Peter--

A lot of people have that opinion. Quite honestly, my fraternity experience was (on the whole) nothing but positive. I was fortunate enough to wind up in a house that did not haze, did not engage in a lot of the chicanery that tends to get associated with fraternities. My house had one of the higher GPAs of all the fraternities (52 at the time) on campus, and also had one of the lowest incidences of interventions by law enforcement.

Stories about livestock, gang rapes, date rape, alcohol abuse, alcohol poisoning, drug abuse, etc. etc. are what a lot of people associate with fraternities. Yes, it's there, but not to the extent that movies and the news media would have us believe--at least is wasn't 25 years ago. That type of behavior also exists in any environment where a lot of young males under academic pressure live together The rugby house was across the street from us, and the cops were there ALL THE TIME.

I've got friendships from those years that will last until death, and that's what I really take away from the experience. Those guys helped me grow up, helped me through periods where my behavior was on a negative track, and helped me stay focused enough to graduate. Sure, they also helped me get drunk, get laid, skip classes, etc., but when the rubber hit the road, they got me through the bad stuff, as I also did for them.