Frat Boys: Inside America's Fraternities

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This programme contains

very strong language

and scenes which some viewers

may find disturbing.

America's frat boys.

Notorious for hard drinking...

..and even harder partying.

Bound by a secret

world of rituals...

He chose me. Bond has been made.

..and lifelong bonds

between fraternity brothers.

I can smell the other side,

put it that way, and I want it.

I'm doing it,

there's nothing stopping me.

Its members go on to become some of

the most powerful

and influential people in America.

Do I think he's putting in

the effort that we all have put in

to become a brother? No, I do not.

But they are also institutions

accused of creating

a culture of sexual abuse...

Woke up in this bed, like,

with no clothes on and I had no idea

where I was and I was so scared.

..and brutality towards

its new members.

I just remember that

I was lying there on that floor

and I didn't think

I was going to make it.

I'm not a man at all,

brothers, I'm a weak boy.

Here we have Kappa Sigma.

They are one of the fraternities

on campus right now.

Across America, thousands of college

students pledge allegiance

to a fraternity or

sorority each year.

Most are named after ancient

Greek letters.

It's a tradition stretching back

250 years.

In the back you have

Kappa Alpha Theta.

It's down there,

you can barely see it.

It's pretty nice. And then you have

Sigma Chi on the left.

Fraternities are elite

clubs that provide

accommodation for their members.

There's over 120 different

national organisations.

This is the AZD house,

Alpha Xi Delta.

Ben is in his third year at

the University of Central Florida.

A fraternity is a brotherhood.

It's an organisation of like-minded

people who are just

kind of together to meet

a common goal.

A sorority is the same thing

but with women.

You have an opportunity

to meet so much more people,

to become something greater

than yourself.

INTERVIEWER:
So are you

generally kind of the most

successful people on campus?

I don't want to stereotype,

but, yeah, we are.

We're way more successful.

Fraternities supply $3 billion worth

of housing

across university campuses,

and to live in a fraternity house

can cost students up to

$2,500 per term.

It's an investment in yourself,

to get an experience

you really can't get anywhere else

in the world.

This is the Gazoni Family

house on the right.

Ben is a brother in

the Gazoni Family, an independent

fraternity that has broken away

from one of the national groups.

This is Fish Bowl.

This is called Fish Bowl because

they built a fishbowl into the bar,

which is pretty cool.

Big Momma's house! This is Brandon.

The fraternity is currently home

to 78 active members.

When I grow up

I want to own a business.

I want to be a dentist and become

as successful as possible.

I want to be an engineer.

I want to become a sports agent

and represent all the top athletes

in the sports world.

But that's going to be a little

side job for me.

In order for me to become

successful and wealthy,

I'm probably going to want

to own my own company.

You've always got to dream big.

I want to drive that fast car, live

in a big house, have a lot of kids.

Always have high

expectations for yourself.

We're killing the rest

of the bottle...

Where's the bottle?

THEY CHEER:

They also have certain expectations

of the girls who come

to visit the house.

I'm sure there's many

uses of this pole

but we typically...

It's just like an attraction.

People come to this room, like,

"Oh, my God, a stripper pole,"

and then come in and have fun.

So when we finish the bottle

we use the top of the shelves

to put it there,

showcase what we drink.

A trophy case. Yeah, a trophy case.

What's this up here?

I don't know what

you're talking about.

It's just, uh, bras and underwear.

I mean, people forget it

and leave it there.

I don't know,

it just happens, you know?

We are by far the most fun people

you will ever meet in Greek life.

We have more connections,

we have more friends,

we have more fun than anyone else.

I have no idea why anybody at any

school would not want to be

a part of Greek life,

the Gazoni Family,

or anything greater than

themselves in general.

It blows my mind.

But there is more to being

a frat boy than booze and sex.

Many hope it will lead to

a life of power, wealth and success.

These are the members of

Alpha Kappa Alpha,

who are the members and staff.

These are people who

work on The Hill.

All of these women

are destined for greatness.

I don't know one AKA who

fell off the beaten path.

Frederica S Wilson joined

an African American sorority

at university aged 18.

She is now an influential member

of the US Congress.

This is my favourite here.

Whenever you see the two of us,

I mean, there's that connection.

You know, it's not just

a casual acquaintance.

Is this on the...?

Air Force One.

Mm-hmm, President's plane.

And that's another

one on Air Force One

and I have another one

on Air Force One.

I have many more pictures,

but if I knew that I was going to

have this many pictures I wouldn't

have blown them up so big, so...

Membership of a fraternity

or sorority can last

way beyond graduation.

It's a wonderful world

of friendship, of service,

of love, for life, for ever.

It is one of the best decisions

I've ever made in my life.

In this Congress,

75% of the men belong

to a fraternity...

..and maybe 40% of the women

belong to a sorority.

But most of those members

aren't African American women.

Fraternities were formed in 1776

as secret literary dining clubs

with many similar rituals

to the Freemasons.

Ever since, they've mostly been

a bastion of America's

white middle classes.

Today, what's known

as Greek life has played

a role in the lives of many

of America's elite and powerful.

From Hollywood movie stars to

the bosses of some of America's

biggest companies, these still quite

secretive societies form part of

a network that reaches high into the

upper echelons of American society.

Nearly half of America's presidents

have pledged to a fraternity.

It's just that one little thing

that gives you an advantage

over another candidate

for a position to say,

well, we're fraternity brothers,

and so we obviously subscribe

to the same values

and the same beliefs,

and so therefore,

if I'm the candidate for a job,

you may say,

well, you know,

he represents qualities

that we are really looking for,

because I know what those are.

If you are a Tau Kappa Epsilon

and you are 23 years old

and you are looking for

a job in a new city,

you have, as a list of resources,

a complete group of people

that you are part of,

and you can send a resume to

or you can make a phone call to.

And you as well as they have pledged

lifelong brotherhood,

and it works to the benefit

of many people.

In Florida, a new

intake of students are about to try

and join the Gazoni Family.

But new recruits will have

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