IDefineCool

I know its early, but, who all is planning on rushing their 1st year?

I think I might but I'm not completely sure.

masticore99

maybe, here too

laxguy8947

Yeah, I don't wanna go into the process with my mind made up or anything. I guess right now I'd just say maybe too.

tenniscraze

What is your motivation behind joining frats/sororities? They just create further segregation.

masticore99

personally, i'd go to a frat for the social aspect. a place to make friends and such i guess.

i not super familiar w/ frats, so im still keeping an open mind

laxguy8947

Stop spreading your stereotypes tenniscraze. Why don't you let us make our own decisions.

sv3a

Wait, tenniscraze doesn't give into stereotypes. He took some ANTH class, remember?

A lot of people rush just for the fun of it. If you think you're even slightly interested it's worth rushing even if you aren't sure you want to pledge or don't want to.

BGjeez

A friend of mine in college once told me that joining a frat/sororities is literally paying for friends. I don't know how true is, but I remembered this statement.

tenniscraze

And that some ANTH really opened my eyes and it's FACT that they do create segregation within the university. This is definitely reflective of the criterias you need to meet in order to be part of the brotherhood or the sisterhood. A famous example is of course paying "dues" when essentially this means you're buying friends. If you can't pay your dues, too bad, you're out. This definitely defeats the whole purpose of a sisterhood or brotherhood. What makes them think they cannot run successfully without the dues? They're there for the drinking, the girls and solely self-interest activities. You're constantly in popularity contests and if you can't keep up with it, you're done. Even so, your dues are often in hundreds per month.

Obviously, they discriminate. Your looks, background and ethnicity matter when rushing in a frat/sor. You can't be a DG if you don't look pretty; you're basically delegated to the other sororities who will be forced to take you in due to quota rules. Your parents have to be rich in order to have connections that hopefully will save one of the brothers or sisters in the future in case of emergency. For the simplest reason really, it's all about money. You almost have to be white in order to get in. You have to prove you're up to par if you're not white by showing other things you're equally just as competent in.

These exclusive rules create further segregation amongst the university community, and obviously shows the elitist attitudes of the greek community. The greek system destroys your individuality and self-uniqueness. I know a friend of mine who talks, acts and thinks SO differently now after she's joined Tri-Sig. It's unbelievable how they all strive for the same thing: elitism.

Untilted

"If you can't pay your dues, too bad, you're out. "

not so in my house. i know people who havent paid their dues in ages due to financial problems. not only are they exempted from dues, they are given scholarships.

"they discriminate"

every entity discriminates. The United States of America denies numerous visa requests and green card requests each year.

"Your looks, background and ethnicity matter when rushing in a frat/sor."

not all houses, but DEFINITELY at least 1/3 of the fraternities, and 1/2 of the sororities.

"elitism"

a little elitism is allright,too much is bad

masticore99

question: wat about service frats?

semiserious

Not true. Almost all clubs require dues--is THAT paying for friends? I had to pay hundreds of dollars to play field hockey and cheerlead in high school--just the cheerleading uniforms alone were nearly $200. Was I paying for friends then? A lot of money goes into running an organization like a fraternity or sorority; it costs a lot to maintain a house, pay for parties, pay for t-shirts and merchandise, and pay various expenses specified by the NPC/NIC. The myth of 'paying for friends' is stupid and offensive.

As for Tenniscraze, well, I could go all day arguing with Tenniscraze. Why should you be interested in the Greek system? There's a lot of reasons:

1. Social networking in college. Being a party of a frat or sorority--or even just rushing!--is a great way to meet a lot of new people. If you choose to pledge, you will likely become great friends with the other people in your frat/srat, and you will constantly be invited to events where you can meet others in different organizations.

2. Continued social networking later in life. Once you're a part of a frat/srat, you're a member for life. Any time you meet somebody else who was a part of the same org., you will instantly have common ground and a starting point for conversation, friendship, employment, etc.

3. Leadership opportunities. Frats and srats have presidents, vice presidents, treasurers, social chairs, Rush organizations, and tons of other opportunities to get involved and be a leader.

4. Philanthropy. All frats/srats support a cause and have fund-raisers and events to help it out.

5. A social outlet. Frats and srats have all sorts of parties, not just boozy basement Beirut tournaments. There are formals, semi-formals, outings to bars, mixers, golf outings, ice skating outings, dinners, and tons of other fun things.

The idea of Rush is that it will allow to you to find the organization with the people most similar to you. It will instantly take UVa from being a place with thousands of a students to a much smaller world with girls or boys who share similar experiences and interests to yours. Hopefully, a frat or sorority will be a place where you make life-long friends, give back to the community, and attend lots of fun events.

janeygirl7

You all realize you can't rush your first year? UVa has deferred rush.

Dean J

Students can rush in their 2nd semester of the first year.

mckin43

I am curious of the ability of kids that are doing varsity sports to participate in greek life. I went greek at U of GA eons ago and loved it, but I did not participate in varsity sports. I know my D has expressed some (tentative) interest but realizes her sport and academics comes first so she is def. taking a wait and see attitude...my thought is that she should wait at least a year and see how she feels then based on her UVA experiences and desires. Is there any reason sor. would discriminate against those who wait?