Gosh, the members of my co-ed community service fraternity would have been appalled to learn this. Thanks for the education.
Sua
As would the Black, Latino, and Asian members of mine. Oh, and the gay guys/gals.
I dunno about you, but I automatically thought Tri-Delt.
What I want to know is how societies like Sigma Tau Delta (the English Honor Society) which really is neither a sorority nor a fraternity fit into this little scheme.
I will say that when I worked on the Cornell campus, I came across a couple of student organizations (I don’t know if they used Greek letter identifications) that struck me as being very dangerous. These organizations would require their neophytes to wear uniforms at all times (unlike ROTC, which does not) and would have them do rituals like going everywhere in a group of at least five, always walking in old-fashioned lock-step.
Often the people who are rushed are already friends with people in the Greek organization so that isn’t it. I was in a sorority because I liked the people there and wanted an affirmation of the special bond between us. (I think it had to do with my self-esteem – but that’s not true of everyone.) And I swear it never entered my mind to join a sorority to get laid! 
you know, the one that runs the world & that Glenn Ford fought against in a movie I saw late one night on TV?
G
thus ruining a lame joke about the 1970s movie THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BELL
They don’t have fraternies at Canadian universities, so far as I know. Trust me, we didn’t miss them.
Any “Bonding” experiences you get, you’d get anyway, by virtue of moving away from your parents and living with your peers for the first time. Calling yourself by some Greek letters doesn’t add anything to the mix.
Cult? No. Silly? Absolutely. A subject for a great debate? Not really.
I didn’t join a frat to get friends. I joined the house because I already liked and knew quite a few of the guys in it. Also, the friends I had from my floor joined with me. The money doesn’t go towards buying friends, but to unlimited food at anytime, dinner every night from a culinary school, social events nearly every night of the week (available, not required by any means), formals, sorority exchanges, etc. If one were to go to every event offered by the frat they would get more than their money’s worth.
Also, at my campus being in and living in a frat is actually cheaper than living in a dorm and being on a the school’s meal plan.
Heh. There’s just something charmingly idiotic about an organization that answers the telephone “Delta Delta Delta, can I helpya helpya helpya?” 
**
There are three kinds of fraternity/sorority: social, professional, and honorary. The social fraternities are the ones most people are familiar with; the common bond between the members is generally social in nature (although some chapters tend to attract new members from specific majors for various reasons.
Professional ones are generally based around specific academic/professional disciplines. Phi Mu Alpha, a music fraternity (to which I belonged), was unusual amongst professional fraternities in that most chapters tended to act like social fraternities, and many owned a frat house; more typically, professional fraternities are more like advanced version of high school clubs, concentrating on professional development activities and/or promoting the interests of the profession.
Honorary fraternities, like other honor societies, are usually the least social of the three. New members are typically nominated by current members on the basis of something they’ve done in a specific field or just general academic excellence. I belong to two of these, and I can’t say that I’ve ever heard a peep out of either of them after the induction ceremony. I’m assuming that Sigma Tau Delta is one of these. I’d like to say membership in an honorary organization looks good on a resume’, but I’d be lying.