"Frank the Tank" comes out against fraternity-system

http://gawker.com/will-ferrell-on-fraternities-maybe-just-get-rid-of-the-1693008670

Excerpt:
"The incident in Oklahoma, that is a real argument for getting rid of the system altogether, in my opinion, even having been through a fraternity. Because when you break it down, it really is about creating cliques and clubs and being exclusionary. Fraternities were started as academic societies that were supposed to have a philanthropic arm to them. And when it's governed by those kind of rules, then they're still beneficial. But you gotta be careful. I was lucky in that the one I was in, we were really kind of the anti-fraternity fraternity. We were considered good enough to get the exchanges with the good sororities. We couldn't get anyone to vote on anything, but if you needed 40 guys to show up and build a 20-foot-tall papier-mâchéversion of the Matterhorn, we were there and ready."







I have to agree: For example, Germany also has fraternities, but they are nowhere near as numerous, as big and as important as in the US. For the learning and community aspects, we have "Fachschaften". (There is no literal equivalent in english language. Student department body?) It's some kind of self-appointed committee by students for students, one for each department: biology, math, engineering, architecture... You are free to join, but the official representatives towards the university administration are democratically elected. (They are financed via donations.)

In Germany, the Fachschaft of each department organizes the introduction for the first-semesters, they provide learning-aides for the major exams, they organize cultural (e.g. binge-watching all James Bond-movies) and scientific activities (e.g. building a boat from scratch with household-materials for a toy-boat-race) and each organizes one or two huge parties each semester.
If you have any question concerning any problems with studying, you'll always find a senior there who can help you.




And for the "build a 20-foot-tall papier-mâchéversion of the Matterhorn"-aspect, fantasy is the only limit:
I happen to know of a physics-Fachschaft who once kidnapped the mascot of their arch-rivals, the mathematicians. It was a toy, a plush-owl, and the physicists stole it right from under the nose of the mathematicians, using deception and guile worthy of Ocean's Eleven.
And then they sent a ransom-note, demanding a crate of beer-bottles.
And then things got a little bit out of control: The mathematicians figured to steal that very beer from the physicists' storage-room but were revealed and repelled. In the ensuing chaos, the mathematicians accidentally counter-kidnapped the physicists' mascot before escaping...
The stand-off ended months later with a hostage-exchange and a cease-fire. And a party.