Dear UConn, do not join a frat <3

At universities nationwide, the beginning of a new school year means a flurry of activity from student organizations hoping to recruit new students and replace the ranks of those who graduated the past spring. Greek life is especially famous for this, with the fated “rush week” wherein hopeful students will participate in different interviews, social events, brutal hazing and more to get into the fraternity they choose. The University of Connecticut is no different as right now the signs of this process can be seen subtly passing through campus. This includes the weird uptick in guys wearing suits to class, the large parties held with pledges singled out among the crowd and the many fraternity outreach tables at events like the involvement fair. This letter now goes out to all those who look at these signs of fraternity life at UConn and are considering beginning the arduous process that is pledging: know that you can do better and please don’t join a frat.  

To start with a disclaimer, my argument is primarily systems-based. It attempts to analyze the structure of Greek life within university culture and advocate that taking part in that structure is inherently a bad thing. If systemic issues of rape culture, racism, homophobia, violence, narcissism and sexism don’t matter to you, then my argument means nothing. So, my argument is instead to people who look at all the problematic aspects of frats and yet still consider it anyway because maybe “their frat isn’t like that” or “I would never do those things.” Those that are at least questioning the groups they might be joining are the ones that should read this article.  

Now, there is no way to talk about the problems with Greek life without mentioning the extreme rape culture that is perpetrated by these organizations. Fraternities are predatory organizations, full stop. This isn’t a coincidence, but rather the product of a culture that promotes hyper-masculinity, narcissism and a group mentality that makes brothers more likely to accept sexual violence. One study from 2007 followed incoming freshmen and found no difference between the men before the school year, but those who chose to join fraternities ended up being three times more likely to sexually assault someone. This extreme importance of ideals like loyalty and secrecy surrounding frats also makes them more likely to help conceal known sexual abuse. The thing is that none of this is surprising. After all, these are the same places where gender ratios are put into place so that the brothers can have a ripe hunting ground of women to sleep with. All of this is very present at UConn, from gender ratios at parties to the sexual assaults at said parties, which stirred major protest in the 2022 school year.  

There is also extremely violent hazing, which is typical of frat life nationwide and is very prevalent here at UConn. This past summer, Lamba Theta Phi, one of the top Latino Greek organizations on campus, was suspended after its president was arrested for allegedly choking and assaulting a pledge. This is far from the only instance in recent history as hazing has been a persistent problem with frats and sororities here. In general, the idea of being bonded to your friends through shared struggle or circumstance is a fairly normal thing. Yet, when the same people are also the ones putting you through that physical violence, alcohol abuse and other weird rituals in the name of bonding, that sounds more like a cult than a nice friend group. These dangerous practices are meant to forcefully attach students to the group itself. They are meant to shame and make people afraid of saying no, pushing them to their limit and, in many cases, killing them. The more that new recruits continue to accept and go through with these insane practices, the more normalized it gets. Whether or not they personally are the ones who will haze next year’s batch, the simple act of being affiliated shows that hazing is acceptable behavior. 

This last point extends to much more than just hazing, but is ultimately the point as to why no one, even people that aren’t necessarily a fan of hazing or sexual assault, should be in a frat. All these issues, the full extent of which is impossible to fit in one article (after all I haven’t even mentioned the huge amounts of racism in frats), are products of a structure that is much larger than any school or student. An individual fraternity or member can make choices so as not to be as bad as others, but the problems with Greek life are at the core. The moment we choose to sign ourselves onto this structure despite its horrible issues is when we decide that it still has a value that outweighs those things.  

All of this is not to say that I think frat boys are inherently evil or violent people, nor do I hold the choice to affiliate against anyone personally. Fundamentally, the reason so many people want to join an organization like this is to avoid social isolation. There’s no shame in that desire. Yet, we have a moral responsibility to look at the cost of the decision to join. The cost in this case is the systemic harm caused by fraternities everywhere to young men and women. Here at UConn, it is very much possible to avoid being complicit in this harm while still finding community and friends that make the college experience so great. These frats are not all consuming. UConn can be so fun without them and for that reason, I truly do recommend for all those considering to not join a frat.