We talked to students in frats and sororities about Greek Life stereotypes

Rutgers is an enormous school that has a relatively low percentage of students participating in Fraternities and Sororities. Approximately 10% of the student body is involved in greek life out of about 40,000 students that are enrolled. Ranging from multicultural to academic to social, there are over 80 fraternities and sororities on campus. Stereotypes have clung on to greek life for decades, so we talked to the students who know first-hand whether they’re accurate or not. Here’s what they had to say:

‘The blonder the better’

Cassidy Wiltshire, Sophomore, Political Science, Delta Gamma

“That’s completely untrue because we, at Delta Gamma, actually have the second highest GPA of all sororities which is really outstanding and we also recruit with certain standards that don’t fall under that stereotype and nothing is based off of looks, because its who you are that really matters.”

‘All sorority girls secretly hate each other’

Parker Adair, Junior, Political Science, Phi mu

“We all have the same morals, so maybe we’re not all best friends, but we all get along with each other for the most part. Some of the sororities are huge so you can’t just meet everyone at once.”

‘Boys only join fraternities because they can’t get into parties any other way’

Kevin Nemernoff, Sophomore, Finance, Delta Phi

“Okay, well I disagree with that. I think people join fraternities just to get a balance out of their college experience. I mean there’s more to college than just parties, you’re here for an education; we actually have to get a certain number of study hours every week, do your community service hours and participate in sports.”

‘All Frat boys are fuckboys’

Dylan Umali, Junior, Journalism and Media Studies, Sigma Alpha Epsilon

“If you’re in a social fraternity, you are obviously doing more than just tabling at Brower, you’re probably raging on the weekends. You’re probably dressing nicely or hanging out with your brothers on the porch. You’re always meeting new people, specifically girls. That’s just the nature of a fraternity. The generalization of all guys in fraternities being fuckboys is not true. While there are certainly guys in fraternities who can be considered to be fuckboys, there are guys that aren’t. The fact of the matter is, you go to a fraternity party to have fun. If you want to avoid ‘fuckboys’ entirely, stay home on the weekends.

‘Fraternities always talk about philanthropic work, but never actually do anything’

Bryan Dominguez, Sophomore, Economics and Math, Tau Kappa Epsilon

“I think that’s pretty false because we take philanthropy very seriously. We participate in Rutgers dance marathon every year and this year I’m actually the dance marathon chair. We raise a lot money and it’s mostly Greek life. TKE also did a golf outing for RUDM and we do a lot of tabling and sell stuff for charity. All the money goes towards the cause – I mean also, it’s illegal to say you’re raising money for something and not use it for that.”

‘Sororities are exclusionary based on race and social economic status’ 

Joanna Su, Sophomore, Biology, Alpha Omega Epsilon

“I think it’s really sad that sororities like that exist. Racial exclusion and hazing are still very much present within sororities at many colleges. But it breaks my heart when people generalize these things about all sororities. There are many sororities – though lesser known – that don’t exclude potential members or haze new members. In sororities like these, we focus our energy on building each other up but also accepting one another for our differences. My sorority doesn’t haze nor reject potential members based on their looks or backgrounds. Being a professional and social sorority, we do have certain requirements for membership, such as being a STEM major and having a GPA of at least 2.75. Our qualifications for eligibility are not personal, but academic.”

‘Sororities don’t care much for substance as much as they care for appearances’

Ashley Burgstresser, Junior, Journalism and Media Studies, Alpha Gamma Delta

“I don’t think its true mainly because the sorority I’m in – we’re very diverse and accepting of everything. We have to hang out a lot so we’re going to care about who you are on the inside. If you want to look good that’s great, if not, we don’t dictate what you wear.’

‘Frat guys only consume pizza and beer’

David Torres, Sophomore, Exercise Science, Alpha Phi Delta

“That’s not entirely true, a lot of the guys in my frat actually spend a lot of time at the gym and we actually have a few members who really watch what they eat. I mean maybe on the weekends, after a party, who doesn’t go out and look for something to eat? And that’s just what always happens to be open at 3 am. I mean my steady diet is waffles with Greek yogurt and bananas on top, so no I don’t agree with that.”