Whats the purpose of fraternities?

[Mu naught]

I've really never understood the concept of fraternities... what is their purpose and how do they work? Did someone just decide they are going to form a club and the school gives them their own building? Please explain.

 

[Klockan3]

Fraternities are organizations created by students to create social events for students. Most of these are very old, but yeah it kinda worked like that but it takes a lot of time and work for it to grow large and get buildings etc. University students are way more productive in general than high school students so they do things like this.

 

[Pengwuino]

As far as I know, frat houses are off-campus in buildings not owned by the campus.

 

[Mu naught]

Yes but who pays for all the stuff, do members have to pay a membership to be in the frat or something?

 

[Klockan3]

Yes but who pays for all the stuff, do members have to pay a membership to be in the frat or something?

I think that it is different for different fraternities.

 

[jtbell]

do members have to pay a membership to be in the frat or something?

Generally, yes.

 

[lisab]

Yes but who pays for all the stuff, do members have to pay a membership to be in the frat or something?

They get money from former members too, I think. People who have been in the work place for a while and have well-established careers.

 

[jtbell]

Fraternities (and sororities, for women) are actually national or even international organizations that have chapters at individual universities and colleges. For members, they're a major way of networking with people in other parts of the country even after leaving school.

See for example Pi Kappa Alpha.

 

[Heisenberg.]

As far as I know, frat houses are off-campus in buildings not owned by the campus.

Well yes - the houses are usually built by the organization itself - but some campuses struck a deal with a lot of the organizations - majority of the fraternities in universities are on rows or quads - the land around them is usually campus property. So although the houses themselves may not be owned by the school - they are still considered on campus.