This weeks boy is the frat guy. We all know what they are stereotyped as, but who are they really?

When someone brings up a frat boy, you probably immediately think of some guy named Chad with blonde hair, who is in Chai Beta or something like that. He probably wears pastel colors, and when he dresses down, its Vineyard Vines, and all of his outfits are paired with Sperry Topsiders.    He also probably hires someone to do his homework, and his favorite movie is either Neighbors or Wolf of Wall Street.

I have to say, these stereotypes are definitely still around, and frat guys can be like this, but most are pretty chill. Let’s break this down to the 2 types of frat guys: the one who is actually genuinely nice and chill, and the one who is in a frat for parties and girls

While it’s surprising, there are some great guys in frats. These types of guys stay out of your pants, and they are just looking to hang out and make a connection. They are nothing more than friends, and they don’t mind. My one friend Jen is friends with frat boys like this. She considers them some of her closest friends, and sees them as “big brothers.” They invite her over to just hang out and eat pizza. These boys check in on her and have made her feel like family. One time she got her heart broken by this guy and her frat friends invited her over and they watched a movie. None of them made a move on her, but they were genuinely just trying to be a good friend. These are the types of guys that are protective over you and make sure that you are safe always. My friend Linda has a friend in a frat and every time we are there he asks us if we are okay, tells us to be safe, and always texts us afterwards to make sure we get home safe. These guys are down-to-earth and not too cocky, basically they are good guys who joined the frat for the brotherhood.

The same can’t be said for the other type of frat guys. They are the reason frat boys get a bad rep. They are cocky, rude, and occasionally aggressive. My friends and I were going out one weekend when we were looking to get into a frat. That was until a brother said “yo, no more ugly girls,” which is when we turned around and walked away. These guys aren’t attractive, but they still treat girls like they are objects. Typically, these guys joined the frat for parties and girls. They aren’t focused on their studies at all. My one friend Emma was friends-with-benefits with a guy like this, Ryan. He was looking to rush into the frats and already acted like he owned the place. His roommate said his room was a “revolving door for girls” and so Emma dropped him fast. These frat boys prey on “fresh meat” aka the freshmen, especially in large groups since they are so focused on girls. In order to get into these parties, there needs to be a specific ratio between girls and guys. There ALWAYS needs to be more girls than guys. This is so that the brothers have a better chance of getting with a girl than the boys that aren’t in the frat.

Basically, frat boys can be of two kinds: the friendly and concerned ones, or the ones who are self-centered, and in it for the wrong reasons. On a serious note, Penn State is a place where the hazing is pretty hardcore sadly, so it really important to make sure that if you are rushing, to be the guy who asks my friend and I if we are okay, not the one who uses us, or one we hear say “no more ugly girls allowed guys” before we go up to the gate. When you pick the right ones, they can be truly be the most kind and fun friends, so choose wisely.

Watch out for the frat guy on campus.

-N

PS. this blog should be taken lightly and all stories are real but names are changed. All images are from google.