Essay: Greek life at college universities

Greek life at college universities has been scrutinized due to the unfortunate actions of a handful of sorority and fraternity members. Fraternities and sororities have notoriously been in the news for having certain flaws such as racism, hazing rituals, violence, sexual harassment, and alcohol related deaths (Schulten). Aja Frost and Cal Slo, authors of USA Todays’ article Viewpoint: The time has come to end frats, strongly believe that members of Greek life have abused the privilege of involvement in a philanthropic community, and have instead warped Greek life into a life focused on endless partying and excessive drinking. The numerous news reports and stereotypes associated with Greek life give parents and incoming freshman a skewed concept of Greek life. Prior to coming to Penn State, I had no intent of joining a sorority based on the stereotypes that convoluted my thoughts. With that said, it is important to not only educate myself on the advantages of chapter involvement, but also educate those who are unaware of these benefits. Despite Frost and Slo’s beliefs about banning Greek life, I feel the benefits and advantages associated with chapter involvement should encourage universities to keep Greek life present on their campuses.
The main argument Frost and Slo address in their article is that chapter organizations “foster a culture of drinking on campus” and even set “a norm for heavy drinking” (Frost and Slo). Drinking on college campuses is prevalent regardless of a campus’ participation in Greek life due to the lack of supervision. Furthermore, The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism finds that four out of five college students (Greek and non-Greek campuses) consume alcohol (“College Drinking”). Recognized fraternities and sororities have administered new protocols to ensure safety at their events. For instance, at the University of Virginia, fraternities have designated certain brothers to be sober brothers at parties and have mandated the types of alcohol served at these events (Jacobs). In order to hold members of the Greek community accountable for their actions, the university has the power to remove a chapter from campus or put a chapter on probation if they break national chapter or university rules. Chapters that are kicked off campus continue to practice their rituals in a more “underground” manner; they aren’t supervised by the national chapter or university and therefore aren’t under any jurisdiction. If universities ban Greek life, they are creating the risk of “underground” chapters which can be dangerous to college students due to the lack of supervision.
Many critics associate Greek life with poor academic success. Frost and Slo record a surprising and inconstant statistic that “(Greek organizations) are also two times as likely to perform badly on a test or project” (Frost and Slow). The argument that chapters spend too much time on partying and socializing simply doesn’t line up with the facts. Members are required to maintain a certain GPA to participate in the chapter, and an even higher GPA if they want to hold a position such as president. On average, fraternity brothers have a higher GPA than non-affiliated students at many schools across the nation according to the North American Interfraternity Conference (Jacobs). Involvement in Greek life broadens the amount of university resources students can get a hold of. Chapter members have established study hours, mentors, and programs to enhance academic success (Why Go Greek?). Graduation rates of Greek life members are even 20% higher than non-Greek affiliated students (Glass). Some statistics to prove academic success include the following: 40 of 47 U.S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were fraternity men, of the nation’s 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity men, 76% of all Congressmen and Senators belong to a fraternity, and every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825 have been members of a fraternity (Daley).
Not only do Greek members excel academically, but there are also post-graduation benefits. A study conducted by Harvard University and Syracuse University found that joining a Greek organization “had a dramatically positive effect on lifelong success” (Jacobs). Leadership is one lifelong benefit guaranteed by chapter involvement. Members can hold council positions such as president, vice president, social chair, fundraising chair, and member discipline (Burrell). Discussions for how organizations can be improved allow members who hold positions to voice their opinion at the National Leadership conferences held both nationally and regionally (Why Go Greek?). Greek members have more of an incentive to maintain a certain GPA in order to keep their position in their organization. Another lifelong benefit of participating in Greek life, are the unbreakable bonds members form with their “brothers” and “sisters.” Gene Marks who graduated 30 plus years ago, wrote in the Philadelphia Magazine, that he still stays in touch with the majority of the brothers of his fraternity (Marks). For many first year students, the transition to college may not go smoothly because they are separating from their family and close friends. A fraternity alumni claims, “especially on a large college campus, where Greek life tends to be most popular, fraternities can offer a home away from home for students who might otherwise feel lost in the crowd” (Jacobs). A sense of belonging creates a brotherhood or sisterhood which formulates lifelong friendships.
A controversial argument that is brought up in Frost and Slo’s article has to deal with the fact that colleges without Greek involvement have different philanthropic opportunities for students to get involved in. The article states, “there are plenty of non-Greek associations that exist exactly for those purposes” (Frost and Slo). Critics argue that there are many clubs that offer a chance for students to make social friendships and participate in community service. Although clubs and other organizations at Penn State raise funds, Greek life is very involved with THON, the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. Fraternities and sororities host their own canning trips to raise money specifically for THON multiple times a year. Created in 1973 by all Greek Students, THON’s main goal is to raise money for pediatric cancer. Last year, Greek students along with the help of THON Organizations and Committees collectively raised $13.34 million for pediatric cancer (Penn State). Greek organizations have also been around a lot longer than clubs and have a huge alumni network who still come back to support the organizations philanthropic events. Furthermore, Greek organizations are recognized nationally therefore the sisterhood or brotherhood goes beyond one specific university. The clubs Penn State has may not be nationally recognized which makes the alumni network much smaller. In total, there are 26 national sororities and 75 national fraternities (Giacobbe). Each organization has its own philanthropy they raise funds for. For instance, raising money for the Ronald McDonald House, Service for the Sight, Building Strong Women, and domestic violence. Without these Greek organizations donating funds, the charity foundations would be deprived.
While I do disagree with many points in Frost and Slo’s article, I can establish common ground with problems associated with hazing rituals. Hazing should not be taken lightly and the saying “kids will be kids” doesn’t form a valid argument against hazing rituals. Hazing is not only illegal but is also dangerous and sometimes fatal for college students. Just as Peter Jacobs said, “at least one hazing death every year for the past 43 years is a very scary statistic” (Jacobs). The university needs to monitor the fraternity and sorority pledging process more closely to ensure that hazing doesn’t take place. Even though I share common ground about hazing rituals, I don’t think hazing alone should be the reason Greek life is banned from campuses since a fraternity or sorority has so many benefits to offer.
The research and statistics I found along with my own experiences of being in a sorority at Penn State prove to me that Greek life should not be banned from college campuses. Chapter involvement allows students to learn how to manage their social life while succeeding academically. The leadership positions offered by each organization prepare members for the work force and make them a more well-rounded individual. Most importantly, the philanthropic events teach the members to work for a cause and see an ending result in all of their endeavors whether it be on a small scale or a large scale. Social media chooses to display the flaws associated with Greek life which makes it easy for Anti-Greek sentiment to spread. However, one bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch and overall Greek organizations produce strong, confident individuals who are prepared to take on the “real world.”