American Colleges: Fraternities and Sororities

At some American universities, a fraternity is a club of male students usually living in the same house. A club of women students usually living in the same house is a sorority.
In order to join a sorority or a fraternity, you must be invited to rush, which is a period when there are lots of parties for new students and members to meet. To be invited to rush you must usually be the daughter or the son of someone who was in these sororities or fraternities, or somebody who is already a member has to suggest that you are suitable. At the end of rush, you have to pledge, which means you choose the sorority or fraternity you want to join, and must prove you will do anything to be a member of it. You are often expected to do things such as study for a specific amount of time, clean the sorority or fraternity's house, or learn all their rules and beliefs. They also sometimes demand that you do strange things such as wear the same shirt every day for a week. Once you are accepted by a sorority or fraternity, there is a special ceremony in which you officially become a sorority sister or fraternity brother.
Each sorority and fraternity is expected to do some form of useful work, such as collecting money for charity organizations. The names of sororities and fraternities are based on Greek letters, and so members are sometimes called Greeks.
Although sororities and fraternities are popular at most large US universities, some people do not like these types of clubs. The stereotype of a sorority sister is an attractive young woman who is not very intelligent, but who thinks she is impressive because she belongs to a sorority. The stereotype of a sorority brother is a young man who plays a lot of sport, plays stupid tricks, and drinks too much beer.