Joining a fraternity: social integration and college experiences

Joining a Fraternity: What's the Draw?

The lure of the fraternity is one that remains a prominent aspect in the lives of many college students within the United States and on an international level. Each semester, young men flock to fraternities within their respective campuses, enduring long initiation processes and even hazing in some instances, and throughout it all, the question remains: what exactly is the draw? In beginning to understand the appeal of fraternity life within the college environment, one must first understand the basic elements that such an existence throughout one's college career can garner both socially and academically. In understanding this basis, along with the sense of brotherhood fostered within these fraternity communities, one can better understand the appeal of such an inclusion that keeps young men coming back for more on a yearly basis.

The Appeal

Upon arriving at college one's freshman year, the only thing that is focused upon, and kept perpetually in the forefront of one's mind, is the ability for one to "fit in" in a new environment. Away from the comforts of home and oftentimes in a completely foreign location, students are eager to find any atmosphere that allows them to feel the comforts of home. A fraternity, especially for young men who do not know many people within their new collegiate environment, provides the basic foundation for providing a significantly strong social network -- a network of brothers who will look out for each other throughout their respective college careers and oftentimes far beyond it. Fraternity involvement allows an individual the ability to immediately be placed into a situation that is based on brotherhood and camaraderie. For outgoing individuals, this environment provides the basic atmosphere that is needed to flourish socially in a new environment, and for more shy individuals, such a strong sense of community allows one's true personality to bloom and mature.

In addition to the desire for acceptance, many young men choose to join fraternities in hopes of padding their respective resumes with information that may appear vastly appealing in applying to graduate schools or in applying to enter the workforce post-graduation. All one need do is begin quick Internet-based research to discover the impressive statistics on fraternity men. Fraternities have the ability to forge strong leadership skills within them, that many companies and graduate institutions find significantly appealing, especially in attempting to weed through scores of resumes from individuals with little to no real world leadership experience within the workplace. Author of The Fraternity Leader: The Complete Guide to Improving Your Chapter, Patrick Dailey, notes that his own first job stemmed significantly from his experience as a leader within his college sorority.

Upon applying for an internship with IBM, Dailey, who had little work experience and sub-par grades, was able to sell himself solely on his leadership ability, honed through his work as president of his college fraternity (). In demonstrating his leadership skills to IBM, all of which were gained through his fraternity work, Dailey was able to not only land the internship, but a job offer upon its completion. Such stories are far from rare in the field of fraternity members. Membership allows these individuals the ability to present themselves as members of an elite portion of the collegiate community. In being accepted into a fraternity, a young man has proven himself worthy of inclusion into chapters that often date back to the inception of the university itself.

Such a notion provides a basis for the last significant draw that a fraternity has: status. Fraternity admission allows an individual to maintain the allure that "acceptance" brings with it. In being extended an offer of membership, an individual is afforded the opportunity to enter a realm of elite status within the college environment and often, far beyond. On campus, a fraternity brother brings with his every action a recognition to the group of which he is a part. His membership provides him a sense of status, both socially and academically. Essentially, he has what it takes, and everyone he encounters knows it.

Finally, is one of the most obvious reasons of all why men choose to join fraternities, and that is simply to meet women. Such a notion has oftentimes proven to be a hazardous reason for aligning with such organizations, especially in viewing recent events played out within the media. Research has shown that fraternities are largely associated with the quest for attaining women, and the sexual objectification of women is often fostered through pornography and other means within these organizations (Kohlman and Murnen, 2007, p. 145). Many fraternity members live together in houses that foster the discussion of the "quest" for women, which is often the core reason for the throwing of the raucous fraternity parties we can all associate with in our own minds. However, despite this more primal reason that leads men to be seduced by the appeal of the fraternity, it remains among the top reasons that young men seek out acceptances in these respective chapters.