Everyone who actively absorbs the products of foreign cinema has at least once seen the so-called brotherhoods and sisterhoods in films and TV series about students. But what do we know about them, except that their members consider themselves the elite of universities and colleges, organize large-scale parties with alcohol or, on the contrary, vehemently promote a chaste lifestyle? We invite you to get to know them better. Let's figure it out together with the questions:
- What are fraternities and sororities in North America?
- How did they appear?
- What are they doing today?
- How to get into a fraternity or sisterhood?
- Why are they portrayed as notorious party-goers in movies and TV shows?
So, the cultural immersion begins!
What are fraternities and sisterhoods in North America
In short, student fraternities and sisterhoods are thematic organizations that exist on the basis of higher educational institutions. They unite participants according to common values, interests or professional areas. For the most part, these communities are spread in North America — European universities also have them, but they are called student corporations and "work" in a different mode and format. Today, similar structures are appearing in high schools in the United States, but not everywhere.
Fraternities and sisterhoods, as the names implies, are divided into men's and women's clubs. In fact, these terms are a direct translation from Latin, where frater means "brother" and soror means "sister". As personal names of the community, 2-3 capital letters from the Greek alphabet are used, so they are sometimes called student Greek societies or organizations called by Greek letters ("gamma-epsilon" and so on).
Types and orientation of fraternities and sisterhoods:
- socially useful,
- support for first-year students,
- for professional development,
- leadership training,
- to achieve scientific results,
- on religious grounds,
- with monocultural and multicultural biases.
How they appeared
The history of the emergence of student societies in North America dates back several centuries. The first fraternities and sisterhoods appeared in the XVII-XVIII centuries in colleges and universities, in particular, at Harvard University and Yale University. At that time, they were created to form internal support, strengthen connections and develop leadership skills among students.
In the 19th century, these organizations began to expand and take on more structured forms, often associated with professional, cultural, or social interests. By now, they have become an important part of student culture: modern fraternities and sisterhoods contribute to the formation of communities, the development of social and leadership skills in students, and are often engaged in fundraising and community service.
An interesting fact: the very first registered Greek student organization, Phi Beta Kappa, appeared as early as December 5, 1776. It was founded on the basis of The College of William & Mary.
What they are doing today
The main and integral part of the activities of fraternities and sisterhoods is charity: it is organized, supported and developed by all active members of the community. For example, they organize fundraising events for the benefit of various social funds and programs, so that such activities are beneficial to both the academic community and society as a whole. Greek student societies have personal "funds" with collected funds, but there is also a nationwide charitable organization that raises funds for the treatment of diseases, injuries and other types of social and medical assistance. Students also make their financial contribution to its bank.
In addition to fundraising, students who are members of Greek communities are engaged in:
- organization of parties, balls, festivals, cultural and historical holidays,
- organization of meetings with scientific mentors, conferences, career fairs, internships and professional development programs,
- conducting leadership trainings and seminars,
- mentoring programs for newcomers to a university or college,
- support for national and ethnic cultural communities.
Previously, one of the incentives for the development of communities was fierce competition - students literally fought for the titles of the best fraternities and sisterhoods. Universities, for their part, only encouraged this: they provided ratings and awards, allocated bonuses and privileges for the best of the best. But today, the focus has shifted from competition to cooperation between communities: instead of racing against each other, students are engaged in the development of joint projects and the implementation of common initiatives. This allows you to create versatile and useful events both within one university and on a city scale.
How to get into a fraternity or sisterhood?
Joining a thematic community automatically implies that the student will actively participate in extracurricular activities that take place during the academic year and sometimes during the holidays. Therefore, the future "sister" and "brother" must understand the responsibility that will fall on their shoulders when they join the society of Greek letters. In general terms, the procedure for joining a fraternity or sisterhood looks like this:
- Acquaintance with student organizations at informal events and official meetings,
- Applying for membership and passing an interview,
- A probationary period, during which community activists check a potential member for compliance with their values and priorities,
- After successfully passing all the stages, the candidate receives the status of a member — initiation or pledging.
Each college and university in North America has its own rules and features of the selection of candidates, so in some places it is easier to become part of the thematic community, and in others it is more difficult.
Why are they portrayed as notorious party-goers in movies and TV shows?
To put it simply, it's all about the stereotypes that have formed over the years of the existence of Greek communities in society outside universities. Due to the fact that for a long time the position of fraternities and sisterhoods in universities and colleges was more privileged, other students began to perceive them as "golden youth" to whom everything is allowed. Hence the associations with the elite, secret rituals, night and alcohol parties.
Although in reality, as mentioned earlier, many Greek societies are now focused on support, charity and academic development.
