Brian King Source 2

Brian King Source 2

What is the worth of Fraternity / Sorority life?

 Martin, Georgianna L., Gene Parker, Ernest T. Pascarella, and Sally Blechschmidt. "Do Fraternities and Sororities Inhibit Intercultural Competence?" Journal of College Student Development 56.1 (2015): 66-72. Web.

 This source explores the results of several studies on the effects that fraternity life has on students' cultural sensitivity. It concludes that the studies report mixed results. While some previous studies found evidence to support the notion that fraternity life does, in fact, inhibit cultural competence, these newer studies found no correlation between fraternity life and cultural insensitivity. The article also makes the point that while there is no correlation, that also means there is no posotive correlation. The author then encourages universities to implement intercultural training and cross-racial interactions. 

This article covers one aspect of my question very well; how does fraternity life affect cultural sensitivity? I had the preconcieved notion that "frat guys" would be much more culturally insensitive than students who were unaffiliated with greek life. However, this article points to, not the opposite, but at least the neutral ground, that fraternity affiliation has no connection with cultural inensitivity. While this one source brings me closer to understanding this one aspect of my question, I feel obligated to explore other sources to see if they agree a disagree with the findings in this article. Also, because this article's studies takes samples from 11 different universities, I find this data to be reliable and representative of many different areas in the United States. 

This article covers an area that my first source did not explore very thouroughly. While the first source covered the effects of greek life on academic success and social ability, this source explored the correlation between greek life affiliation and cultural sensitivity. So far, I can conclude from my 2 sources that while greek life may inhibit academic success and help social abilities while having no affect on cultural sensitivity. 

Does fraternity life lead to more sexually aggressive behavior? Does fraternity and sorority life lead to more drug or alcohol use than unaffiliated students, and if so, how does it affect them? I still have more research to do even on the topics I have already researched in order to get multiple sources that are either in agreement or in disagreement to get a fuller idea of the topic at hand.