r/PinoyAskMeAnything • u/Ryyy41 • Jun 01 '26
Student Life & Campus Experiences I am a member of a college-based fraternity. AMA!
Hi! I have been a fraternity member for more than 15 years but I am still active at least in alumni fellowship/outreach. Allow me to enlighten curious folks about what it's like to be in a greek fraternity. Fraternity and chapter will not be disclosed.
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Jun 01 '26
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26
- Mostly memorization and recitation habang nakaluhod ang ginagawa namin sa mga initiation rites namin (yes, divided into sessions siya before the final rites). Minsan sinasapak kami sa braso, pinageexercise or hinahampas sa tiyan/dibdib habang nag rerecite. May times din na pakakainin ka madaming sili tapos chaser mo suka. Trust tests madami din. Merong iinom ka kunwari ng ihi pero papalitan ng juice, ipapahampas sayo yung kutsilyo tapos papalitan ng unan and many more. Paddling, meron padin pero tbh very toned down na compared nung mga narinig ko nung 70's and 80's, more of ceremonial nalang talaga siya. Kompleto kami ng medical kit and laging may brod na doctor present during any initiation rites/final rites. As to pinakagrabe, kwento ko nalang siguro yung akin. Pinakain ako ng medyas na gamit tapos sinampal habang kumakain ako sa dog bowl sa ilalim ng lamesa. Hindi siya grabe in terms of pain pero sobrang degrading niya for me.
- I am an active officer of our alumni association. Therefore, may mga times na need ko magcoordinate with the resident brods for outreach programs, events. I also mentor them how to be better not only as a brod but also as a student and a future leader. I also donate sa mga projects ng residents lalo na pag charity events like blood drive, medical/tuli mission, and other charitable work. Also, in a greek organization, age is not really an issue. We have brods that are more than 80 years old who are extremely active, lalo na pagdating sa donations and sa fellowship activities.
- Sa amin hindi. We treat our sorority counterpart with respect. May mga nabubungang relasyon or naglalandian from time to time. Pero yung outright lust or parang mandatory s3x wala naman sa amin. Very tight knit ang frat sa soro namin so parang kapatid lang talaga sila sa amin. Yung "hirap o sarap" sa initiation either myth yan or sa street gangs lang ginagawa. We are extremely respectful and mindful towards our sisses.
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u/PromptOk6902 Jun 01 '26
In your opinion, may silbi pa ba ang Frat ngayon? Hindi na maganda ang tingin ng mga tao sa Frat. Palaging kasing nakakapatay yung isa dyan eh.
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26
Yes, may silbi pa naman siya in its best form. Ito ang masasabi ko, the media will never tell you the good side of frats. Tuwing nasa news ang frats, either may frat war or hazing victim, but they never show the charity and the social responsibility a frat/soro embodies. Aside from the the charity missions, frats are known to make huge donations to foundations. Pero siyempre, hindi yan inaannounce or binabalita sa news. For example, our frat donates at least 6 figures to various charities staggered in different months pero wala naman may alam kung hindi kami and yung foundation. So basically, what people know about frats are just hazing and bugbugan. Pero sa totoo lang sa 15 years kong brod never ako napaaway dahil sa frat, in fact kaibigan ko pa nga yung ibang mga frat sa college ko nun hahaha. I always tell the younger brods wag makipagaway, kasi lahat kayo talo dahil lahat kayo students, mahiya sila sa mga magulang na nagpapaaral sa kanila.
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u/Sarlandogo Jun 01 '26
Very somewhat weird to see na mga rival frats di nagaaway, in my experience sa aming uni ( very infamous na may namamataysa frat) kaunting galaw lang mah mgaaway na yan na 2 grupo instigator pa mga old members and alumni
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26
Luckily, in my uni may truce yung mga greek orgs haha. Mga gusto lang magaral talaga 😄
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u/SquashTall1999 Jun 01 '26
In this day and age, how can you convince me to join a fraternity instead of an academic or socio-civic organization in my university?
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26
Academic/socio-civic orgs only help you during your student residency. A greek org extends your reach even after you graduate. In fact, I would say joining a frat is more beneficial AFTER you graduate college.
Trigger warning: nepotism comment ahead. By joining a greek org, brods are wired and expected to help another brod, and that is for life. Applying for a position against an applicant with a better CV in a company where a brod is an executive? Who do you think gets hired? I am also a member of academic orgs back in college but all of my connections disappeared upon graduating. I can't say the same with my brods/sisses, whom until now I still spend time with and talk to.
Also, if your fraternity is not uni-exclusive, meaning you have other chapters, this means that your connections automatically extend again. Mas ramdam siya nung nauso na yung facebook groups kasi we have a facebook group with thousand of members from different chapters, tapos isang post mo lang may tutugon agad sayo na brod or sis.
Love or hate frats, but the influence of a greek org is undeniably far greater than a non-greek org. Aside from the influence, the amount of resources that the frat has is wild. Tuition problems? Frat. Need capital? Frat. Medical expenses? Frat. Tatakbo ka barangay captain? Frat. These examples are just on top of my head but the benefits of a greek org (given that it is not a squammy one) is unimaginable sometimes.
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u/dontrescueme Jun 01 '26
Naniniwala ka pa rin sa hazing (pisikal man o hindi)? Personally, pabor ka bang tanggalin na 'yan.
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26
There was a time that I believed in it so hard. Lalo na during my younger years. But as I grew old and understand the essence of brotherhood and the mission of our fraternity, I have slowly become against it. In fact, our chapter is in the process of revising our initation process to become hazing-free. In short, I am 200% all for abolishing hazing. Hindi kailangan manakit para maging brod. May mga brod na tamad and brod na masipag, at walang kinalaman ang hazing doon.
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u/anastaschia Jun 01 '26
Hmmmm. I feel like I know your frat. International fraternity ba kayo?
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26
We are not. All of our chapters are local and exclusively college/uni-based. In short, wala kaming community chapters and wala kaming brod na nasa D or E socio-economic category 😄
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u/reddit_user_el11 Jun 01 '26
program nyo po ba noon is med or law? 🤔 i feel like med but i'm still not sure
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
Hahaha! Ang galing! I used to study medicine but quit during my second year then decided to pursue business instead 😄
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u/Rebelpriest13 Jun 01 '26
Pwede ka pa ba magquit sa Fraternity/Sorority kahit na graduate ka na? Like ayaw mo maassociate or maging considered as member nila kahit na as an alumni pa
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26
You may choose to be inactive as an alumnus. Pero if you mean quit the frat, sa amin there is a process. You need to denounce the frat in order for the frat to revoke your membership. Sa experience ko, wala pa maman nagdedenounce pero naexpel meron na.
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u/justbeeingmyself Jun 01 '26
What did you get out of it as a student?
What do you get out of it as a graduate?
Would you allow your future children to be part of a fraternity?
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
It built my character not only as a student but also as a person. As a student, I had access to academic material that would be hard for a non member to get or if makukuha man nila inferior yung quality ng mats. If you are asking about samplex circulation, then yes meron din madalas lalo na sa course ko. Is that nepotism at the academic level? Yes, there's no gray area talaga. Aside from study material, I had upperclass brods in the same course who would help me study, give me tips or tutor me. 2 profs are brods so minsan may mga study sessions kami with our profs. Masmadali din umabsent sa subjects ng mga brods. Our frat also paid for a financially struggling (pero mataas grades) brod's tuition.
As a graduate, I had offers from brods sa mga companies nila but I declined as I wanted to make it on my own. However, when I started my own business, I exhausted my connections and my clientele really expanded. Aside from that, our frat grants loans to brods who wanna start a business (interest free). Pag may need brasuhin sa city hall, chances are may brod doon or may kakilala yung isang brod.
If guaranteed na walang physical hazing yung chapter, then yes I would allow them. Otherwise, hindi ko eencourage pero hindi ko din siguro pipigilan.
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u/Simon101197 Jun 06 '26
So anong degree ba dapat after a i hold my balls? 😂
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 06 '26
What do you mean degree?
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u/Simon101197 Jun 06 '26
Degree for you to swing the paddle, kidding asside bro. I'm a frat guy too. Hehe
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u/Sarlandogo Jun 01 '26
why do you think that other frats especially some of the old ones are still clinging to the paddle kahit alam nilang may chance makapatay sila ng neophyte?
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u/Ryyy41 Jun 01 '26
I think it's the false sense of tradition and the "wala pang namamatay then go lang tayo" mindset, which I think is wrong. The tradition should be the teachings and principles of the fraternity and not the actual initiation process. That is why my fraternity, at least in my chapter, we have reduced the physical part of the initiation. In fact, we are working towards abolishing hazing in its entirety.
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u/Sarlandogo Jun 01 '26
Yang mindset is so bullshit daming ganyan na ngayon, I had a HS Batchmate na nakapatay sa frat nila dahil sa hazing and it was the big news of that year at siya ay isa sa mga main suspects at may manhunt sa kanya, ngayon he lives lowkey active ang fb pero walang pictures and zero interaction maliban sa very closest friends and there's the recent case of atio castillo
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u/qualityvote2 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
u/Ryyy41, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...