Research Context Being new to a college campus, I've learned to adjust. I’ve stepped outside my comfort zone and learned to explore various outlets. Little did I know that the college culture didn’t fall too far from the typical high school environment. Subcultures, or what I’d like to call clicks, seemed to be something that transcends from each level of schooling. In college this subculture is known as the Greek system and it is one of the major outlets students use for socializing. I decided to analyze and examine the social structure of the Greek System in Syracuse University mainly out of curiosity. When I was high school I remembered hearing from various of my former classmates, who were then freshmen at college, that one of the best activities students experience were attending the “frat” parties students threw. In high school, I thought that college parties were the same as the ones found in movies like “American Pie” so hearing people speak so fondly of college parties confirmed my beliefs of what the social aspect of college was. Now that I’m a freshman at Syracuse University, and have experienced the social atmosphere firsthand, I’ve noticed how different the social scene on campus really is in comparison to the movies and how it is greatly enhanced by the Greek community. Examining the Greek system is significant to me because Greek life is a dominant tradition in many universities, both academically and socially, and I am interested in understanding why it is so prominent here on campus. Additionally, analyzing the overall structure of the Greek System will allow me to understand why students feel inclined to become a member of these organizations while others don’t. In order to comprehend this student subcult... ... middle of paper ... ...lege, he strongly responded: I think the media poorly represents the social life in college. I have an extremely fun, packed-full social life and I do not hang out with Greek members or attend events put on by the Greek system. The media often illustrates the Greek system as the only means of having a social life which is completely false. I found his response to be very similar to Mike’s because he vehemently agreed that you do not need to be a Greek member to socialize nor to have a fun experience as a college student. “It all depends on the person” he mentions “because every individual has a different approach to socializing and if people feel being Greek is the way then let them be, but I personally don’t think is the only way”. For the most part, my research and findings did support my argument but not entirely. Greek culture is not only an individual decision
Do people really understand the secrets behind the Greek community? There are many pressures girls face that the public is not familiar with that are specifically evident in sororities. Alexandra Robbins, the author of the book Pledged: The Secret Lives of Sororities, went undercover and followed four different girls during their experiences within the Greek system. Although there are many struggles girls can face in sororities, the five most prevalent type of pressures include: having a perfect body image, substance abuse, stress, silence, and hazing.
After the open invite events are over, it goes to invite only and that’s where the cuts are made. Every fraternity tries to choose the best people that fit the values that fraternity. Rush week is a grueling week for any fraternity because, so many kids rush and fraternities can’t accept everyone. “Because Boise State Greek life is increasing rapidly, this fall was the hardest rush week for any fraternity because of the record amount of kids that came out,” (Carter Lewis). The fraternity discourse community is
The large number of sororities and fraternities around campus create a large party environment. Frat parties can get extremely rowdy and a number of them have to be shut down by local police. Obviously, the police being involved to shut something down is never a good thing and is clearly a sign of negativity for the overall atmosphere of any campus. Plus, the constant partying that goes on weekend after weekend really cuts down on the amount of time students spend studying. The excessive partying also takes away the significance of the education that is provided by universities, which is seen as a huge negative impact for universities and students. This argument is completely disputable! As stated earlier, Greek students have higher graduation rates and higher accumulative grade point averages than students who are not a part of Greek organizations. If Greek students can throw parties and continue to achieve admirable grade point averages, why can’t non-Greek students? I was unaware that every time I have a good time at a university, it would be taking away the significance of my education, that notion is honestly illogical and shouldn’t even be considered as problem caused by Greek organizations. This issue seems to be a non-Greek student problem that is being pushed onto Greek organizations. Maybe if they were all Greek students they could continue to party while maintaining a decent grade point
Joining fraternities and sororities has been a long tradition among many college and university students within the United States. As the number of students entering colleges and universities grow, the influence and pressure to join fraternities and sororities grow as well. According to a research project conducted by Dr. Gary D. Malaney, associate professor of education and director of student affairs at the University of Massachusetts, “58.6% [of 413 students surveyed] reported having at least a few friends who belong to the Greek Area” (Malaney 2). However, the Kappa Sigma fraternity at the University of Miami in February 2004 was found at fault for the death of Chad Meredith for “attempting a drunken early-morning swim across Lake Osceola during a hurricane as part of a fraternity-initiation stunt” (Sileo 1). In August of 2004, the Psi Epsilon Chi chapter from the State University of New York was found guilty for the death of Walter Dean Jennings for “acute water intoxication during a pledge ceremony in which he was forced to drink alcohol and ingest enough water to make his lungs collapse” (Sileo 1). If fraternities and sororities are as positive as its members present them to be, why are fraternities and sororities mandating horrible things to innocent students? The truth is that many students know that fraternities and sororities are the wrong choice for the college and university atmosphere; however, they decline to reveal the truth in order to cover up this escape route from academics to civil disobedience.
The purpose of our video is to show the culture of St. John's University with our focus on greek life. Our goal is to show how greek life is depicted on campus by interviewing non-greek affiliated persons, and showing how they are stereotyped in media. We will be interviewing people from a St. John's frat, sorority, and an academic based greek life organization. At the end of the video we are hoping to shed the truth on the life of a Greek, and what comes with it. The video should be an advertisement to people looking into joining greek life, showing them what they can expect. Our project should be produced because with the negative stereotype of Greek life, many students might not take the opportunity they to join one of the organizations. With the questions going to be answered in our video, we will answer the stereotype and hopefully help guide someone to join. We plan to get our message across by remixing aspects such as mode, audience, purpose, and situation.
We identified our social group by recognizing the SDT symbols worn around campus and noticing members promoting different events on campus. Also, a few individuals in our group live in Newing and Dickinson (communities of dorms in Binghamton University), which are known for housing many students involved in Greek life. This provided us with the opportunity to observe how girls in sororities interact on a daily basis, specifically members of SDT. We initially recruited our informants in the dining hall by approaching a group of girls in SDT that we had previously met in classes, and explaining our project to them. Ultimately, we felt they would be good informants for our project and we asked if we would be able to study their subculture for
But, why also is are we making Greek life about partying and everything that comes with it? Greek life is so much more than partying, it’s about philanthropy and leadership. So, why are we glorifying partying in movies and societies? I also can’t tell you how many times I sat through classes that taught me how to prevent my assault. I’m thankful that I had that programing, but it would have been nice to watch fraternity men have the same class, learn how we can prevent
When a student graduates high school, most of them go off to somewhat of a larger college rather then a community one. Going to college means a variety of things: it can mean starting a new life social emotionally and physically, it can mean independence and freedom from close ones, or it can mean totally something indefinable. One of the aspects of all colleges is the social life and the networks all the students make to be successful in the future. Starting a social life is pretty easy but maintaining it along with studies can be quite a handful. Greek life in college is one sect of socializing. Many students get involved in Greek life looking to make networks, friends, or just for enjoyment. The question to ask is that how Greek life differs from college to college? What different Fraternities turn out to be the most productive members of the society compared to different Sororities?
Greek life is in general a very secretive life style, filled with many different rituals and customs, beliefs and reasons for being founded. It has its own culture, and every organization is different. On the Armstrong campus we have the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) Greeks and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) Greeks. The NPC, founded in 1902, is an umbrella organization for 26 (inter)national sororities. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-lettered society of college women and alumnae. NPC is a conference and not a congress, it does not create any legislation except for how its own meetings are run. Other than the basic Unanimous Agreements which all groups have voted to observe NPC only gives recommendations,
Approximately 23% of students participate in Greek life (Office of Dean of Students). In the text fraternity life is described as a well known micro-culture, “For example, a college fraternity has a micro-culture within the the context of the university and a nation. Its members have special daily routines, jokes, and meanings for events. It is this shared knowledge that makes up their micro-culture…” (Spradley and McCurdy p.4). I can attest to the micro-culture experience of being a member of Greek life. There are special pieces of history we honor, inside jokes and brotherhood that create a strong micro-culture. I identify as much as an individual as I do a member of the fraternity. Within the Greek system there are various racially and religiously based chapters. Those houses represent a sub-group within a micro-culture; which offers proof that race or religion can be considered important cultures on
Why: All too often it appears that a lot of the Greek organization, although mutual
I must’ve picked one of the best days to be on campus. After I parked my car, I started following the sidewalks. One sidewalk connected to another side walk, which lead me to the Ravine. Everything seemed to be going on! Live music, crowds, food, games, face painting, a tye-dye booth, and even an exercise class. Shortly after I got past all of the entertainment, I wondered down another sidewalk. That sidewalk led me to the Greek life. Today was Bid Day which meant all of the people who rushed for Greek, got to meet their new life with either their brothers or sisters! “Welcoming our
One of the popular focuses of community in college is joining sororities and fraternities or more well-known as Greek life. “I think it builds friendships and bonds that can go beyond college life” (Estrella). The sense of bonding and community in these groups goes beyond mere surface bonding or weekend hangouts, they’re like family to each other creating one of the strongest sense of community on campus. “It can be strength for someone who does not know how to be invol...
Severtis, Jr., Ronald E., and C. AndrÉ Christie-Mizell. "Greek-Letter Membership And College Graduation: Does Race Matter?." Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare 34.3 (2007): 95-117. Academic Search Elite. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
When it comes to researching topics and trying to organize thoughts in to making more sense, a very popular tool to use is the Scientific Method. The Method is very closely associated with the subject of Sociology because well-known contributors and theorists of this field have been using it since the first study of social behavior first came about, somewhere around the 17th century. Although there are six general steps to the Method, I will be focusing on the first three, and applying them to a topic that has captured my interest for many years: College Greek Life Pledging/Unrecognized Fraternities and Sororities.