College fraternities/sororities

Use this forum to discuss the April 2020 Book of the month, "Project Tau" by Jude Austin
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Re: College fraternities/sororities

Post by JaimeAlfonzo »

Barbara6886 wrote: 16 Apr 2020, 17:22 I think this scenario is not just a fraternity issue. Look at the bullying that takes place in American schools. Phillip giving Kalin an unachievable task to exclude him from being able to join the group is played out daily on every playground in this country.
Philip’s reaction when he finds out what happened to Kalin because of it is also the classic response of bullies. They don’t think about others. They don’t think about the consequences of their actions. For the most part kids like Phillip have been sheltered from having to deal with consequences.
I think the author did a great job of telling that part of this story.
I completely agreed with you, in the USA there cases where the applicant died due to mistake during the Fraternities selection. There is even some new legislation about it in some states. The being accountable of your actions should be impose.
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Post by freshbook »

It seemed like this theme directly came out of a movie. While I wasn't disappointed with it, I think there could have been a better alternative for Kalin to find his way into GenTech.
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Post by Ediomis_Enwongo01 »

Belonging to a fraternity/sorority may not be bad in its entirety as this exist many colleges the world over. The ugly side of it is the hazing as depicted in book.
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Post by Nujudee »

The kind of fraternities portrayed in Project Tau are totally different and they felt so real.
The author did an explicit good job.
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Post by Jajachris »

I have bad friends and close family members who have been members of fraternities but the knowledge I have of them is not in any where near what the writer of this book projects.
Maybe this is what it is like around his clime.
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Post by TopaAzul062 »

I've only been in an honor society and never in a sorority; yet, I have heard good and bad things about frats and sors. The good that I've seen pertained to these groups having strict requirements for joining. Namely in regards to having a 3.0 and up GPA, be in good academic standing and not in any trouble of any kind in addition to completing community service.

The bad things usually revolve around crazy initiation rituals that are life endangering, pulling ill-advised pranks, throwing toilet paper around a target's residence, kidnapping a rival school's mascot and some acts of vandalism. I have encountered individuals that were either partially or entirely like Kalin but were more easy going. There were also some individuals that were like Philip with the grand majority being less than pleasant to be around.
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Post by Diana Lowery »

I am glad you started this topic. I was mad the whole book at the character of Phillip. I think his portrayal was accurate, and I have known many who had those same characteristics. The bullying situation is an abomination.
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Post by Julie-p »

I live in Brazil and there's no such thing as sororities in colleges in here. My only experience with it are from american movies. But I'd say wanting to fit in a group is something universal and it exist in school, universities and even workplaces.
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Post by gracedivine »

College fraternities are like cult groups. They look for the rich and try as much as possible, to oppress the poor and make their life miserable. The author showed this very well.
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Post by Brenda Creech »

freshbook wrote: 19 Apr 2020, 22:05 It seemed like this theme directly came out of a movie. While I wasn't disappointed with it, I think there could have been a better alternative for Kalin to find his way into GenTech.
I agree it did seem like a movie scene!
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Post by Diana Lowery »

B Creech wrote: 14 May 2020, 09:38
freshbook wrote: 19 Apr 2020, 22:05 It seemed like this theme directly came out of a movie. While I wasn't disappointed with it, I think there could have been a better alternative for Kalin to find his way into GenTech.
I agree it did seem like a movie scene!
I think this scene had too much contrived coincidence and was highly unrealistic even for a science fiction story. I found it very hard to believe.
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Post by AvidBibliophile »

While I've never had firsthand involvement in Greek life at the collegiate level, I've heard plenty of disturbing horror stories from pledge members who now walk around with lasting scars, marks, and reminders of their times spent proving certain loyalties to respective chapters. Popularity contests are a part of life, and those deemed "most attractive" will probably always rise to the top in certain respects. Even Tau was purposely designed to physically appear like the most ideal and handsome gent.
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Post by AvidBibliophile »

Julie-p wrote: 13 May 2020, 06:52 I live in Brazil and there's no such thing as sororities in colleges in here. My only experience with it are from american movies. But I'd say wanting to fit in a group is something universal and it exist in school, universities and even workplaces.
Fascinating, as I had never really considered the American influence of such groups. Greek groups like these are not something I'd ever wish to be a part of, but most individualists and introverts probably wouldn't. You are certainly right about that desire we all share to "fit in" with some collection of people, no matter what the commonalities might be.
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Post by edztan15 »

I have an unpopular opinion on fraternities. While most people see it as "cool", isn't it much cooler and admirable if a person doesn't succumb to peer pressure and just carry on with being an independent individual?

Though I understand that others might have different sensible reasons for joining one.
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Post by Arite Seki »

Barbara6886 wrote: 16 Apr 2020, 17:22 I think this scenario is not just a fraternity issue. Look at the bullying that takes place in American schools. Phillip giving Kalin an unachievable task to exclude him from being able to join the group is played out daily on every playground in this country.
Philip’s reaction when he finds out what happened to Kalin because of it is also the classic response of bullies. They don’t think about others. They don’t think about the consequences of their actions. For the most part kids like Phillip have been sheltered from having to deal with consequences.
I think the author did a great job of telling that part of this story.
This is a good point. I have never had any experience with sororities or hazing at varsity however, I think the issue of bullying and targeting is very common and can be very extreme in some cases no matter where you are.
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