Hi, Anonymous —
Whether you should join a fraternity
depends on the fraternity and the
chapter. Ask yourself the question:
- What is the chief goal of the
fraternity and its members?
- If all the members share your devotion
to the principle of social work,
that's good.
- If their social work
consists of a single project they
do every year as a band-aid to cover
all the partying they do the rest
of the year, then maybe it's not
such a great idea.
- Will the member's behavior tempt
you away from living a Catholic
life, for example, in the area
of avoiding drunkenness and illicit
sex?
- Will it be an occasion of sin
where you're constantly faced
with pressure to engage in immorality?
Talk to brothers and find out the
kinds of things they do. Hang
out with them, if possible, and carefully
observe what's going on. Judge whether
this particular chapter will make
it easier or harder for you to live
out your faith.
If I may make a recommendation, there
is a fraternity that does no drinking
and very little, if any, partying
that is totally devoted to community
service (if that's the kind of
social work you have in mind).
It's called Alpha Phi Omega, and
while it is not an African American
fraternity, it's a service (not a
social) fraternity dedicated to serving
people. There is a chapter at Texas
State University
— San Marcos. I don't know
if that's where you are. If there
are other campuses of TSU they don't
have chapters there.
Eric
|