When people think of fraternities, a few things usually come to mind: wild parties, social status, and insane amounts of alcohol. However, fraternities have recently found themselves associated with something else: misogyny and rape. This is nothing new, considering fraternity chapters have been singing songs about the “joys” of sexual assault for decades. Only recently has the media taken notice of these actions and the results have not been pretty for the Alphas and Betas of college campuses. While some members of society defend frats with “rotten apple” and “boys will be boys” arguments, many are calling for drastic changes in how fraternities deal with and prevent misogyny and sexual crimes within the brotherhoods. They’re right to do so, …show more content…
First, the sororities need to be given more power. Second, misogynistic fraternities should be held more accountable for their members’ actions. As previously stated, sororities ban alcohol, and many ban parties as well. This ban is not a national law however, it’s just a rule instituted by sororities to drive insurance rates down. Sororities could easily reverse the rules and allow alcohol and parties on home turf, putting them on the same level as fraternities in terms of social power. This may cause sorority membership prices to go up, but the good it could do is well worth the price. Take Dartmouth’s Sigma Delta for example. A sorority with no national affiliation, Sigma Delta members hold house parties with alcohol at will (Schwarz). With girls in charge of the parties, female students have “routinely said they preferred parties there rather than at fraternities” because they feel much safer (Schwarz). Besides allowing sororities to host parties, the problem of fraternity misogyny can also be remedied by holding fraternities more accountable for the actions of their members. When members promote or commit sexual assault, they are usually punished individually, while the frat as a whole receives only a few slaps on the wrist in the form of short suspensions or minor sanctions. That is like cutting the stem off a weed but leaving the roots in the ground: the problem will only grow back. In order to effectively cut the roots, the consequences for promoting misogyny must be made more severe. Some colleges are already starting to crack down on the fraternities responsible with huge penalties for any promotion of sexism. After the previously mentioned Yale DKE incident for example, Yale “banned them from recruiting and holding activities on campus for five years” (Christoffersen). By upping the severity of the punishment, fraternities will be more likely to condemn misogyny and kick bad members out
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.
The discourse community I have been studying is fraternities. Fraternities are more than just partying and “hangin’ with the bros.” Fraternities are over 100 years old and filled with traditions, values, and brotherhood. Fraternities have stood strong since the early 1800’s, with rich history and culture. Every fraternity has founding fathers that represent a certain value of the fraternity.
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.
According to New Mexico State University, “In the fraternity/sorority, you will be in ‘charge’ of an event or a duty. Everyone in the fraternity/sorority is a leader, whether you’re an officer, on a committee, or just a participant. You will learn by doing. You’ll learn how to manage a budget, run effective meetings, speak in public, and motivate others … skills that will help you in the university and throughout your life. These days it acquires more than just a degree to acquire a good job- it takes leadership experience.(Benefits of Greek Life)” These positions that women and men of Greek life run for actually resemble those of actual positions in the everyday work force. Rochester Institute of Technology says that “Opportunities to learn and practice leadership stretch beyond chapters. There are many system-wide leadership roles open on the IFC, CPC, and MGC. Beyond the Greek community, fraternity men and sorority women involved in many other organizations on campus. Some of these include Student Government, athletic teams, and many student clubs.(Advantages of Greek Life)” This proves, not only do members have positions within their own organization, but numerous have chosen to take in holding other positions all over campus. Many of these
"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 decided to investigate what qualities the fraternities of Oklahoma State have, so I interviewed the girlfriends of several fraternity men. This gave me the chance to view other girls’ relationships in certain fraternities and if the girls’ relationships are different in each fraternity or if there are similarities. I interviewed girlfriends and fiancées of all sorts: the ones who had been there from the very beginning, before they were in a fraternity, the girlfriends who didn’t meet their partner until after the guys were already in fraternities, and the fiancées who experienced fraternity relationships from their sophomore year until their senior year.
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
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. Instead, I decided to use the first source I researched which was Positive and Negative Effects of Greek Life in College and use information on the negative section of the article. For those that are not aware, there are two major reasons as to why people do not want to part take in Greek Life. The first reason is the financial obligations are not a joke when it comes to these social groups. Many people would love to join Greek Life however money issues are preventing them to join. If colleges want their students to succeed and feel as if they are in control of their college life, prices should be lowered. Greek Life should be accessible to anybody that believes it will enhance their college success. The other reason people are hesitant to join a fraternity or sorority is that students do not want to be hazed. Hazing is humiliation during activities in which fraternities and sororities put you through to become a member. It is their way of seeing how prepared you are to be initiated into the group. Although this does not happen at FIU because it is forbidden, many schools throughout the United States haze associate members. This
“Hey are you going to the party tonight?” you hear them ask you. As you agree you also wonder what will people’s first impression of you be when they see u walk in the door at that frat house party everyone seems to be going to. Women have gone into a state of mind that in order to fit in, they have to look and dress a certain way to impress in these college parties. But these never ending expectations held against women is not an issue that has recently developed throughout time as it dates back to civilization. For the most part, women are considered prominent over men which causes women to act in a certain behavior in which will function to get them to events such as frat parties. In today’s society, women are constructed to to act well
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).
Yale had 28% of students reporting “nonconsensual penetration or sexual touching involving physical force or incapacitation in 2015 when the national average is 23%. Sexual assault is a huge problem amongst the Ivy Leagues. Not only do they have these disgusting acts being committed on their campus, but they are not adequately meeting the needs of survivors at all. Why is it such an issue in the Ivy League? Shouldn’t they be focusing on their studies instead of committing crimes? An article called “Does the Ivy League have a sexual assault problem?” answers it’s own question. Yes, it does. They contribute most of these heinous actions to this sense of “Ivy League entitlement” and “institutional self-protection.” Ivy League Fraternity brothers often have this idea that the girls they have invited are lucky to be at their parties. These people think that because they have this high status at an elite school, they can just do whatever they want and get away with it… mostly because they do get away with it. Schools do not want to have a reputation of having a lot of sexual assault cases, so they will protect themselves by not protecting the victim. They don’t take it seriously because if they did, they’d realize what a mess this has become and how they are going to have to find a way to deal with it. The fact that they just ignore the needs of the survivors and don’t do anything about it just
My first question asked why rape was so much more common among college students than among the whole rest of the population. The group came up with the fact that college is the first time people discover drinking and sexuality and want to do all the experimenting they can. Also it is the first time most college students are on their own meaning without the guidance of their parents, and that could probably effect their decision making for the worse. Also a college campus has a more accepting atmosphere for rape and sexual harassment. Every night students are heavily drinking, going to dance clubs or parties with dancing, while people of older age groups have families to take care of, jobs and more responsibilities altogether. For someone older, being accused of rape could ruin their life and most men would not want to risk that. This leads into my next question about fraternity houses as high-risk environments for rape, and why we tolerate this behavior. Twenty-five percent of college women experience sexual harassment or rape and ten percent of rapes in colleges happen in fraternity houses. A study was done on college campuses about the difference between fraternities with a low-risk and the high-risk of sexual assault or rape. Students were asked to identify which ones were which and they could easily recognize this. So my question was, if everyone knows these differences, why do men and women participate in activities that support the rape culture when they see its injustices? The first response from the group was that we probably turn our cheeks from such behavior. We do not think it could happen to us or people we associate with. We began talking about the differences in the parties, but I think it was hard for everyone to directly relate ourselves to the situation because Washington College is not that way.
importance to all who are apart of it. This is all important to the personoining
Based upon the visual imagery shown throughout the short film, it is evident that the principles addressed within fraternities seem to be underlining conformity. Throughout the video, there are a multitude of pastimes such as sports, drinking, and paddling that is often representative of the ‘bro-culture’ established through institutions like fraternities. In itself, it almost seemed as if there were subliminal messaging occurring throughout these visuals, and the inert masculinity that is required throughout most of these activities seem advocated for. Also, analyzing the images of each of the fraternity members, there are no distinguishing features within any of them. All of these guys are caucasian, heterosexual, athletically-built ‘men’.