简体中文
I was listening to Andrew, a computer science undergraduate at UCLA, sharing his campus stories in the warm California sunshine beside the statue of Joe Bruin - the school’s adorable mascot. Everything went well until he mentioned the word“fraternities”, the type of organizations that he had been involved in a lot. It was too late when I found myself asking: “I heard quite a lot of bad things about fraternities like they would ask freshmen to do embarrassing things if they want to join. Have you ever done that kind of thing before?”
Though being a member of a number of fraternities, Andrew did not seem to take my clumsy question personally. Instead, he explained that fraternities in UCLA were “professional”, which was the word many other UCLA students used to describe their fraternities. “After going to the other side from being a candidate to becoming an active brother, basically I’ve seen how much the actives care about wanting to help you develop professionally. [They help you] develop your public speaking skills, your ability to write resumes, to get job...” Andrew said.
The Delta Tau Delta fraternity house at UCLA is one of the nicest fraternity houses on the West Coast. File photo.
My offence might be pardoned if Andrew had known that the perception of a “fraternity”, sorority, was much less complicated in China than it was in United States. In fact, it was even difficult to find a counterpart of the word “fraternity” in Chinese. Unlike student societies in China, a fraternity is a social organization at universities or college with genes of secrecy and rebellion.
The earliest fraternity that incorporated most of the elements of modern fraternities was Phi Beta Kappa, founded at the College of William and Mary in 1775. The members of the fraternity shared an oath of secrecy, a badge, mottoes in Latin and Greek, a code of laws, an elaborate form of initiation, a seal, and a special handclasp. After that a series of fraternities alike emerged. Their early growth was widely opposed by university administrators, though the increasing influence of fraternity alumni, as well as several high-profile court cases, succeeded in largely muting opposition by the 1880s.
While individual fraternities and sororities vary in exact organization and purpose, most of them share common elements, such as secrecy, single-sex membership, ownership of a residential property on campus and use of special symbols, passwords, badges, etc.
UCLA Frat Brothers Help Lift Spirits of 12-Year Old Cancer Patient.File photo
So what Andrew talked about was actually only one type of fraternities. But he also added that there were other fraternities which did not focus on interest or academic field, but on socializing. These places were what Andrew described as the ones where people can “become brothers and sisters” and “find a little home away from home”.
His words were echoed by Fu Kai, a Chinese international student at UCLA who was pursuing a PhD degree in biology. He found that most of American students preferred to go to a college nearer to home, because for them the school’s ranking was never prior to the urge of feeling belonged.If that were true, fraternities look like little warm groups for newcomers on the campus to find another home and ease their “homesickness”.
However, the “big picture” of fraternities inUS higher education institutions appears ugly from time to time. In October 2013, an e-mail from a Georgia Tech fraternity member came to light. In the email, the fraternity member instructed his Phi Kappa Tau brothers to lure their “rapebaits” in details. In a CNN commentary on that story, John Foubert, a professor of School of Educational Studies at Oklahoma State University, revealed his research result that fraternity men were three times more likely to commit rape than other men on college campuses.
Fraternity scandals have even become rich mines for the entertainment industry. The 2010 movie The Social Network, which was based on the true story of Facebook, featured Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of the company, using chicken to feed chickens. The stigma of “chicken cannibalism” had followed him since then. The Harvard Crimsonpublished an article that addressed accusations of animal cruelty as part of the Phoenix, S. K. Club initiations, the fraternity which Saverin was involved in. There was no mention of him or cannibalism in the article, but claims were made that they were “ordered to torture and kill live chickens”. No one has admitted or been charged with animal cruelty. However, it is common knowledge that chickens are a part of the Phoenix initiation process, as potential members have been seen carrying around chickens and taking them to classes in cages in prior years.
These stories do not seem to match what Andrewand other students have experienced on the campus. When asked about the spreading fraternity scandals, Andrew said that “UCLA has not had that really crazy stories like the east coast “, suggesting a regional difference. He also explained that UCLA was very strict with student clubs, so basically any fraternity who had ever had misconducts that were found out would be dealt with accordingly.Julia, a junior student in UCLA, also agreed that UCLA never indulged inappropriate behaviors in fraternities. “UCLA is so strict about that that you will be found out anyway [if you do inappropriate things].”
Yet to some people. the power of school supervision does not seem to be convincing. In a 15,000-word investigation report in 2014, The Atlanticreporter Caitlin Flanaganalleged that fraternities in American universities had been constantly avoiding lawsuits, mainly because of its powerful social connections. “Indeed, in many substantive ways, fraternities are now mightier than the colleges and universities that host them.,” she wrote.
In April 2007, Colin Boyarski, a Kenyon College fraternity member and once a high school honors student, was found face down in the field just off the school campus after a night of hard partying. Autopsy revealed he died from alcohol poisoning. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Colin’s father Dan Boyarski said he and his wife knew there would be drinking in college. But they underestimated its pervasiveness and the extent that Colin's joining a fraternity would nudge him toward older students and off-campus parties largely out of reach of school supervision.
So if fraternities are soundisciplined, why do so many students rush to join? The UCLA students I have been talking for the last two weeks have all expressed their eager for “fitting in”. For them, joining a fraternity and calling people brothers and sisters is probably the easiest way to do that. That actually ties back to what Andrew and Fu Kai has said in the beginning. America is a society famous for its people wanting to be “independent”, but at the same time, fitting in and have relations with others are also a huge demand.
Gary is a fourth-year UCLA student majoring in accounting. He got a job offer recently but he said he had never sent any resumes. What happened was that he had built a huge network of people whom he met at the fraternities. These people were not limited to on-campus students. Some might be employees of a company which Gary happened to be interested in; others started their own companies. Gary said being able to associate with these people was one of the main reasons he joined fraternities.
“Fraternity tradition at its most essential is rooted in a set of old, deeply American, morally unassailable convictions, some of which—such as a young man’s right to the freedom of association—emanate from the Constitution itself. In contrast, much of the policy governing college campuses today is rooted in the loose soil of a set of political and social fashions that change with the season, and that tend not to hold up to any kind of penetrating challenge,” wrote Flanagan.
The desire of feeling belonged and associated seems to be in conflict with discipline. What is truly intimidating to people is not the word “fraternity” and all the myths and scandals related to it, but the fear of the most innocent emotional needs leading to misconducts or even danger.
GUAN Mufei
Student at BFSU School of International Journalism and Communication. Tech fan and photography lover.
