addendum to 'seeing through the haze'

It occurred to me -- after chatting with Belgian J, who told me (to my surprise) that frats were quite big in European unis -- that maybe frats are prevalent in Oz and that I just never experienced them because 1) I lived at home while at uni and 2) I wasn't exactly the most out-there party guy. (A Venn diagram would probably show some overlap between those two factors.)

There's no denying that there's an enjoyable cameraderie to be had by belonging to some sort of club. It's probably human nature. I can also see the fun in some of the more harmless initiation rites, like skulling a couple of beers or eating something a bit nasty. But the hazing violence is complete and utter macho bullshit -- so worthless that it didn't even make it into 1980s US frat-house teen movies.