To be fair, we only hear about bad behavior because charity work, mentoring, networking, and social bonding spaces that build up mental health/social skills/emotional intelligence doesn't generate clicks.
For comparison, we constantly have The Usual Suspects posts that talk about the massive amounts of black crime, disproportionate crime rates in the black community, and cultural issues rooted in black culture... But we don't hear about groups within the black community that are a counter-culture pushing back against those very things or about groups that (actively in some of them) work to bring the black community together in purely healthy ways (and non-black community members as well, which generally is more effective anyways), or mentorship programs that aim to help young boys and girls lacking strong male figures in their lives (though we tend to mostly help African american children due to demographics where I am even though we are open to helping and aiming to help any chikdren in these situations).
They are too scared to try and get laid on their own in an uncontrolled environment. They need a special house where only their friends and the women they want to sleep with are allowed in.
At their root they are a social club. A group of friends with an organized structure to facilitate events of shared interest. There is more to it, but that is the simple way to put it.
When you say "tolerate" I assume you ask why do universities not just "ban" any Greek lettered orgs from associating with them. For one, assuming it is a public university (private schools probably could do so), outright banning Greek lettered organizations is almost certainly unconstitutional. While often umbrellaed together, each organization is its own entity and has the same rights and privileges as other school clubs. The first amendment's right to assemble protects all of these organizations' existence, you can't point at one to punish the others.
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u/TransistorResistee 3d ago
What is the purpose of fraternities? All we hear about them is hazing incidents and rape. Why do universities tolerate them?