Fraternities and Sororities in North America - Other Countries

Other Countries

Other countries have similar institutions; in German-speaking countries (including the non-German linguistic regions of Switzerland) these are significantly older, and fall under the umbrella term of Studentenverbindung, including the Burschenschaften, Landsmannschaften, Corps, Turnerschaften, Sängerschaften, Catholic Corporations (such as the German CV), Wingolf, Christian Corporations (such as the Schweizerischer Studentenverein) and Ferialverbindungen.

In Belgium there are student clubs similar to the German Studentenverbindungen, however they are not the same. The main differences being that clubs do not own a clubhouse with dorms but rather have a bar where they regularly meet and there is no fencing. The largest clubs are based around a specific academic course or a collection of them, the others usually are based on regional origins of the students and the others are simply a group of friends or patrons of the same bar.

In the United Kingdom, there are a limited number of student dining clubs, which are similar to American eating clubs which were later eclipsed by Greek societies. Some, such as the well-known Bullingdon Club at Oxford University, are socially exclusive due to being prohibitively expensive. Several secret societies exist, the most famous being the Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society.

In Portugal, there are also fraternities, especially in Coimbra, the city with the oldest university in the country and one of the oldest in Europe. These houses, called "Repúblicas", are independent, protected by law, and run by students. They first appeared in 1309 when King D. Dinis first ordered to build student housing for the recently founded University of Coimbra, in 1290. The name, translating to "Republic", represents the house spirit: every member of the house participates in the household tasks and decisions are made unanimously. There are 27 Republics in Coimbra, 3 in Lisbon and 1 in Oporto. Republicas are also found at the Federal University of Ouro Preto in Ouro Preto, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. And at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) in Lavras' City, also in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

In Sweden and Finland, there are similar student institutions in called Nations. At the oldest Nordic universities, the Nations have existed since the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Nations have also existed in Central Europe in the Middle Ages. The universities in Uppsala, Lund, and Helsinki have the oldest Nations. Since the beginning, the Nations have been social gatherings for students that came from the same parts of the country, and they are also named after parts of Sweden and Finland. Nations have also been founded at younger universities like the ones in Umeå and Linköping. It has been mandatory for students attending the universities of Uppsala and Lund to be members of nations until the autumn of 2010. After the mandatory membership was abolished by the parliament the Nations of Sweden are now contemplating founding a League of Nations to help further connections between Nations and universities. In France there is no such exclusive student organisation. In most schools or University there is a Student office (BDE, Bureau des Élèves) that is elected by student to organise student life and activities. It often organize bonding activities for the newcomers of the school called integration.