The Greek Life Community on College Campuses
Parker Thomas
Community Paper

Examining the details and different aspects of a certain community can give you a real insight on the different cultures and backgrounds of its inhabitants. Doing this can reveal information you may not have known before, or truths about the community that you thought you knew before. Many people base their opinions of a community on the general information that is known about them. However, you cannot truly understand these people unless you dig down and really investigate how they live and interact with the world. By studying, researching, and observing the community, you can unveil how the group is perceived and how those perceptions actually fit the society. While using several forms of, both primary and secondary, research I was able to discover many common themes and stereotypes that are incorporated with members of the Greek Life on college campuses. These themes consist of good and bad labels that have been put upon this community. While some hold true, I was able to disprove several others with my research. These themes have, both positively and negatively, effected the reputation and name of the Greek world and its members. They cause many people to be afraid or not want to become apart of this community, while they don’t realize the full truth. These members stand for much more than they are perceived to, and they have many durable and ageless principles that still exist today. However, people cease to appreciate all the positive impacts this society brings to college campuses across the nation. Hopefully my discoveries and information will help people see the truth behind all the negative stereotypes that face members of the Greek life.

The specific community that I observed and based my research on is the members of Greek life on college campuses, particularly at the University of Kentucky. The Greek world at UK consists of the fraternities and sororities on campus; these are private sanctions of selected individuals sharing common interests. There are thousands of the same fraternity or sorority all over the country, but they are separated by different universities and recognized as different “chapters”. A common stereotype I noticed while doing my research is that most people perceive fraternities as a social drinking club full of alcoholics that does nothing positive for the community; but they accomplish so much more than that. As human beings, we tend to make personal judgments on issues we know little about. “Research on fraternity men focuses almost exclusively on problematic behaviors such as homophobia and sexism, alcohol abuse, violence against women, sexual promiscuity, and the overrepresentation of members among campus judicial offenders.” (Harris & Harper, 2014, p. 703). However, people often overlook the positive and healthy principles fraternities promote. A lot of research on Greek functions shows a variety of positive consequences from joining a fraternity, including: leadership development, a sense of self-belonging, higher GPAs, and intellectual development (Harris & Harper, 2014). Also, one thing I noticed about the fraternities and sororities on UK’s campus is that they host a large amount of philanthropy events. For example, the Sigma Chi Fraternity hosts a boxing tournament each year called “The Main Event”. They take donations all year around and all the proceeds are given to a charity or organization of their choice. There are numerous other smaller events that are constantly being held as well. As I am actually pledging to join a fraternity right now, I see these events happen quite often. We, as a pledge class, are even required to participate in one of these events every two weeks or so. Obviously, there is a large amount of immoral and questionable acts that happen within a fraternity (like sex, alcohol, and drugs), but these things do not define them. Fraternities are based on their founding principles and they take these values very seriously. The point of a fraternity is not to induce as much binge drinking as possible in four years, but to mold the members into better men with the qualities of leadership. Being in a fraternity or sorority, you are held at a higher standard and anything less is unacceptable. This brings me to a common theme that I discovered while researching the Greek world. This common theme is tradition. Fraternities and sororities are strongly based on their values of tradition. For example, most of the secret rituals that these societies partake in have remained the same since the founding of the organization. They stay true to their original philosophies and still practice them today. Another common acquisition I found while doing my research is that people tend to think you have to be a certain type of person, or dress and act a certain way to be in a fraternity or sorority. This is a stereotype about Greek life that I disagree with the most. Sure, there is the common perception that if you don’t wear expensive and nice clothes like Polo Ralph Lauren and Vineyard Vines, then you aren’t considered “frat”. But when I was observing the Greek members on campus, I saw very little of that. The Greek world is becoming more and more diverse every year, and for the better. You don’t have to be a certain type of person to join the Greek community; there is a fraternity/sorority for everyone that meets almost every type of style or character. Although many fraternities share similar ideals, there are no two chapters that are the exact same. While interviewing a member of the Greek life on UK’s campus, I asked, “How would you describe the typical members of your fraternity?” The subject snickered at first and replied, “I honestly wouldn’t say there’s a “typical” type of guy in the fraternity. There is really a lot of diversity among the guys and they all have different strengths and weaknesses.” When you walk into a fraternity house at UK, you wont just see a bunch of rich white guys with a collared shirt and short shorts, you will see different races, cultures, beliefs, and styles. That is one thing that the Greek world really prides itself on. When you bring a group of people together that have different talents, personalities, and ideals, it makes you stronger as a whole. One other common misconception about the members of Greek life is that they all had to submit to hazing in order to become a member. According to hazingprevention.org, “hazing” is considered to be, “any action taken or any situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule and risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of a group or team, whether new or not, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate.” There is no doubt that hazing is a common and relevant issue on college campuses across the nation; it happens, in some way, pretty much everywhere. Frequently, a chapter will mess up and get caught up in hazing violations with the IFC (Inter-Fraternity Council), that can lead to them getting suspended, or possibly expelled from the campus. There have even been numerous accounts of deaths caused by hazing on college campuses. (Drout, C. E., & Corsoro, C. L.)Hazing is illegal on every college campus in the United States, but a lot of it is never seen or heard of. Many people would argue that hazing is not nearly as alive today and isn’t practiced as severely and often as it used to be. In fact, when I asked a member of the Greek life at the University of Kentucky if he has ever had to submit to hazing he replied, “No, I have never been hazed. I’m sure it happens at a lot of places around the country, but hazing is really a thing of the past. Chapters know that they can get in a lot of trouble and even be kicked off campus if they get caught hazing.” While this may be the case for some of the chapters at UK’s campus, research shows that hazing is actually still very alive today. “Since 1990, more deaths have occurred on college and university campuses as a result of hazing, pledging and initiation accidents, and fraternal alcohol-related incidents than all recorded history of such deaths” (Hollmann, B.). Nobody should ever have to submit to hazing and it should be reported if ever seen or experienced.
This brings me to another theme I discovered while observing this community. I found a strong presence of loyalty in the Greek world when I was conducting my research. Staying forever loyal and trustworthy to the brothers/sisters in your chapter is something that fraternities and sororities heavily stand for. Betraying a fellow member can be looked at as a viscous crime to the others and is usually not tolerated at all. There is an astounding amount of hazing reports each year, however most of them are never heard of because of the deep sense of loyalty the brotherhood/sisterhood shares. Being a potential member of the Greek world on campus and pledging a fraternity, I have had ample time to study and observe the behaviors and ideals that are conceived in these organizations. I am surrounded by these people everyday and it is obvious how they differ from everybody else. Fraternities and sororities often mingle together, but it is known that they seclude themselves from the rest of the population on campus. This can be considered a good or bad thing. Some people (usually ones that are not involved in Greek affairs) perceive it as the Greek population being arrogant or thinking they are too good for everybody else. They have their own private parties and events that the general public cannot participate in, and this angers some people and, consequently, makes the community look worse to the outside world. Conversely, a lot of people come to college, not just for education, but for a social life as well. However, coming from a high school of around 1,000 students or so to a college or university that can consist of over 20,000-30,000 students can be very overwhelming. That’s why many people turn to joining a fraternity or sorority to make their college seem a lot smaller. I know from experience how separating the population and making it seem smaller can be beneficial. When you find the right group of guys/girls that you want to be associated with, it is a great feeling knowing that you are not alone on a huge campus like UK’s. Like I said before, there are several different stereotypes and themes that I uncovered while conducting my research that have a large effect on the Greek community and it’s members. For example, the acquisitions that you have to look/dress a certain way, become an alcoholic, submit to hazing, or pay for your friends to be a part of a Greek organization makes a big impact on their reputation and name. These stereotypes, although not all completely true, have been the reason for thousands of students to choose not to be involved in one of the greatest experiences college has to offer. When people hear about all the negative things that are said about fraternal organizations, it makes them want to have no part in them even though they don’t know the whole truth. This affects the fraternities and sororities because they are missing out on some people that could be a great addition to their chapter. The stereotype that has the biggest impact on the Greek community is definitely the theory that you have to undergo hazing in order to become a member. This scares and intimidates tons of people and is the main reason why a lot of students refuse to join. It is unfortunate that so many people are missing out on something that could benefit them for the rest of their life because they are scared of something that is, a lot of times, not even true. Some stereotypes can actually impact the Greek community in a good way, even though it is a negative belief. Like I said before, a lot of people want to come to college because of all the parties and fun they’re going to have, rather than to get their education and degree. A fraternity or sorority is just what these people are looking for. Although being known for binge drinking, sex, and drugs is not a positive or moral thing to be known for, it is exactly what motivates many college students to want to join a Greek function. For a lot of people, college is a time to experiment with yourself, and have the time of your life all while making life-long bonds and relationships. There is no better way to do this than by joining a fraternity or sorority. Even though this is the common perception people get when thinking about the Greek community, they represent and stand for so much more. People rarely appreciate all the good and positive things that come out of being in a fraternity or sorority. These organizations will do so much more for you than showing you a good time on the weekends for four years. This is a place where you can make friends that will be there for you for the rest of your life. You can also make so many connections by joining the Greek community. These connections will always be there and can help you later on in life when college is over. Many successful people would be nothing if it weren’t for the connections they made through their fraternity or sorority in college. Research shows that members of a Greek organization tend to be more successful later on in life than those who were not associated. In an interview given by Douglas Belkin, his interviewee stated, "Without question [being in a fraternity has] benefited me, whether it's been networking or just having a common link with a boss who was also in a fraternity," (Belkin, 2014). So many people believe that fraternities and sororities are nothing but drinking clubs, but they just don’t realize how much they could benefit them. By studying, researching, and observing the Greek population, specifically at the University of Kentucky, I was able to discover many stereotypes and themes that are incorporated within the community. While most of the stereotypes I discovered were undesirable, I used research to prove most of them wrong and show the positive and negative impacts they have on the community. I also uncovered many positive themes while observing the Greek world at UK that display what these organizations truly stand for. Many people are very uninformed and base their opinions of a community based on the little that they know. The principles and ideals of Fraternities and sororities represent much more than what most people give them credit for. With that being said, many people don’t realize what can be taken and benefited from by joining one of these sacred societies. The Greek world provides a numerous amount of positive impacts on, not only itself, but also the communities around it. Hopefully my discoveries and research will help people become more aware of what the members of the Greek community do and stand for.

References

Harris, F., & Harper, S. R. (2014). Beyond bad behaving brothers: productive performances of masculinities among college fraternity men. International Journal Of Qualitative Studies In Education (QSE), 27(6), 703-723.
Drout, C. E., & Corsoro, C. L. (2003). ATTITUDES TOWARD FRATERNITY HAZING AMONG FRATERNITY MEMBERS, SORORITY MEMBERS, AND NON-GREEK STUDENTS. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 31(6), 535-544.
Facts: What Hazing Looks Like Home • Home • Hazing • Facts: What Hazing Looks Like. (2014, January 1). Retrieved October 17, 2014.
Mercuro, A., Merritt, S., & Fiumefreddo, A. (2014, March 6). The Effects of Hazing on Student Self-Esteem: Study of Hazing Practices in Greek Organizations in a State College. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
Hollmann, B. B. (2002). Hazing: Hidden Campus Crime. New Directions For Student Services, (99), 11.
Belkin, D. (2014, May 27). Greek Life Shown to Be Linked to Real-Life Happiness. Retrieved October 6, 2014.