your "Mensur". The good thing about them is that many have established business men as ex-members and it's a good place for networking and to prepare your career.

i wonder if being in a studentenverindung, or burschenschaft, as they exist in switzerland (an i believe Germany).is anything like the frats..from what i know as an outsider there are a lot of rituals, a lot of drinking and great connections once you graduate.

Sounds like a rich exclusive club I don't get it's appeal now considering we have many ways to network apart from such frats/ sororities as well as I am not American but I think globalization has already done quite a lot of work for them plus I think finding clubs is a better option.

Yes there are frats in germany. As a few comments say they are called Verbindungen and come in different sizes and shapes. These differences result in historical questions. To easy this up i will use the term Frat as a synonyme for Verbindung The first frats were communities for Students of the same origin, so they could travel together between home and university and help each other in their mother tongue. You could see this today at the names of the Frateernities, the have latinized names like Bavaria or Borussia. They sepereated in different times in multiple forms which differ in their global direction whih means the main activities besides partying. So you have Religious Frats (mostly catholic i guess, there were jewish frats in Germany before WW2 just a interesting foot note) , more political frats (the Burschenschaften belong to this group, they played a role in the union ovement of germany), frats who go back to the help thought who are mostly a few years older, (these should describe the so called Landsmannschaften), frats who like to sing, frats who like to do sports and many more. The main key to understand germany's frat system is to know that each frat has a direction as mentioned and each frat has a few forms how it acts. These forms are stuff like mixed or same sex, fencing, wearing the colors of the frat. There are way more frats in germany than sororities, but it seems like sororities get founded more often in the last few years. If there are any questions let me know, perhaps i can answer them.

This practice of hazing, no matter if it isn't bad, is something that is so utterly uncivilized that I don't know how people are willing to put up with it. Even worse, when they do they start thinking it's normal, and go on with it, instead of seeing that it is not something one should ever do to another person, no matter how harmless it is physically.

My view especially on fraternities is shaped by the documentary "The hunting ground" from Kirby Dick. You can find it on Netflix (english audio, german subtitles) and it paints a pretty disturbing picture of how frat members treat women and how little effort many universities make to investigate rape and harrassment or to punish those who do this.

Sounds like a club but with extra steps.

In India we call such things hostels and the rushing thing is known as ragging

What is hazing

In South Africa high school boarding is where it’s at

so what are the advantages if you joy such a youth club? it all just sounds like one big disadvantage! xD

"I probably just made those up." I wouldn't be too sure. The world is a big place. They probably have those somewhere.

So sororities and fraternities are basically high school in uni 🤔

Yes we actually have something similar in Germany. There's the Studentenverbindungen which is probably like the Fraternity's and Sorority's and we have the Burschenschaften which are sexist (only men can join), racist (only white men can join) and really right wing with politicians from Germany's and Austria's most right wing party's being in Burschenschaften. The Dachverband Burschenschaften which most Burschenschaften are part of also organizes the so called Akademikerball in Vienna every January which is considered to be the biggest fascist meeting in Europe. There are pretty huge protests against it every year and generally spoken, most of the leftist political scene despises the Burschenschaften and there are even some punk pubs in Germany where you can get a free beer for every Burschenschaftsfarbe (Hats and Scherpen) you give them. Some Burschenschaften are more right wing and more politically active than others but almost all of them are despicable. Feel free to ask questions and I'll try to answer them.

yes, they do exist in Germany. They're called "Studentenverbindungen" I don't know that much about them but they tend to have negative reputations. I was dragged to a party of a german fraternity not long ago by a friend of a friend who's boyfriend is in it. and I felt very uncomfortable there, but I just don't really like those kind of parties. a lot of guys tried to chat me up and wanted me to drink , they were all getting drunk. no one was really being horrible to me but I didn't like it

I’m confused what’s hazing?!

Good explanations Dana. Keep in mind that the character of each chapter of these national organizations is dependent upon upon the social milieu, leadership, university oversight of each chapter on each campus. The national organization provides general structure and the local chapters must adhere to that organizational structure and pay chapter dues (money) to the national. Fraternities and Sororities are naturally exclusionary organizations that differentiate themselves by their professed creeds usually having to do with brotherhood or sorority sisterhood. The amount of exclusion depends on the chapter. The overall key is that of a ready made common interest single sex group that will provide home away from home support for young people as well as future business and social networking opportunities. One cannot stress enough though that each chapter is characterized by its individual membership and leaders as to how they fit into the local university scene.

i would be interested in the "history" of american fraternities. in germany they mainly formed because when the first universities were opened the students would leave their families for a whole semester, with all the money they needed for this time, so their needed to protect themselves. that's why they did train dueling and some frats do it still today, out of tradition.

I still don't get why they exist?? What do they provide?? Why do you need them?? Why would you even want to be in one?? I've been trying to understand this for a while and I still don't get it because no one really talks about why would you want to be in one.

We have Greek life here in Canada but it is frowned upon. Most people see it as paying money to have friends. It exists on campuses but it really isn't a big deal.

I want to ask an american: Is a college and a university the same?

Bonding activities - like FraternityX ?