Residential Colleges vs. Frats

This post might be unclear for anyone not fro Northwestern, but a residential college is a dorm with much more programming and faculty involvement. More information can be found here: http://www.northwestern.edu/residentialcolleges/

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So many incoming freshmen, when going through the housing application, come across the term “residential college” and wonder what that even means. And let’s be honest here. Often, maybe after a little bit of research, the res college system is cast off as something for “losers” or “nerds.”

I apologize if I’m offending anybody, and I should say I’m involved with my res college and love the experience. I don’t think res colleges are lame, but I know they get that rep.

At the same time, think about the Greek system: that part of campus where every social event seems to happen. Frat guys being frat guys, it’s a getaway from the academic atmosphere that takes up the days. For those people who unwillingly got placed into res colleges, frats and sororities are the perfect escape. No more of this “academic” theme and these “anti-social” people. Frats and sororities are a gateway for freedom, for socially outgoing friends, for something more than academics. Right?

The thing is, I’m in a fraternity too, and I feel the two institutions are eerily similar. First of all, the people who live in res colleges are not that fundamentally different than Greek students. Both groups are Northwestern students and inevitably care about academics. And both groups are social; they probably meet at the same parties. But more than that, the basic institutions share so much in common. The exec board of my res college meets every week for about an hour to talk about events we’re planning and what we can do to make the experience better. Similarly, every Sunday, I walk up north to attend my fraternity’s chapter.

We even talk about the same things. Both institutions have academic chairs, social chairs, philanthropy chairs, treasurers, secretaries, etc. A fraternity is much more than just drinking and partying, and that’s obvious in chapter. Similarly, a residential college is about much more than firesides and academics—it is a social experience, too. It’s funny because some people might think they’re “escaping” the residential college lifestyle by living in a Greek house, but they’re not so far apart.

True, there are some things that are obviously different. Frats don’t have CAs; res colleges do. Frats also don’t have a cleaning staff working every day; res colleges do. I’m not trying to say the experience is identical. But the general conception that res colleges and the Greek system are so opposite doesn’t have much merit.