>>107
F&S are supported by the university, but only promotionally. They recieve very little financial support from the university. Most of the f&s houses are off campus.

It is only the students that are in honor programs for high-scoring students and/or very challenging academic programs (most engineering programs) that are discouraged from joining f&s. Some people feel that for average students, f&s are good for helping people to be more social. They also participate in charity work occasionally. However, they can be a distraction from studies, especially for students in very demanding academic programs.

F&S are more of a tradition of American college culture than something that serves a rational function. As to whether Americans are proud of them, that really differs among different types of people. For example, people that were in a f/s in college are often proud of it and feel loyalty to their f/s even after they graduate. However, for many people the term "frat boy" makes them think of an immature young man that drinks too much (alcohol) and has bad hygiene.

As you may be able to tell, I am very critical of f&s. I feel that many of their rituals and the kinds of parties that they host are embarassing to the university. I also feel that they contribute to a kind of 'tribal' behavior among students, whereby students only want to associate with members of their f/s.