Recently, the idea of partaking in a fraternity has become more prevalent. Young adults are captivated with wanting to live the Greek life. The clothes and parties seem to drawn in teens like a magnet. However what these teens do not realize is the terrible things associated with fraternities. Many fraternities have a reputation for turning college students into drunks, treating women vulgarly, enacting violent hazing against other fraternity members and disrupting the true reason why students go to college. For these reasons fraternities should be banned altogether on college campuses. First of all, fraternities have proven to be a serious reason for underage drinking and binge drinking. These young adults have far less supervision and are eager to exert their new found freedom. According to the U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center, 75% of fraternity members engaged in heavy drinking, compared with 49% of other male students. The same goes for sororities. “Outside the Greek system, 40.9% of college females admit to abusing alcohol, whereas sorority girls drink heavily at a rate of 62.4%.” It is true that a great way to make connections in college is through fraternities. It is also true that fraternities do offer organized events that help unite the campus community. However, in reality the only thing fraternities only care about are throwing out of control parties. In addition,the fraternity environment is the cause of a rape culture on campus. Rape and assault is the most common violent crime committed on college campus. Fraternity members objectify women and are more likely to commit sexual assault. Fraternities enforce an abusive attitude towards women. Males in fraternities are notorious for forcing w... ... middle of paper ... ...ties More Dangerous Places for Women?" JSTOR. Sage Publications, Inc., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. Higher Education Ctr for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention United States of America. "PUBLICATIONS." NCJRS Abstract. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. Lipkins, Susan. "Inside Hazing." Inside Hazing. Reel Psychology, LLC, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. Seabrook, Rita. "Rape: Fraternities at Fault." The Kenyon Collegian. College Publisher Pro, 6 Nov. 2008. Web. 14 May 2014. Paquette, Reggie. "10 Reasons Why You Should NOT Join a Fraternity."Fraternity HQ RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. "15 Frightening Facts about Sororities and Fraternities - Zen College Life." Zen College Life. 014 Zen College Life, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
Butterfield, Sam. "New Study Finds Sororities Have a Negative Impact on Body Image." The Daily Collegian. The Daily Collegian, 11 Mar 2010. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
Walking around a university’s campus any day of the week, one sees an array of Greek letters worn proudly by young men and women in the Greek system. Fraternities and sororities play a big part in a university. The Greek system can also be an easy target to direct criticism. There are those who oppose the Greek system and those who embrace it. Evan Wright opposes the Greek system in his article “Sister Act” that was featured in Rolling Stone Magazine. He uses examples from students at Ohio State University in Columbus to show his disapproval of the way sororities are now days. He portrays sorority girls as catty conformists who are obsessed with partying with fraternity guys. Evan Wright’s insubstantial claim is full of half-truths in reference to alcohol consumption, conformity, and the purpose of sororities; therefore, his critical position that sororities are corrupt is not credible.
In this paper will be talking about the three sociological perspectives as it pertains to the fraternities and sororities in today’s world. I have chosen this topic because it can be easily understood in all three perspectives.
That standard of academic excellence pushes you to become a great student, “if students want to become affiliated with academic discourse communities, or even if they want to succeed in school, they have to make considerable sacrifices,” (Johns 326). Johns’ outline of success academic discourse communities is on point. Fraternities are academic communities along with social. Much sacrificed time has to be taken to be apart and contribute to fraternity, for example a leadership role. A fraternity offers many opportunities of leadership opportunities.
Greek organizations, such as, fraternities and sororities have been a part of the college experience for centuries. We pride ourselves in brotherly and sisterly love, academic success, and helping others. There are countless stereotypes and myths that surround the “Greek life” name. Just some myths include: all Greeks haze their members, they only care about physical looks not personalities, and they go to college just to party and get drunk. Kappa Delta Sorority upholds none of these stereotypes. We have a strong no haze policy. Hazing is defined as an activity or situation that can cause emotional, mental, or physical discomfort. If a member is caught hazing or if a new member is caught allowing herself to be hazed, there will be major consequences, such as, national probation or deferral of initiation. Kappa Delta also does not look at physical appearance as the only quality for possible new members. We look at personality and qualifications that can benefit our sorority; instead of having a group of women that are pretty and popular, we like to have women with strong morals, work ethic, and have the willingness to love each and every member of Kappa Delta. Kappa Delta Sorority is like no other fraternity or sorority on campus; we do not waste our time with partying and drinking. We pride ourselves in our historical background, philanthropies, and our values. I know Kappa Delta is the best sorority not only on MTSU campus but in the whole country.
"Some have argued that fraternities are places where rape is likely to occur on college campuses and that the students most likely to accept rape mouths and be more sexually aggressive are more likely to live in fraternities and sororities, consume higher doses of alcohol and drugs, and place higher value on social life at college." according to the article "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous places for Women?" written by A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade. The article ...
I came to college with a negative look on sororities. All my knowledge of greek life came from the media. Sororities are portrayed in a dismissive
This source in its entirety was good insight about how Greek Life’s main focus is not to party but to better yourself like many of today's leaders. The article is an attractive read for students who are skeptical about the purpose of joining these groups. After coming across a positive article about Greek Life, I wanted to switch perspectives and research the negative aspects of joining fraternities and sororities. So I typed into Google just that, “what are the negative aspects of fraternities and sororities”. I came across numerous sources that did not really give me a solid base of research.
Often, when one hears about fraternities or sororities on the news, the program has to do with hazing and a death or injury that it has caused an innoce...
Day in and day out we hear about high school and college students wanting to pursue a sorority and/or a fraternity based on the stereotypes these organizations uphold, well I chose to differ. I told myself if I ever decided to become a member of a sorority it would be based solely on their ethical standards, history, and values they are founded upon. Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated consists of ladies of distinction and exemplary character who excel in scholarship, leadership, and service, which are qualities I have chosen to uphold. From my perspective, I encourage myself to maintain a respectable appearance and reputation which doing so inspires me to embrace my self-concept; which helps me confidently excel academically and professionally as a “lady of distinction” and “exemplary character.” Most importantly, I continuously remain involved in community service, being involved allows me the opportunity to learn and understand the lives and circumstances of others by opening my mind, heart, and soul. Overall these qualities strengthen my passion to be a member of the prestigious Alp...
In "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture" Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade analyze the social perspective of the gendered relations in male fraternities that add to the high rate of violence against women on many college campuses. They list a host of factors that distinguish higher-risk from lower-risk atmospheres discussing the rates of rape in colleges and state how "1 out of 4 college women say they were raped or experienced an attempted rape" (217). Additionally, "1 out of 12 college men say they forced a woman to have sexual intercourse against her will" (Boswell, Spade 217). In other words Boswell and Spade indicated that the rates were high when it came down to women getting raped in colleges by men who also attended those colleges. In addition, Boswell and Spade specify in how most people are aware of rape but know very little about rape culture (Boswell, Spade 217).
When teenagers leave the safety of home and enter college life, they can feel very out of place. In order for them to feel that they belong when joining a fraternity or sorority, they can be pressured into binge drinking and other types of behavior that they wouldn't normally do. By doing what the fraternity brothers or sorority sisters ask them to do, they think that they are proving themselves to be worthy of a place in the organization. This can be very dangerous for many reasons. "Results from a recent Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study provide the first national picture in almost fifty years of just how widespread and harmful heavy episodic or "binge" drinking has become, not only for those students who abuse alcohol, but also for others in their immediate environment" (Wechsler, 178). Binge drinkers put themselves at high r...
According to a statement addressing the sexual victimization of college women The Crime and Victimization in America states that, “ One out of four women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus.” This disturbing fact has not minimized throughout the years, instead it is continuing to worsen throughout college campuses. Sexual assault is not an act to be taken lightly. Society must stop pinpointing the individuals who commit these crimes one by one, but rather look at the problem as a whole and begin to understand the main cause of sexual assault and possible methods to reduce these acts of sexual coercion.
According to Richardson and Shields (2015), a 2004 study showed that 72 percent of rape victims were intoxicated at the time of their assault. Another study found that an astounding 76 percent of males who committed a sexual assault on a college campus used alcohol to weaken a women’s objection in order to have sex with them. Alcohol can also intensify aggressive and antisocial behavior in males. On college and university campuses, it has been found that fraternity men and sorority women are more likely to use alcohol before having sex than non-fraternity and non-sorority members. Students that attend parties at fraternity or sorority houses often times are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Unfortunately, it is not surprising that a sexual assault is more likely to occur when drugs and alcohol come into play. It also seems that alcohol is a contributing factor of the time that sexual assaults on campus are most likely to occur. Richardson and Shields (2015), states that of more than 5,000 undergraduate female students, 72 percent of assaults occurred late at night and 90 percent of female students who were incapacitated by drugs or alcohol reported late night assaults. An unfortunate reality is that alcohol can also prevent victims from speaking out on the crimes committed against them. The presence of alcohol can make victims of assault less likely to report
O'Donnell, Ben. "What's Right With Fraternities." Chronicle Of Higher Education 56.16 (2009): A76. Academic Search Elite. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.