Braden Rucinski Source 1

Does Greek Life belong on campus? Can it be fixed? Are there merits of Greek Life that outweigh the hazing, illegal alcohol consumption, sexual misconduct and elitism that these institutions are famous for?

Friedman, Jane. "Greek Life on Campus." CQ Researcher 20 Nov. 2015: 985-1008. Web. 1 Mar.    2016.

The article "Greek Life on Campus", compiled by Jane Friedman, addresses current issues with Greek Life, the backround and history of these organizations, criticisms/justifications for Greek Life, and solutions that are being attempted to repair the problems with Greek Life. The position of the source is that Greek Life is currently problematic and needs to be remedied. Friedman uses over 100 sources to back up this critical stance of Greek Life-- most of these sources are from online publications like The Washington Post, but some of the sources used by the author are from scholarly journals and published books.

 This source by Jane Friedman helped me see the big picture of Greek Life on campus. I never knew there were so many stakeholders, including alumni, professors and administrators, and potential incoming students, which are all important in the Greek Life picture. The most important thing I learned from reading this source is that professors and the media generally think that Greek Life should be banned from campus, but administrators, Greek Life students and alumni all strongly oppose this notion. It is difficult to close a Greek Life organization, unless a student dies from hazing, or the students create a national-level scandal. Since most Greek Life organizations refuse to die, administrators have suggested some of the below solutions (which are all new to me):

 1) Readjust drinking age to 18?

Before 1984, the drinking age nationwide was 18. Apparently, while the drinking age was still 18, fraternities and sororities had more faculty involvement, and Greek Life alcohol consumption was out in the open where everyone could see. However, after the drinking age was raised to 21, Greek Life parties became immensely popular. Underground binge drinking emerged as an unhealthy college trend nationwide: a study in 1995 found that 86 percent of fraternity residents and 80 percent of sorority residents were binge drinkers, compared to 45 percent of males not affiliated with fraternities and 36 percent of unaffiliated females.

To do something about this, in 2008, more than 130 college chancellors and presidents from Dartmouth, Goucher College, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University and Trinity formed a coalition to open the discussion about returning the drinking age to 18. However, many organizations, especially Mothers Against Drunk Driving opposed readjusting the drinking age (increasing the drinking age did reduce alcohol-related driving accidents) and the coalition never got off of the ground.

I personally think that adjusting the drinking age to 18 would be a good thing. Nearly everyone I know who is under the age of 21 drinks alcohol illegally, and many of my friends participate in binge drinking and other dangerous behaviors because they can't drink in broad daylight.

2) Co-ed Fraternities and Sororities?

 Amusingly, several universities are forcing fraternities and sororities to become co-ed, because they believe that having females in the groups would have a "civilizing effect" on the behavior of the males. This has proven to not be true-- at a Roth University co-ed fraternity, female students and males together were caught purchasing narcotics, and at another Roth University co-ed fraternity a drunk girl fell out of a window and was seriously injured. I think this solution is like putting a Band-Aid on a gun-shot wound.

3) Bans on pledging?

"In 2014, the faculty at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. — all-male until it became coed in 1972 — voted overwhelmingly to abolish Greek organizations, but the administration opted instead for reforms, including a ban on hard liquor". One of these reforms at Dartmoth was a ban on pledging. Of all of the reforms above, I think this reform would be the most effective. Hazing is a normal part of Greek Life fraternities, so getting rid of pledging would make fraternities less attractive and more safe. Of course, there is a possibility that fraternities would continue to do hazing underground, but if they do so and get caught, it would spell ruin for the organization. 

This source has led me to ask questions about the financial elements of Greek Life on campus. Who pays for membership dues? What kinds of parents willingly encourage their children to pickle their livers and prostitute themselves? At Mizzou, I heard there are fraternities that are more expensive than the Mizzou tuition, so I am curious about what kinds of students join fraternities. Also, do frat boys from misogynistic attitudes before they join or after they join fraternities? It appears that I have sufficient information on some of the solutions to repairing Greek Life, but I need to explore the money and power structures of Greek Life to better understand how these organizations operate.