9
BEING A FRATERNITY MEMBER
By: Arsenio Unajan Baquilid, DM
I am inspired to write this article in the light of wanting to share my honest to goodness experiences being a fraternity member because of the many "hazing" incidents that had caused the death of young students. The recent hazing in the University of the Philippines and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in Metro Manila resulted to serious physical injuries and/or death.
I am a member of one of the biggest fraternity in the Philippines. Hence, I know what is a fraternity or sorority. I know why students join these organizations allowing them to be physically and psychologically humiliated or even tortured. I know what a student will get from being a member. And I can give you food for thoughts to help you make a good decision to become a fratman or not. Fraternity membership is a serious matter. It is for a life style and a lifetime. Thus, be very extra careful when joining a fraternity.
What is a fraternity or sorority?
The words fraternity and sorority came from the Latin word frater and soror which means "brother" and "sister" respectively. Originally, these organizations were exclusive for college students – fraternity for males and sorority for females. But with the passing of time, these organizations became genderless that members of sister sorority became members of a brother fraternity, thus the word fraternity prevailed. Unexpectedly, these organizations are no longer exclusive for college students; some high school students have organized what they called junior fraternity. This is extremely dangerous because high school students are still young to enter into a serious matter like a fraternity life.
I have read many bibliographies but so far there is no clear explanation why these organizations are named in Greek-letter. The best answer I've got though is the one from Mozilla Firefox which says that "Greek and Latin were the universal scholarly languages when fraternities were first founded in North America and college students knew or were learning Greek. Using Greek made the fraternity sound like a scholarly organization." Another reason from the same source said that "fraternities and sororities are run by a Greek Council, with the basic democratic format set up by the Greeks centuries ago. Greek letters are used to set apart and formalize individual organizations with different agenda." In other words, there is nothing unusual in the names of these organizations. These Greek letters however, have meanings only the members understand.
Nevertheless, I can think of some good reasons why fraternity uses Greek letters to name their organization. First, some Greek letters denote meaning useful to discern the purpose of such organizations. Using such letters allows the organization to play secrecy from non-members, it being the principle of a fraternity/sorority. Second, some Greek letters are used in scholarly fashion. They are used as symbols in Mathematics, Physics, statistics or science subjects. For example, the letter sigma (Σ) in Greek alphabet is a symbol of summation in mathematics or statistics. In layman's point of view the symbol means being whole or united. On the other hand, alpha (A) in Greek alphabet is also a symbol for the probability of error in statistics. To Engineers the symbol denotes scientific studies. To me, it also means acceptance of our human limitations without prejudice to improvement. Then the letter epsilon (E) in Greek also means an elementary particle with positive charge in physics. Thus, when you combine the three letters above mentioned, you will have a good fraternity name.
There are several types of organizational structures of a fraternity. The first one is what I will call the single-chapter organization. My observations about fraternities and sororities showed that there is only one chapter of each fraternity/sorority in a college or university. In this type of organizational structure, the fraternity/sorority operates within the jurisdictional limits of the school. The website (www.answers.com/topic/fraternity) stated that "an organization that has only one established chapter would be called a 'local'." (My fraternity called this organization as Collegiate Chapter). The website mentioned above said further that "A local can authorize (the organization of) chapters of the same name at other (school) campuses." Ideally, a local or collegiate chapter must be recognized by the school authorities for proper coordination and supervision. On the other hand the school must have clear set of guidelines for the fraternity/sorority to follow. One such guideline is that the fraternity adviser should be a teacher of the school. But the tendency of a chapter if being unable to act in accordance with the school's requirements for recognition usually goes underground; meaning they operate without the school's approval. There is where problems occur.
The above cited website also said that "after the first authorized chapter (outside the campus), a local would be considered a 'national', even if only two outside chapters are established." But this is a misnomer. In fact there is no governing body to talk about at this stage. What exist are only scattered local or collegiate chapters. In this case the individual chapters are run separately by their respective set of government but they established very strong ties between and among the chapter members, and they adhere to the same traditions, rituals, principles and objectives. Usually, collegiate members (students) become alumni members upon graduation from college. They are the ones organizing a new chapter in another school.
After the organization of the first authorized chapter outside the campus, the collegiate/local chapter becomes the Alpha Chapter or the beginning of the fraternity/sorority movement in that country. Its Constitution and By-Laws of the fraternity has to undergo amendments to conform to the needs of the time. The consolidation of the various chapters requires the formation of a national government. And this development would result to another form of organizational structure of what is called the national organization. There are several levels in the hierarchy of this organization. There are the collegiate chapters, the alumni chapters, sectoral/municipal alumni chapters, the provincial alumni chapters, and the alumni regional chapters. It has a Supreme Council that provides the general supervision over the operations and activities of the various Chapters through the Regional Council. This kind of fraternity covers the entire nation/country. An example of this is ΣAE Philippines. This fraternity, with female and male members holds biennial national convention; it has a website to hold forum, and ventured on the publication of a quarterly newsletter. There are chapters operating outside of the Philippines, like ΣAE Global Qatar, ΣAE Singapore, ΣAE Thailand, and other countries with members who survived in the Philippines but gainfully employed abroad.
In a much wider scope and delimitation, there is what is called the international organization. But for this type of organization it would be impossible to assemble in one forum mainly due to financial constraints considering that participants will come from various parts of the world. It is even doubtful if they have a governing body to aptly coordinate with the various Chapters to manage this kind of activity. But they are claiming they are link with each other internationally. But I cannot see that linkage organizationally.
A fraternity/sorority is a very exclusive organization that promotes the practice of brotherhood/sisterhood among its members. However, the practice of such relationship varies from one organization to another. For example, in some fraternities/sororities, inter-courtships and/or inter-marriages are strictly prohibited; while in some these practices are tolerated. Because of the closeness of the members, romantic advances can easily happen. This scenario is a discredit to the brotherhood/sisterhood because this is against the basic concept of a fraternity/sorority. In any language, this is not the meaning of brotherhood that justifies the existence of these organizations.
Virtually, it can be deduced that there is something in a fraternity/sorority that magnetizes students in joining with it, despite the negative publicity; such as hazing, rivalry among fraternities, or competition resulting to untoward encounters. It is interesting to note however, that even if these Greek letter organizations are banned in some universities/colleges, many Collegiate Chapters continue proliferating; especially with the active support by the Alumni members. The more fraternity is banned, the more it intrigues students that many are joining. In fact fraternity is already organized now in the secondary education level where before it was considered a taboo. They call it "junior fraternity." This is dangerous. Generally, high school students are not mature enough to engage into a very serious matter like fraternity or sorority. This practice should be stopped by the school or government.
The old understanding was that it was typical for a fraternity to be all-men group while sorority was all-women group. However, there is such thing as a sister sorority or a brother fraternity. While in theory they are separate organizations, but in practice they are one. They believe in the same principles. They practice the same tradition and they have the same mission, vision and methods of work. As such, there is a good reason to combine the fraternity and sorority to unify the organizations. However, long time ago, there were already fraternities who accepted female members who were highly qualified to the standards of the fraternity. This happened in ΣAE at Central Mindanao University, Musuan Bukidon, Philippines in 1966. This resulted to a mixed-sex organization. Then in the later years, there were merging of the brother-sister organizations. But in some cases, the sorority is absorbed by the fraternity rather than merged, thus retaining the name of the latter… At this point, let us use the word fraternity to mean Greek-Letter organizations in this article…
There are practices in the fraternity that only the members are privileged of participating and/or enjoying them. These practices are traditions that the organizations are maintaining which are generally symbolic in nature but are closely guarded with exclusivity. In addition to the calling of brod or sis, there are the passwords, songs, special/exclusive handshakes, tattoos, motto, use of badge or pin, frat sticker, or even a frat whistle, colors, flag, flowers, or seal. It has a motto to express the ideals of the fraternity. They are very significant to the organization. They remind them of their pledge of allegiance to the brethren.
Some fraternities have acquired juridical personality to conform to local legal jurisprudence. This had widened the perspectives of the organizations to engage and/or participate in some public endeavors requiring permits and/or licenses. For example, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity – Philippines is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under Registration No. CN200429554.
Why Join a Fraternity?
It is not easy to understand why a student joins a fraternity because of so many variables I cannot explain in this article. But the principle is you join a fraternity because you believe it is good for you. Virtually, common sense will tell us that we would only be interested in joining an organization if it is beneficial to us. This is more so in fraternity as it is difficult to be a member because of the required initiation which in some fraternities said initiation include hazing. Initiation in fraternity is a test of one's physical, mental, and psychological prowess. Remove initiation and being a frat member would have no meaning at all. Remove hazing and it will not discredit the quality of initiation. So, if you join a fraternity expect that you will undergo a series of initiation rites.
There are many reasons for joining a fraternity. If you search in www.google.com, you will see many reasons why a student will join a fraternity. But let me share with you of what I know:
Belongingness and acceptance. In most cases college/university campuses are far away from home. In these wide campuses, it is very difficult for a student to have no close friends. You cannot simply consider your classmates as your friends. But with a fraternity, you have a core group of die-hard brothers and sisters. (But be sure your fraternity has a good mission, vision, and objectives.) Thus, Andrew Reeve in the web (www.answers.com/topic/fraternity) said that being a member of a fraternity suggests a sense of belonging to a unit with which a student can be naturally accepted. That was what I felt when I joined my fraternity - Sigma Alpha Epsilon. My membership explains why I felt secured and happy when I was a student in Central Mindanao University.
Leadership development. You will easily notice that members of fraternities dominate in political and social campus organizations. If you are a student, it's easy to think that inside the organization some kind of leadership development is going on. I learned later when I became a fraternity member that this is true. In a fraternity there are opportunities for leadership experience. All members are rotated to perform leadership functions. Before I joined a fraternity, I was never interested in being a leader in school organizations. After I became a fratman, I became the president of two campus organizations, the Editor-in-Chief of the University Blazer, the Secretary of External and Internal Affairs of the Student Body Organization, not to mention the lower positions in other organizations.
Academic excellence. Transcript of records of your college career is one significant determinant in your future employment. Just there are fraternities that high academic performance of members is one of their objectives. Hence, students are interested to join on the context that good grades are important to a student. The North-American Interfraternity Council said that a good reason for joining a fraternity is to do well academically in order to graduate on time. In my fraternity, we had our review classes before final exams. We tutored members on specific subjects there is difficulty, like mathematics and physics. All members have the responsibility to help that no member will have a failing grade at least. But our top target is to excel in the class.
Personality development. Fraternities are for the total development of the human potentials. It is not only for academic achievement but also for the development of a whole-some personality. There are parties to attend where social skills are developed. There are games to practice sportsmanship. And there are many fraternity-related activities to get away from shyness and awkwardness in public. You gain confidence in interacting with people. When I started college in 1962 I was a loner, even introvert, and had never been involved in extra-curricular activities. Then I joined a fraternity in 1966, and I became a campus figure.
Support-system. You will never know there are problems you will meet in school. Hence, as a student in a place far away from home, you will need reliable support-system. For example, when I had my thesis and needed help for my experiment my frat brothers were there. This is so because according to the Pennsylvania State University Student Affairs (www.greeks.psu.edu/benefits.htm) in a fraternity there is a close bond of friendship and family which only the Greek atmosphere can foster. The ideal of brotherhood/sisterhood is a cornerstone upon which each fraternity/sorority is built and from which you will receive the greatest benefit. Every person contributes to this aspect. The Greek system combines the concept of individualism within the framework of mutual cooperation.
What are the reasons for not joining a fraternity?
It is not easy to explain the reasons why a student does not join a fraternity. But in my case I never thought of joining when I was a freshman and a sophomore. The reason was "I do not know what is a fraternity." It took me two years to study; reading books in the library because during my time that was the only means of searching. I could not interview fratmen who were my friends/classmates because there was (is) secrecy among them. Let me tell you why some students do not join a fraternity.
Lack of knowledge about fraternity. This is a very good reason. Never and never join an organization if you have no knowledge about it. It's like eating something you do not know if it is poisonous or not.
Fraternity movement is waning down. There are too many fraternities now that the desirable behavioral characteristics have become questionable. In a survey conducted by Kristin S. Fouts (2010) on why undergraduates aren't going Greek… published at the Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors Vol. 5, Iss. 1, the results indicated that students are no longer attracted to involvement opportunities by passive advertising or word of mouth alone, and chapters can no longer expect droves of students to attend informational meetings or recruitment events, eager to become members. Some persuasion is needed, for both students who are mildly or completely interested, and those that have rarely or never considered membership.
Initiation and hazing. You can never enter a fraternity if you are afraid of initiation. Worst is that, hazing is part of initiation in most fraternities. According to Allan and Madden (2008) of the University of Maine on their study about hazing, (http://www.stophazing.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hazing_in_view_web1.pdf) retrieved July 11, 2014, "55% of college students involved in clubs, teams, and organizations experience hazing. But I believed that if the study was delimited to fraternities, the figure would be very high. Hazing is a very serious matter. For example, Guillo Cesar Servando died on June 28, 2014 allegedly due to hazing by Tau Gamma Phi. This could be a good reason for students not to enter this fraternity until it will naturally disappear.
How to Join a Fraternity?
How to join a fraternity is hard to explain. Every fraternity has its own style of initiation. Others are dangerous because they practice "hazing". Just very recently, hazing activities were reported in two prominent universities in Manila. It had resulted to serious physical injuries and/or death of neophytes. But let it be known that there are many fraternities in Manila and elsewhere in the Philippines that do not practice hazing as serious and fatal as this.
Despite the fact that it is risky to join in some fraternities, many students are still joining fraternity. Thus, let me give you the following tips how to join a fraternity:
1. Before thinking of joining a fraternity, be familiar with all the names of existing fraternities in the campus; list down their names; know what the fraternities have done and are doing, and take note of the attitudes and behavioral characteristics of the members. Make a short list of fraternities (at most three) that you like to join. Be sure that these fraternities are recognized by the school.
2. Before deciding to become a fraternity member and submit yourself for initiation, study relevant laws regulating the practice of fraternity in your country and read school rules about fraternity/sorority practices. If you are in the Philippines, study Republic Act No. 8049 which regulates hazing. All fraternities must be registered with the school. Do not join with a fraternity not recognized by your school.
3. Do not apply to become a member. It is not proper. It will only cause the fraternity's screening committee to give you harder initiation. Sooner or later, if you are a good student, a fratman will recruit you. Do not show interest at once. Tell him you will think it over. He will be coming back to convince you if you are an asset to their fraternity. Academic performance and extra-curricular activities are outright manifestations of being an asset.
4. If the fratman comes back, accept the invitation but ask him to be your sponsor. Good fraternities recruit good persons. If they are good, they must have regular members to act as sponsors to guide neophytes during the initiation period. If that fraternity does not practice sponsoring do not continue. Without a sponsor, you will encounter all kinds of problems. Some of these problems are below the belt.
5. If you are a new neophyte, when you are informed of a mass-initiation check the announcement in the bulletin board or discreetly ask a trusted friend to inquire from the school's Administrative Officer if that fraternity is authorized by the school in accordance with law to conduct initiation rites. If in the negative, do not attend and outright politely withdraw your being a neophyte. However, if in the positive, that fraternity is law abiding and you can trust that fraternity.
6. As a neophyte there are series of activities you will undergo. I cannot tell you in details. But a good fraternity starts with orientations. This is followed by series of examinations. There are projects to be accomplished. All of them are meant to test your mental and psychological aptitudes and attitudes. If this is so, then you are in good hands.
7. Always obey your fraternity masters. Never and never ask a question. Act like a slave. During initiation, you can allow body contacts, like slapping or kicking, provided they are not directed at your vital points and/or not strong to cause serious physical injuries. But remember pain tolerance varies from person to person. However, when the blows are beyond your pain tolerance limit, find a chance to run as fast as you can until you reach an open area where people can see you. Do not tell anyone you are quitting because no fraternity will allow you to quit as you will be a potential squealer.
8. When this happens, forget becoming a fraternity member. No good fraternity will recruit you as a quitter. But my advice is never squeal to avoid trouble as many bodies will be watching you. Do not force yourself to become a fratman; it's not for you.
9. However, if you will survive in the initiation and finally be baptized, I tell you there is a feeling you cannot understand. But being a fraternity member you should be a new person with improved values, attitude, and behavioral characteristics. To me this is the best part of being a fraternity member e.g., of becoming a good person. (09.23.14)
