Cpw - a parent's nightmare! Please help

collegealum314
Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:18:06 +0000

@collegealum314 - I don’t find that argument compelling. It sounds like it’s either (1) MIT forcing itself to act as your parent, or (2) fraternity brothers with no real weight acting like parents, but which any adult can ignore.



Concerning #2, if you ignore mandatory activities (and sometimes drinking rituals are mandatory), then you have to depledge. This means picking up and moving in the middle of the semester and alienating everyone you know. And part of the way the fraternities are sold to the freshmen is by telling them that social skills are important for business or medicine. In fact, I talked to the director of medical school admissions that Harvard and he said that they liked to see fraternity membership. That means that whatever BS the frat brothers throw at you is now essentially a part of the curriculum.

Pledging creates an unequal power relationship between brothers and pledges that have negative consequences. I would have less objection if freshmen joined fraternities but were immediately full members.