<p>Collegealum, what you don’t get is that Greek orgs BRAG about their members bring involved in other campus activities - student govt, newspaper, theater, dance marathon, whatever. Indeed, my S had a built-in cheering squad for his particular campus activity courtesy of his brothers who supported him, and he did the same for his theater and film major friends. Frats don’t have an incentive to “withdraw” their members from other campus activities. It’s evident you’re just speculating. </p>
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Hee, hee, let me know how many college students know what they are doing more than a day or few hours in advance.<br>
I think I would know if my kid wasn’t happy about something. I had a PM from a CC parent from my kid’s school about whether her D should de-pledge because she wasn’t happy at her sorority. It wasn’t because of any illegal stuff or she was forced to do anything she didn’t want to do. She was unhappy because she didn’t really connect with her sorority sisters and she no longer feel like spending time with them.</p>
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I agree with this. Parents generally will not know “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. Or perhaps, they know their child in unhappy, but they don’t know the primary reason why they are.</p>
<p>Niquil - we may not know all, but we may know more than you realize. There are certain things about my kids I may not want to know or need to know, but when it really matters, I know.</p>
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<p>I am not speculating. </p>
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<p>College students are spontaneous, but it’s them making the decision typically. When pledging, the fraternity could wake you up Thursday night that you are spending the next two days on a scavenger hunt in the next state. </p>
<p>It’s true that they do “crazy stuff” during the pledge period. A good friend of mine told me his pledge class was kidnapped to go to Vegas, except he was able to negotiate with the brothers to let him go to one very important class before he would go with them willingly. He was then also be able to convince them to let him drive with a van full of pledges. The pledges some how got the brothers out of the van at some point and they all took off to go back to the campus without the brothers. 25+ years later he still laughs about it.</p>
<p>Ok, you win, collegealum. You weren’t in a fraternity and the fact that AEPI is a Jewish one counts as breaking news to you. I was in the Greek system, my husband was in the Greek system and was an officer, and my son is currently in a house as we speak. But clearly you know more about it all, even at a school you never went to. </p>
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<p>When did I say that this was breaking news? Yes, MIT has AEPi as well. I recognized the African American one by name as well but not the Latino one. Who cares? The point of listing them is that the OP might want to know.</p>
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<p>Didn’t you say yourself that the Greek system at NU was less “defining” than the Greek system at other schools? Of the Greek systems I’ve talked to people about, it seems like NU was the healthiest across the board and generally have less of the break-you-down-so-we-can-build-you-up bonding weirdness that seem to be prevalent in other schools. Maybe this is just because people at NU are generally more grounded and less likely to go off the deep end with something. If the OP’s kid was pledging at NU, I might caution them to be careful not to fall off when they go on a hayride at a Greek event.</p>
<p>Anyway, the OP has left the thread so I will as well. </p>