i'm taking my talents to south eastern conference

People actually join fraternities at UMass? I've visited friends at Mizzou, Bama, FSU, Memphis and wonder why the fraternity life down there is a 180 from my home state university. My driving decision not to attend UMass and apply to those colleges was the tearing down of Frat Row about a decade ago and the eye-opening experience I saw south of the Mason-Dixon. Is this how it always was/will be in Amherst? I wish I could have stayed local