When you think of a college fraternity, the traditional image of a hard drinking, party central place that encourages boys to skip class, seduce women and generally behave like animals seems to come to mind. Or we think of spectacular cases of fraternity hazings or movies that emphasize wild living at college fraternities like Animal House. This is the work of movies and the media who love to emphasize the light hearted side of college life.
Similarly, sororities are depicted as places where rich snobby girls go to discuss fashion, look down on each other and other sororities and develop elitist attitudes. But none of these pictures are at all representative of the good that college fraternal organizations do in helping young college kids grow socially and develop a sense of social responsibility.
In any college town, the work fraternities and sororities do to make a positive difference for the college and for the community that hosts them goes unnoticed and unrewarded with the same kind of media attention that the public gives when the excesses of a few fraternities makes the news. Fraternities are actually not founded with the intent of giving students the chance to live like animals and commit mayhem. Fraternity student leadership groups all around the country struggle with this misperception every year.
The truth is fraternities work closely with the administration of the colleges they are affiliated with to provide service to the student community and to foster a safe and positive living environment that will mold their members into forces for good in society. The fact that the adult equivalent of the fraternal system are the adult fraternal organizations of the Lions Clubs, the Elks and the Shrine attest to the success fraternities have of instilling values of community service using the power of fraternal bonding. These adult fraternal organizations do immeasurable good for the communities in which they reside and they are just continuing on with the values they learned in their college fraternities.
There are numerous examples of outstanding fraternities around the country that have distinguished themselves in community service. The fraternity, Kappa Alpha was recognized when its Beta Tau chapter at the University of Michigan racked up an astounding 7,200 service hours by its members.
Naturally fraternities will do well at making their frat houses look good. Any drive around a modern campus will show some fine landscaping and the good care frats do at keeping their houses in good shape and attractive. Fraternities are a proud tradition in university life that date back for centuries. That pride is instilled in each new member each fall and much of that pride comes from the outstanding service the fraternity offers to the community.
During the terrible Hurricane Katrina devastation, fraternities all around the country rose to the occasion to help out students from New Orleans colleges who were displaced. But they went a lot further than that as bus after bus of fraternity volunteers brought a new flood to New Orleans, a flood of volunteers to roll up their sleeves and help people who were devastated by the storm.
The varieties of community service projects fraternity members dedicate themselves to are as diverse as the fraternities themselves. They vary from fun loving fund raisers on game day which raise money for deserving causes to reading to, mentoring or tutoring underprivileged kids around town. These are the good deeds college students perform every day that dont get the kind of press that hazings and spring break excesses get. But they have a much longer lasting impact and they genuinely show that the heart of the fraternity system is grounded in community service.