Before I came to college, the question of pledging a fraternity was brought up. I have seen enough movies and heard enough stories that scared me into not pledging. The hazing methods that they used scared me. My beliefs remained unchanged through the first semester, until I met Spawner, a Sigma Pi Fraternity member. Spawner was the nickname that his pledge father gave to him. He is a real friendly guy, who helped me out a lot with understanding his fraternity. He explained what his fraternity does and how they do it. He told me that Sigma Pi is not a hazing fraternity and that hazing is outlawed even though some fraternities do it none the less. He also told me that they do social work and help out the community. .
To many people, "fraternity" can mean many things. From a "GUILD" (Webster's Ninth New collegiate Dictionary 409) to a group of "men of the same class, profession, character, or taste"(409). But for the average fraternity, it means "a men's student organization formed chiefly for social purposes having secret rites and a name consisting of Greek letters"(409).
Fraternities were started as far back as 1750 with the "Flat Hat Club," when only men were allowed to go to college. This tradition is the reason why fraternities only consist of men and not women. The "Flat Hat Club" was established so these men could get away from the school's rules and have their own. They belonged to a private college that restricted their freedom. The "Flat Hat Club" was a secret society like the Mason organization. Not until 1776 was there a "Greek letter society called Phi Beta Kappa" (Modern Fraternities). Women have their own Greek organization called sororities. Being a member of a fraternity involves certain rites and duties that are expected. These rites are secret ceremonies that are conducted for the initiation into the fraternity.
I am studying fraternities from a sociological perspective, but because they are student organizations, education is also a factor.
