Greek Life's Exacerbation Of Inequality

Andrew Simmons published his article for The Atlantic, “The Danger of Telling Poor Kids that College is the Key to Social Mobility” on January 16, 2014, which raises his concerns that higher education is only being promoted as an opportunity to increase their economic status, when it should be an opportunity to experience an education (Simmons). Through the use of students such as Isabella, Simmons disagrees with the way students now look at higher education and blames the educators through the students’ lives for this view. Instead, Simmons views education as an intellectual opportunity rather than a way to elevate ones economic class which is all people see when they see “higher education.” He believes that education, ambition and work ethic is how you have a satisfying life, not with how much you make. He makes the point that when economics becomes the main goal of education it’s all children begin to think about and they might not pursue something that they are truly passionate about or what they want to learn about, which then does not create an intellectually awakening experience (Simmons).

While L, Patton; B, Bridges; L, Flowers’s 2011 article EFFECTS OF GREEK AFFILIATION ON AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS' ENGAGEMENT, discusses that African American organizations presence on campus. Have exposed great leadership, entrepreneurship, encouraged academic achievement and promoted community service. The organizations, believe that if their

While going through the process of determining what college to go to many students focus on what majors are provided, location, an overall sense of the school, and several other things. One thing that is often overlooked is the option of going Greek. Many male students often do not even consider the option of going Greek because of false pretenses. One common misconception of going Greek is because the members are stereotyped to be party goers who do not do well in college. This could not be further from the truth. For members of the Kappa Alpha Order, there are several ambitious standards that must be maintained to stay in the Order. Also, joining Kappa Alpha opens members, both current and former, to several opportunities. Finally, Kappa Alpha is an Order that holds several beliefs that most southerners have faith in.

When one first thinks of Greek life or a sorority the only thing that comes to mind is the social aspect. Most people don’t think of sororities as social institutions that envelop their own culture, with mannerisms, languages and customs that are unique to each individual organization. However, these institutions promote a common set of values that enable members to become connected in a way that has a more profound meaning than just social interaction. Greek organizations are good examples of how institutions can affect and be affected by social status and roles within the collegiate community. They are also a prime example of how race, class and gender can affect a social setting in both positive and negative manners.

Throughout my exploratory essay, I found that there are many different perspectives when it comes to Greek life. I as a member of Greek life myself, feel that the positive aspects outweigh the negative. There are many positive advantages that come from being a part of Greek life. There are an abundance of networking opportunities that come from Greek life along with all of the incredible friends that you make throughout the recruitment experience. One may also gain leadership skills from being a member of the executive council and having to lead their chapter on a day to day basis. Being a member of Greek life also pushes you to be more involved on campus as well as in the community. Each Greek organization has a philanthropy that they support

In the 1997 article, “Public Goods, Private Goods: The American Struggle over Educational Goals” by David Labaree, Labaree describes three goals that have been at the core of educational conflicts over the years. The first goal mentioned is democratic equality, which is meant to create good citizens and enable educational access to all. The second goal is social efficiency, which creates workers and is viewed by taxpayers and employers as a goal to prepare students for market roles. Lastly is the third goal of social mobility, where individual success for attractive market roles is the main purpose. This primary goal of education has been ever fluctuating. The argument of this essay is that social mobility has now triumphed over democratic equality and social efficiency as the primary goal of education due to parents. This view of social mobility by parents is negative to due its numerous consequences, significantly the growing disparity between the wealthy and the underprivileged, and additionally, the health of children, their behavior, and the degree to which they learn educational material are all affected.

In America, the prospect of social mobility is near impossible if one does not graduate from college and secure a stable job coming out of college. In the previous generations, many American families could own a house, have a nice Chevy, and work at a nice paying job with a High School diploma. This would not be the case today, many who graduate out of High School will always be stuck at minimum wage careers. This partly due to racial issues, jobs becoming automated and competitive career fields.

With the growing importance of higher education, more people than ever are attending college. According to a middle-class parent, “[Higher education] seen as a means of developing a career and getting secure employment.” (30, Higher Education, social class and social mobility) Moreover, “parents believe that their children need a university education to get on in life… over the past decades (parents) fearful that without a degree their children will be in danger of downward social mobility. (32, Higher

The fundamental aim of obtaining a higher education in this country has been to prepare and educate young Americans to accept and consider productive and proactive roles in the workforce, to strengthen our communities and nation as a whole, to contribute to our domestic and international economic competitiveness and to enrich our lives to the very fullest. As part of the perception of the American dream of “opportunity for all,” higher education also plays an important role in the effort to dispose of, or at the very least to narrow, the gaps in the opportunity to obtain a higher education between the many people who are born into lower socioeconomic circumstances at

In a state with a greater gap in income inequality, youths of low socioeconomic status would have had a 30% lower income in their career compared to that of youths of the same status from states with less inequality. Likewise, individual in the former had a 8% chance of returning to school whereas there was a 10.6% with the latter (Kearney & Levine, 2016, pp. 347). Failing to identify role models in low socioeconomic communities can cause one to fail to identify with college. However, one could also be demotivated by living close to a household of higher socioeconomic status (Kearney & Levine, 2016, pp. 348-349). It makes the prospect on financial success seem comparatively unreachable. With lower obvious income inequality, there is a greater motivation to strive in education because one can feel more competitive with colleagues whose capabilities are not so superior to oneself. Ultimately, striving to achieve success through education was, as the researchers mentioned, “most appropriately considered a cumulative measure of ability, reflecting innate endowments, environmental influences, and the result of formal and informal human capital investment” (Kearney & Levine, 2016). If an individual cannot overcome the obstacles that are cast by

Humanities history is filled with notorious acts. We are always discriminating labeling and finding new ways and reasons to kill each other even though we all are the same. People with evil thoughts can corrupt people to think a certain way about another group. After they recognize there difference they start labeling them. Like how Hitler made all the Jews wear the David star so when ever they walk out in their society they are ridiculed ard hard core judged. This strategy is used to humanize this specific ethnic group making others have the mentality that they are everything but human and the ethnic group believe that they are deserve this treatment. After the people would be isolated from the world like how the jews were put in concentration camps and how the Nazis or non Jews were isolated to what is happening in their backyard. They had no clue. This is how genocides develop and they can happen right under our nose without us noticing.

In America, the prospect of social mobility is near impossible if one does not graduate from college and secure a stable job coming out of college. In the previous generations, many American families could own a house, a nice Chevy, and work at a nice paying job with a high school diploma. However, this would not be the case today since many who graduate out of high school will always be stuck in minimum wage careers. This partly due to jobs becoming automated and competitive career fields.

Most human beings continually strive to achieve goals that they perceive as valuable. This theory is best illustrated by American culture where competitiveness and the drive for escalation in social status is apparent in just about everyone. American colleges and universities are often the breeding ground of competitiveness for jobs after graduation. By looking at the large number of students enrolled in secondary education, it can be seen that many Americans choose to receive schooling in hopes of making more money and gaining an elevated social status.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people who have earned Doctoral degrees statistically have the lowest rate of unemployment at 2.2%, and the highest median weekly earning of $1,623, whereas people with less than high school diplomas have the highest rate of unemployment, 11%, and the lowest median income at $472 (Education Still Pays: 2014). Clearly, higher education will, statistically speaking, correlate to a higher socioeconomic status and greater probability at achieving the “American Dream.” However, given the disproportionate demographics of who attends college, the “American Dream” is further away for some more than

There is a “common sense” idea that a greater amount of education leads to more opportunities to secure a higher paying job. Thus, if more education often equates to a higher paying job, then the educational barriers for people from lower socioeconomic status limit upwards social mobility. In order to accurately critique the different ways in which the education system worsens or maintains social inequality it is important to assuredly demonstrate that there is a connection between the two beyond a “common sense” notion.