Julia Faxon; Staff Editor
So many people assume that they will join Greek Life once they get to college. They love the idea of instant, life-long, wedding-party-worthy friends that pop culture has convinced us sororities and fraternities are full to the brim. They absolutely adore the prospect of endless parties with the likes of Dave Franco and Zac Efron from the movie Neighbors, and all of the philanthropy in which fraternities and sororities participate. Greek culture, however, can sometimes extend far beyond harmless fun. It can result in assault, injury, dark stains on permanent records, and even death.
Wesleyan University, located in Middletown, Connecticut, is one of the top liberal arts schools in the nation, populated by just over two thousand intellectuals who aced the SAT’s and will presumably become artistic visionaries/world leaders/doctors who discover a cure for cancer. However, even in this tiny genius hub, fraternities and sororities have proven to be a problem.
In May 2013, then-Wesleyan-freshman Cabri Chamberlin was raped in the common room of a Psi Upsilon frat house during a party in front of multiple other fraternity members. This party was designed to be a fraternity “strip show” an event whose name speaks to its disgustingness.
Chamberlin told CNN she, “can’t even describe the pain of being raped.” Unfortunately, Chamberlin is only one of the many victims to fraternity-based rape. Sexual assault is a huge issue in Greek life in all colleges, including elite universities like Wesleyan and even Ivy League Schools. It’s all in the statistics: a 2007 study published by CNN’s John Foulbert found that fraternity men were three times more likely to commit rape than other men on college campuses.
The threefold rate of rape in fraternities has shocked many NHS students. When asked if he would join a fraternity in college, NHS junior Justin Olberg said, “It depends whether it’s popular in that area.” However, Olberg also stated that the shockingly high rate of fraternity rape is very negative. “We should bring notice to it,” he said.
Along with rape, the hazing process also gives Greek life a very bad reputation. By definition, hazing is forcing individuals to go through humiliation and ritual abuse in order to become part of a group. The most recent Miss America, Kira Kazantsav, was accused of hazing during her time in the Alpha Phi sorority of Hofstra University, allegedly forcing pledges to work to the point where they were bruised and exhausted. Kazantsav told Time Magazine in a sort of defense that she “was hazed. I was kind of brought up through the organization thinking that that was appropriate behavior.” The sorority culture both caused Kazantsav to be a victim of hazing and, worse, to pass it on to others. Kazantsav’s case was not an anomaly or even an extreme.
“At least one student has died every year in a hazing-related incident since 1970,” Franklin College professor Hank Nuwer told USA Today.
To be fair, many Greek Life organizations are trying to minimize the problems and abuse that they cause. Many fraternities are now becoming co-ed in an attempt to stop sexual assault. A nation-wide effort is being made to cease hazing. Greek life can also account for so many positive things, such as fundraising and philanthropy. According to Greek101.com, the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority chapter at High Point University alone raises $12,000 for cancer research every year.
The many negatives associated with Greek life have impacted the future college plans of many NHS students, especially the young women who would be directly affected by sexual assault.
NHS students have had mixed ideas about joining Greek life. “It depends,” NHS Junior Jillian Bateson said when asked about her plans to someday join a sorority.
All of the abuse associated with sororities and fraternities has generated negative opinions about the organizations. “There are some positives and some negatives to joining a sorority, but the bad things would make me really uncomfortable,” NHS Junior Kayla Sippin said.
Though there are many benefits to joining Greek life, there are also many drawbacks that can be as extreme as death. For some, sororities and fraternities can be an important, fun part of campus life. For others, though, much more sinister factors come into play, and those originally recreational organizations can be life threatening.
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