First off, Frat Row is short for fraternity row, and it is basically all fraternities in one designated area of campus. Penn State is known for its large philanthropy that consists of fraternities and sororities. Because of this, thousands and maybe even millions of dollars are invested in these fraternities' houses that has been here since 1855. Every greek organization has their own purpose that distinguishes their fraternities from others. However, no one really cares about that. They care about the parties.
Every fraternity is ranked by other people that went to these fraternities when they partied. They get evaluated on how attractive the guys and the females are, how hard they can party, and if liquor and alcohol is still in existence after several hours of the party. Because of this, the higher the tier of the fraternity, the more exclusive it is for someone to get in there. You must know a brother in these fraternities and hopefully, because sometimes it is a closed social, they will let you in.
A tier ranking list that is MOSTLY agreed on
The blatant truth is if you do not know anyone at these higher tiers party, then you are not getting in. It doesn't matter how much you can bench press, how cool you are. If you do not know a brother, then that is when people at the door will treat you like a nobody depending on how high the fraternity is on the ranking system. So, you sort of have to have a name or a reputation to get in.
A preview of some of the brothers I have in my phone from different frats
Luckily for me, I am pretty popular for an average freshman that is not on the football team. I made a lot of connections so that I can get to the best of the best parties and have fun. However, it sucks that these parties are literally sickening to be part of. I see some of the most stuck up, racist, ignorant, drunk, drugged out people that I have ever seen in my life. Don't get me wrong, not every fraternity is like this, it could just be the ones that I attend to, and not everyone is like that. However, when you become so embedded in this lifestyle, you see the secret truth in these parties: people are looking for acceptance. People think that getting themselves in a position of power will make them happy, will make them get their dream girl. They think that being on a certain level of "high" will erase all of their problems. You can say frat row is an escape from responsibilities and reality. However, this illusion of a second world is not worth the disrespect for the way how women and randoms are treated. I don't know... I feel disgusting that I am enamored with this life style. We are Penn State right? I have to conform with this mentality in order to have fun right? Who knows... I love it when I know I shouldn't. KDC.
PIKE(Pi Kappa Alpha)
Interesting post. I don't attend parties because I have no interest in them. It was interesting seeing what someone who goes often thinks about them. It's interesting to see an apparent change in your opinion as time has gone on.
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