Fraternities and sororities facts for kids
Fraternities and sororities are special social clubs mostly found at colleges and universities. Sometimes, high schools have them too. These groups are popular in the United States and Europe. The word frater means "brother" and soror means "sister" in Latin. These names show the close bond between members.
Sororities are clubs just for women. Fraternities are usually for men, but a few can include both men and women. Each fraternity or sorority has a unique name made of two or three Greek letters, like ΑΦ (Alpha Phi) or ΑΧΩ (Alpha Chi Omega).
These groups often have branches, called "chapters," at many different schools. To tell chapters apart, they get their own Greek letters too. For example, a student in the Kappa Sigma fraternity at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette would be part of its EX (Epsilon Chi) chapter. Many chapters have houses near campus where members can live together. Fraternities and sororities often do good things for their communities, like volunteering.
How to Join a Fraternity or Sorority
Joining a fraternity or sorority usually means you need to be invited. This process is called "rushing." During rush events, students who want to join meet and talk with current members. If the members think a student would be a good fit, they offer an invitation, called a "bid."
If a student accepts the bid, they become a "pledge." This is a special time when the student is not yet a full member. Pledges might learn about the group's history or do community service. Sometimes, pledges wear a badge with the group's letters.
After the pledging period, the pledge becomes a full member of the chapter.
Images for kids
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The fraternity system in North America began at the College of William and Mary in 1755.
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The Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter house at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
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Wesleyan College, a women's college in Macon, Georgia, was the birthplace of Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Mu sororities. Image circa 1877.
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U.S. Air Force, Airmen, presumably members of Sigma Phi Epsilon, display that fraternity's flag in Iraq in 2009.
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Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity members with Georgia Air National Guard Col. Ato Crumbly at a protest in Atlanta, June 2020
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The chapter house of Alpha Delta Phi at Cornell University
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The Alpha Sigma Phi chapter house at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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A dramatized depiction of a fraternity initiation ritual
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A "model chapter room" of Kappa Sigma
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Ronald Reagan was initiated into Tau Kappa Epsilon at Eureka College. George H.W. Bush joined Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale University.
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A depiction of fraternity hazing from the early 20th century
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Members of the Miami University chapter of Sigma Chi, including founders Benjamin Piatt Runkle and Daniel William Cooper plus an unidentified woman, pose for a photograph at a 1909 reunion.
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See also
In Spanish: Hermandad estudiantil para niños
