American college is weird

[Renart]

American college is weird

I'm usually not the biggest fan of Caitlin Flanagan, but this article is pretty good, and the opening paragraph is fantastic.

[Cal Alamein]

American college is weird

I thought it was a good, comprehensive piece. The bit on how to "officially" party at a frat house was ludicrous.

The author was on NPR this morning as well.

[Reed John]

American college is weird

I generally hate Caitlyn Flannagan's work, so I haven't read all of it. I got the point about a page in and then read the conclusions.

But I agree that the the safety is a bit issue. I suppose that if they weren't weasling out of liability, they'd probably struggle to survive I'm their current form. I can't see why anyone would insure a frat house.

Many of the frat houses around here are very grand, which I've always assumed is too good to be true.

That wasn't so much an issue at W&M where the frat houses are on campus, owned by the university, and part of the regular dorm system. They just built new ones.

[ursus arctos]

American college is weird

Dartmouth is banning hard liquor.

In a speech at Dartmouth's campus on Thursday, the college's president, Philip J. Hanlon, announced that there will be a campus-wide ban on hard liquor from March 30 onward. The New York Times reports that this decision is in response to a "spate of student misbehavior that has tarnished the reputation" of the school.

It will be interesting to see if this holds up. I knew a former trustee who was on the board when they finally decided to admit women (the last Ivy to do so, and "forced" into it by the number of guys they were losing to car crashes between Hanover and the women's colleges in Massachusetts). It isn't the most progressive school in the country.

I found this "longform" piece on the UVa debacle from an alumna to be very good.

[ad hoc]

American college is weird

ursus arctos wrote: It isn't the most progressive school in the country.

Yet it has that fucking amazing Orozco mural, that I would make special trips just to see.

[ursus arctos]

American college is weird

Now in a good digital version.

I will never forget my tour up there. The only three selling points the guide had were:

1) you could take only three classes a semester (rather than the traditional four), which left more time for drinking and skiing;

2) the hockey team would open the windows in their dorm, flood the hall with a fire hose and skate from room to room; and

3) no one had been carded in Hanover or White River Junction since the 19th century.

Pretty part of the country, though, and WRJ is fun.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

American college is weird

Bruno wrote: Sororities, though, are far more interesting places.

Don't fool yourself. You're only saying that because they had tits.

[ursus arctos]

American college is weird

Speaking of White River Junction, Vermont recently tried to adopt a Latin motto

It didn't go well.

Dorothy Lynn Lepisto: “I thought Vermont was American not Latin? Does any Latin places have American mottos?”

Norman Flanders: “What next Arab motto??”

Kevin P. Hahn: “How about ‘go back south of the boarder'”

Richard Mason: “We are AMERICANS, not latins, why not come up with a Vermont motto that is actually from us”

Many more in the link.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

American college is weird

Reed John wrote: True. But to a large extent, the Greek-free universities are depending on the Greek-heavy universities to attract all the douchebags away from applying to them. So the Dukes, UVas, and Dartmouths of the world and doing a service to Hampshire, Reed, etc. If they were all abolished, the douchebags would be more evenly distributed.

Interesting. Are there many Greek-free universities? Do they tend to be more focused on academic excellence?

It's reassuring to see 'bros' with frat-friendly names like Jared being obtuse in the comments section of that Al-Jazeera article.

[WOM]

American college is weird

ursus arctos wrote: Many more in the link.

Nope. Just more of that mural.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

American college is weird

ursus arctos wrote: Now in a good digital version.

I will never forget my tour up there. The only three selling points the guide had were:

1) you could take only three classes a semester (rather than the traditional four), which left more time for drinking and skiing;

2) the hockey team would open the windows in their dorm, flood the hall with a fire hose and skate from room to room; and

3) no one had been carded in Hanover or White River Junction since the 19th century.

Pretty part of the country, though, and WRJ is fun.

Wrong link, UA.

[ursus arctos]

American college is weird

Aaargh.

Try this.

Also fixed above.

There aren't very many "Greek free" unis, and they tend to be "smaller progressive liberal arts schools" like the ones Reed mentions.

That said, the frats* at many schools are nowhere near as central to the experience as they are in the South or Midwest (or large public universities in general). This appears to be the case at the University of Chicago, for instance (which is about as far from a "party school" as one can get). Generally, the less likely alumni are to lust after as a career as an insurance agent / car dealer / small town lawyer, the less influential "Greek life" will be.**

* certain of the Ivies (including my old pile of bricks) look down at the very notion of "fraternities" or "Greek organisations" and instead have "finals clubs" (Harvard), "secret societies" (Yale) or "eating clubs" (Princeton). The first two are marginal for the vast majority of the student body, likely concerning less than 10% of the total. The eating clubs at Princeton run the whole gamut, from disgustingly fratty to progressive, multi-cultural, etc.

** Caveat: black fraternities and sororities can be very important at the absolute top of the professions. The current candidate for US Attorney General just benefited from a strong show of support at her confirmation hearing from her "sisters", who are a very accomplished bunch.

[Renart]

American college is weird

The term for applying/asking for membership at Princeton's eating clubs is "bickering", which I find very funny.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

American college is weird

ursus arctos wrote: Aaargh.

Try this.

I'll remember to take my Latin dictionary with me when I travel to Mexico.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

American college is weird

ursus arctos wrote:
** Caveat: black fraternities and sororities can be very important at the absolute top of the professions. The current candidate for US Attorney General just benefited from a strong show of support at her confirmation hearing from her "sisters"

I see what you did there.

[ursus arctos]

American college is weird

You don't want to get on these ladies' wrong side



The single most impressive group of people I've ever spent time with were Radcliffe graduates from the 20s and 30s (before Harvard would admit women). Absolutely amazing human beings.

[linus]

American college is weird

ad hoc wrote:

It isn't the most progressive school in the country.

Yet it has that fucking amazing Orozco mural, that I would make special trips just to see.

That mural is an incredibly morbid depiction of American culture and its education arm, it's funny how Orozco got away biting the hand that fed him.

[tee rex]

American college is weird

For years - certainly long after I'd finished university in the UK - I simply assumed that "fraternity" was just the American term for "student hall of residence". Every movie about college life in the USA featured frat boys, who were therefore representing every male student.

Perhaps 100% of Hollywood producers were in fraternities.

[Whittaker]

American college is weird

tee rex wrote: For years - certainly long after I'd finished university in the UK - I simply assumed that "fraternity" was just the American term for "student hall of residence". Every movie about college life in the USA featured frat boys, who were therefore representing every male student.

Perhaps 100% of Hollywood producers were in fraternities.

I used to think the same too. But then we do have "drinking societies" to corral the real arseholes.

[San Bernardhinault]

American college is weird

As me to the chorus of Brits who, for the longest time, assumed "Frat" was a synonym for hall of residence, and who couldn't work out why everyone who went to college in the US had to live in houses full of such arseholes.

[ursus arctos]

American college is weird

No wonder we had to save your sorry asses in two World Wars.

[insert smiley thing]

[danielmak]

American college is weird

When I was an undergrad I went to a party one time that was in the apartment complex where I was living. My roommates, who all went to different universities than I did, and I had met some folks who lived in the apartment. The party was filled with stereotypical frat boys and sorority girls and had that feel of the record skipping when we walked in. I knew one guy who worked at the university radio station with me. He was in whatever fraternity seemed to be mostly present. I said to him, "I can't stick around here very long. This frat scene is not for me." His response: "The radio station is just another fraternity/sorority but just for weirdos instead of preppy types." He had a point. At that age, people are just trying to find a scene. Of course, some are better than others. Punk rock is way better than penny loafers. Then and now.

[jefe]

American college is weird

ursus arctos wrote: Aaargh.

Try this.

There aren't very many "Greek free" unis, and they tend to be "smaller progressive liberal arts schools" like the ones Reed mentions.

St. Mary's College of MD alum here, vouching for UA's statement. They were banned from the school since before I got there, and I shudder to think of the trouble frats could have caused had they been around.

[Renart]

American college is weird

The absence of fraternities or sororities was a major selling point for all of the colleges/universities I applied to.

[ursus arctos]

https://twitter.com/TheCut/status/1123628238461382656