Fraternities and sororities, social organizations present at many North American universities, serve as key parts of the college experience to many undergraduate students. These groups are referred to affectionately as Greek life, due to chapters being named after a collection of Greek letters. Fraternities and sororities were founded to promote community service, leadership and academics among college students, while also building friendships and connections.
In recent years, Greek life organizations have been facing pressures, from school administrations, outside organizations and even college students. Greek life organizations were faulted for supporting a culture of alcohol and drug abuse, hazing, and sexism. After a variety of high-profile incidents of discrimination, assault and hazing, there have been many calls for universities to abolish and ban Greek life.
On March 1, the University of Maryland, home to 55 fraternity/sorority chapters, placed a ban on all Greek life organizations holding any new member recruitment events or events where alcohol is present. “This temporary and narrow pause was prompted by reports, over a relatively short period of time, of concerning hazing behaviors and harmful alcohol-related activities within the fraternity and sorority community,” UMD Vice President of Student Affairs Patricia Perillo said. Though the ban was lifted on March 15, several new initiatives were put into place to monitor the wellbeing and safety of students participating in Greek life.
Social fraternities and sororities offer many opportunities for college students to get involved with, if they choose to participate in the scene. The majority of fraternities and sororities partner with charitable organizations that they hold events to support, called philanthropy. Mirroring the original purpose of Greek life, they offer opportunities for students to give back to the local population with a cause they identify with. As students leave home for the first time to attend college, having an instant community of supporters and mentors can be instrumental in building feelings of belonging in a new environment. The strong alumni culture in Greek life helps students build professional connections and network for their futures, and the leadership structure can develop important career skills in Greek life members.
Besides for the typical social Greek life groups, there are also pre-professional fraternities, where students are given opportunities to network and get advice from experts in specific fields, service-based fraternities, where students can participate in a variety of service work, and culturally-fraternities, which joins students of specific cultural identities. Over the years, Greek life has become much more inclusive, making a conscious effort to build spaces where every student can feel welcome.
With increased reports of hazing and alcohol abuse among fraternities and sororities, many universities have begun to impose stricter rules against those social organizations. It is now more common for “rush,” or the process for new members to apply to chapters, to begin after students have completed at least one semester of college, giving them time to ease into college life and make a smoother transition. Virginia Commonwealth University made the decision to ban alcohol at all events where new members would be present, and Indiana University placed 19 chapters on disciplinary probation for violating their Greek life policies. In both cases, the schools made conscious decisions to not ban all fraternities and sororities, but to instead better police and control their actions.
The media tends to show the more wild aspects of Greek life, focusing on the party scene instead of the philanthropy, community service and career building pillars that Greek life was founded on. “Most people in Greek letter organizations are genuinely ashamed of the reckless drinking behavior displayed by fraternity and sorority members on tv,” the Orlando Recovery Center said. “It gives the Greek system a bad reputation and overshadows the numerous benefits of Greek life.”
Greek life organizations were founded to give their students more social, academic and leadership opportunities, and though some chapters have abandoned their original goals, we shouldn’t keep students from the valuable resources they provide. Instead of banning greek life organizations, universities should take clear steps to heavily regulate sorority and fraternity events and behavior, immediately punish or ban specific chapters who disregard rules, create better reporting mechanisms for students, and clearly identify the guidelines that these organizations need to be following. It is crucially important for fraternities and sororities to reflect on their behavior and traditions, and evaluate if they are doing everything they can to protect the safety of their members and their community.
If you would like to voice your opinion on an issue you feel is relevant to our community, please do so here. Anyone is able and welcome to submit a Letter to the Editor, regardless of journalistic experience or writing skills. Submissions may be published either online or in a print issue.
