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While the term fraternity can be used to describe any number of social organizations, including the Lions Club and the Shriners, fraternities and sororities are most commonly known as social organizations of higher education students in the United States and Canada but there are fraternities in the whole world (for example the German Student Corps). Fraternities are all-male or mixed-gender; the female-only equivalent is called a sorority. Fraternities and sororities are also referred to as student corporations or academic corporations or simply corporations.
With few exceptions (notably "Acacia", "FarmHouse" and "Triangle"), the names of fraternities and sororities are comprised of two or (usually) three Greek letters. For this reason, fraternities and sororities are known collectively as the Greek System, and its members are known as Greeks.
There are various types of fraternities: social, professional, and honorary fraternities. The most recognizable (and cliched) form of fraternity is the college social fraternity, as lampooned by John Belushi in the film Animal House. Some fraternities today are alcohol-free (referred to as "dry"), and focus on community service, sound learning and leadership qualities in their membership, though some are purely "social". Apart from the use of Greek letters, the common theme running through all is the building of friendships and "brotherly" or "sisterly" bonds through shared experiences and efforts.
Most fraternities maintain a ritual system that is highly symbolic in nature and kept a closely guarded secret. Some signs point to common ancestry in both sorority and fraternity ritual, but most are likely derived from Masonic order ritual. Other "fraternity secrets" may include passwords, songs, handshakes, journals and initiation rites.
Meetings of the active members are generally secret, and not to be discussed without the formal approval of the chapter as a whole.
Uniquely among most campus organizations, members of social fraternities and sororites often live together in a large house or apartment complex. This serves two purposes. First, it emphasizes the bonds the members share as "brothers" or "sisters". Second, the house serves as a central off-campus location for the events and administration of the fraternity. Because of the unique nature of this setup, the individual organizations themselves at their respective schools are known as "houses". Professional, academic or honorary societies rarely (if ever) maintain a permanent housing location.
A fraternity house can usually be identified by large Greek letters on the front of the house, advertising the name of the group. Depending on the size of the house, there may be anywhere from 3 to 20 bedrooms or more. The larger houses generally have a large meeting room and/or dining room, commercial kitchen and study room. There is usually a lounge of some sort, access to which is often restricted to fully initiated members. The walls are decorated with pictures of past house events, awards and trophies, and decorative (or historic) paddles. A stereotype, but true, the public areas of sorority houses are generally cleaner than fraternity houses.
For reasons of cost, liability and stability, housing is usually overseen by an alumni corporation or its respective national fraternity organization. As a result, many houses prohibit members of the opposite sex from going "upstairs" or into the individual bedrooms. Other houses may impose a curfew or "open door" policy. Furthermore, some national organizations restrict or prohibit alcohol in the house at any time.
During a period known as "Rush" or "Rush Week", fraternities and sororities invite fellow students to attend events at the house (or on-campus) and meet the current members of the organization. At the end of this period, the house invites the visitors of their choice to "pledge" the fraternity. If the invitation, or "bid", is accepted, the student will enter a period of pledgeship.
Pledge requirements for each house vary, and some houses have eliminated pledgeship entirely. However, common requirements usually include wearing a "pledge pin", learning about the history and structure of the fraternity (and the local chapter), performing a service of some kind, and maintaining a deferential attitude toward current members. Upon completion of the pledgeship and all its requirements, the active members will invite those pledges of their choosing to become active members.
Ideally, those pledges who demonstrate their commitment to the organization and its members are invited, while those who demonstrate little-to-no effort and/or cause divisions and conflict are dismissed. On more than rare occasions, however, houses will invite anyone who completes the program to become active members, in order to maintain their numbers (and survival). Other times, they may invite those who contribute little but a fun personality.
Historically, many fraternities and sororities hazed their pledges, especially during certain initiation rites. In extreme cases, some pledges even died as a result. Though now created for decoration, the iconic "pledge paddle" is a tradition and reminder of this history.
During the 1960s-1980s, however, most organizations (especially those governed by alumni at the National level) implemented clear no-hazing policies. The National Interfraternity Conference also requires anti-hazing education for members, as do most universities. Since at least the 1990s, if hazing was conducted at a local chapter, it was without the knowledge or consent of the national organization and outside the guidelines for their initiation rituals. If discovered, it usually results in the revocation of the local chapter.
The Phi Beta Kappa Society was founded on December 5, 1776 at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA. It is the oldest college fraternity and the first organization to have a greek letter name. It was started as an outlet to let students discuss current issues, instead of school related topics like other groups on campus had been pressured into doing from faculty and staff. It has since evolved into a national honor society with chapters at 270 institutions of higher learning in the United States.
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