Universities in North America are filled with a variety of student clubs, but the most special nature is the brotherhood/sisterhood of each university. From the mystery of the "Skull Society" at Yale University to the madness in the movie "American Pie", the brotherhood/sisterhood that is strictly kept secret by outsiders always gives people a sense of elusiveness.
Champagnepapi, who had attended the Alpha Gamma Delta Sisterhood at the University of Toronto, and DB, who had attended a fraternity at the University of Toronto, told us in detail about the "mysterious" experiences in these societies.
(Since fraternity/sororities sign a confidentiality agreement when they join, respondents are pseudonyms.) Due to the stricter secrecy of the fraternities, DB cannot disclose the names of the fraternities in which they participate. ）
What is a brotherhood/sisterhood?
Brotherhood/sisterhood is a type of North American college society that emphasizes the "brotherhood/sisterhood" of its members, usually organizing some recreational and learning activities, and the names fraternity and sorority are also based on the Latin words frater and soror. Since most brothers/sisterhoods are named after societies in greek letters, they are also called "Greek life".
Early skeleton society members and the symbol of the skeleton society: the hands refer to the old clock at 8 o'clock and the bones on the table. Yale University Library Manuscript and Archives Department
The most famous brotherhood/sisterhood in the world is the "Skeleton Society" at Yale University. This secret society was founded in 1832 by William Russell, a Yale graduate. The Skeleton Club is elitist and enrolls only 15 members each year based on academic performance, personal ability and family background. Among them, in particular, several major families with prominent reputations in American history account for the highest proportion, such as the Taft family, the Bush family and the Rockefeller family.
Because of the talent of the Skull and Skull Society, even in the 2004 presidential election, there was a phenomenon that the democratic and Republican candidates (George W. Bush and John Kerry) were members of the Skeleton Society, which led many people to combine the Skull and Skull Society with many major events in the United States, claiming that the Skull Society was related to the development of the atomic bomb, the kennedy assassination or the Watergate Incident, and controlled American politics behind it. Most of these, however, are conspiracy theories with little evidence to speak of.
The culture of secret societies in the United States flourished, and naturally soon spread to Canada. Since the 1870s, fraternity/sorority culture has entered the University of Toronto. Today, the University of Toronto has a total of 11 fraternities and 7 sororitys.
However, although more and more students are coming to Canada from China to study, there are still only a few Chinese willing to try secret societies such as brotherhood/sororities. DB said: "Another friend and I were the only two members from Chinese mainland. Champagnepapi also mentioned that she was the only one in that class who was Chinese mainland background with another girl, and there were a few students in the middle of the way, but they left within a few months.
However, although DB and Champagnepapi were both born in China, they both immigrated to Canada in elementary school, so they are deeply integrated with the local culture.
Joining a Brotherhood/Sisterhood: A mysterious initiation ceremony
In the movie, people have only heard of wanting to enter the mysterious brotherhood/sisterhood and will undergo a series of "trials" to prove their "loyalty" to the organization. Rumors are even more varied, and there are even legends that joining some brotherhoods requires "lying on a glass ballast to do push-ups" and so on. So, is membership really that scary?
The Fraternity also appeared in the Pixar cartoon Monster University. Image source: Movie screenshot
As the name suggests, only men can join fraternities, and only women can join sorority. Usually, new members typically join a sibling/sorority during their freshman or sophomore year as an important tool to expand their network on campus.
Generally, anyone can sign up for a sibling/sisterhood, but these new members usually need to go through a series of background screenings, interviews, and votes before they reach the "trial" stage. Usually, brothers/sisters have minimum requirements for the academic performance of new members, sometimes taking into account the new member's family background, etc.
Champagnepapi mentioned that her sisters' club runs classes for new members every Monday from mid-September to the end of October. This course will not only teach the history of the new member sorority, founders, etc., but also teach new members how to prevent sexual harassment and sexual assault. After a month and a half of classes, the sororities will take exams for new members, and then organize new members to participate in a charity sale.
In the Brotherhood, things are a little different. DB said that in the fraternity where he is located, the new member first needs to appear at some of the "welcome parties" held by the fraternity and communicate with the brothers. Next, the brothers will vote on the new member. Only by unanimous approval can the new member move on to the next stage, and even if any of the brothers "don't like the person", the new member will be eliminated.
The madness shown in the movie "American Pie" is many people's first impression of the Brotherhood. Image source: Movie screenshot
For the Brotherhood, the content of the "trial" needs to be kept strictly confidential. DB said one of the tests would be to take the new member to a wilderness outside Toronto, confiscate his cell phone and other communication equipment, and require the newcomer to return to the Brotherhood's location in downtown Toronto alone without help.
DB added that for security reasons, the Brotherhood now has some corresponding "safeguards". He said: "There have been incidents in the Brotherhood before, such as when someone went missing. Therefore, we will now arrange a brother to observe you secretly at intervals, lest you really encounter a situation where you don't know the road and get lost. ”
After much testing, the new members will come to the final oath stage. After vowing never to betray the community and swearing to keep some of its work secret, new members can officially join as a true brother/sister.
The Daily Life of brotherhood/sororities: Is there really as much chaos as the legend goes?
People are more concerned with their daily activities in the community than with the mysterious initiation ceremony of the brothers/sisters. In popular culture, brothers/sisters are portrayed as places for the children of wealthy families to eat, drink and have fun, while alcoholism, prostitution, and drug use are inseparable from the fraternity. So, is the brother/sister really that "spending time and drinking"?
DB mentioned that the brothers of the Brotherhood usually have activities that are mainly to get together to drink and chat, as well as to hold parties. Of course, they don't just play together, sometimes they also delve into and discuss classical literature such as poetry. DB has repeatedly emphasized that it is impossible to enter the fraternity only by "playing", but also "cultured".
To some rumors about the Brotherhood, DB said cryptically: "There are some scenes that are quite like in the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street.". "The Wolf of Wall Street, a 2013 noir comedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is known for its large scale, which shows scenes of extreme extravagance and indulgence among Some Wall Street clerks.
The movie "The Wolf of Wall Street" vividly embodies the indulgent life of the elite, and such a shadow can be seen in the Brotherhood. Image source: Movie screenshot
In contrast, the sorority has converged a lot. Champagnepapi said that drinking alcohol is forbidden in the house of the Sorority, so when it comes to drinking, the members of the Sorority generally go to the Fraternity to drink. She said: "Although you can't go back with the bag from the liquor store in an honorable manner, sometimes people will stuff the wine in their bags and secretly take it to the room to drink." ”
Champagnepapi also said that the members of the sorority get together and not only party together, but also learn and go to the library together. "Of course," she added, "the party is definitely more time than studying." ”
Each brother/sister has its own venue, and most of them also provide accommodation for brothers/sisters. Champagnepapi said: "We have seven rooms in our house, single rooms and double rooms, which can accommodate ten people in total. However, she herself has never lived in a sorority house: "A group of women living together will be very difficult (referring to the possibility of making trouble and having conflicts), and I still like to live alone." 」 ”
The site of the Yale "Skeleton Society" is also known as the "cemetery". Own work(based on copyright claims)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Although a place to live is available, the sanitary conditions of the brothers/sisterhoods are generally not ideal due to frequent parties.
Champagnepapi also said she had been to the Fraternity address where DB was located once, describing: "There is indeed a need for a cleanup there. ”
However, DB, which has lived in the Brotherhood for several months, says it is not so unbearable to live in. "The conditions are a little bit worse, but they have at least gas stoves, unlike most apartments in Toronto that are induction cookers," he said. The gas stove is more fragrant to make rice, and this alone is good enough. ”
At the same time, each member of the brotherhood/sisterhood is required to pay the corresponding membership fee every month in order to maintain the normal operation of the society. The Sorority of Champagnepapi is paying $160 a month, while db's fraternity is more expensive, at about $180. DB also added that the membership fee mainly depends on the cost of drinks in the month, and if everyone drinks more, the membership fee will increase accordingly.
What does brother/sister bring to me?
The primary reason many people join the Brotherhood/Sorority is to join an "elite group" to gain access to this secret society's extensive network of contacts. Needless to say, the previously mentioned "Skeleton Society" has almost become synonymous with "elite society", and the Fraternity of the University of Toronto is also famous, and many fraternity members have later rewritten the history of Canada.
Member of the 2014 University of Toronto Brotherhood/Sisterhood. Image source: UofT Fraternities
For example, Lieutenant Colonel John McRae, who wrote the world-famous poem "On the Battlefield of Flanders" (so popular that all Commonwealth countries have since adopted the Yumei flower as a symbol of martyrdom), and Canada's most famous prime minister, Leicester Pearson, who coined the concept of "peacekeeping" at the United Nations, were members of the fraternities at the University of Toronto.
Of course, there have been many famous people in the sororities. According to Champagnepapi, the current female governor of Alabama, Kay Ive, was a member of the Auburn University chapter of her own sorority. Kay Ive is the first Republican female governor of Alabama and the oldest governor in the United States (76).
Graduating brothers/sisters will also insist on providing some benefits to their colleagues. DB said: "In 2019, a new York graduate brother invited us to go to New York to play, and that night alone, he may have spent thousands of dollars for us, but he didn't care at all. ”
But correspondingly, brothers/sisters will pay great attention to their own reputation. Therefore, if the holder of the membership has committed some improper behavior and caused a negative impact, each club will call for the cancellation of the member's membership.
Kay Ive and Mike Pence at Air Force Base in Birmingham, Alabama. Source: National Air Guard
Champagnepapi also gave the example of Kay Ive: "When Ivey was governor, Alabama passed a bill banning abortion. The bill was so controversial that many different clubs began protesting, demanding the cancellation of her membership, including how big our club was. Although the noise was very serious at the time, her membership is still there. ”
All in all, brothers/sisterhoods aren't as mythical as the Skull Society, and they're not as brainlessly crazy as American Pie. After graduating from UT, both DB and Champagnepapi are moving into the legal profession. DB is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor degree at a law school, while Champagnepapi is working for a law firm. For them, rather than contributing "networking", brotherhood/sisterhood is more like an interesting memory from college days, and that's enough.