When I attended MIT, approximately half of the men were in fraternities. The rate of alcohol consumption was also quite high, both in the FSILGs and the dorms. I don't think either of these necessarily mean that MIT students lacked motivation. In fact, the average fraternity GPA was above the average on-campus GPA.
In my experience, there's a lot of value in giving students the opportunity to step up and run a small self-governing enterprise. It's one way to counter-act the extension of adolescence into the college years, and I'd like to think that MIT isn't a unique place in regard to the value of independent living. I think there's enough value there that I give annually to MIT's Independent Residence Development Fund so that others continue to have the same opportunities I did.
Nit: Your use of the plural in "amount of fraternities/sorrorities[SIC]" is a hint that you've made an amount vs. number mistake. Also, sorority is the correct way to spell the word.
As someone who doesn't go ton MIT but has been to a few MIT frats and partied there before, MIT greek culture is not at all representative of the wider greek culture at American universities. In fact, MIT is an outlier. MIT is very much academics driven. At MIT, taking 6 or more classes (in a technical field) makes you an awesome badass. 50% of MIT is involved in greeks precisely because the greek culture there is very much tied into the wider MIT culture.
People who would have been "nerds" at other schools, forgive the crass stereotype, fit right into many MIT frats. Which is an awesome thing for MIT, but doesn't really help your argument.
In my experience, there's a lot of value in giving students the opportunity to step up and run a small self-governing enterprise. It's one way to counter-act the extension of adolescence into the college years, and I'd like to think that MIT isn't a unique place in regard to the value of independent living. I think there's enough value there that I give annually to MIT's Independent Residence Development Fund so that others continue to have the same opportunities I did.
Nit: Your use of the plural in "amount of fraternities/sorrorities[SIC]" is a hint that you've made an amount vs. number mistake. Also, sorority is the correct way to spell the word.