Greek Organizations And Hazing Rituals

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.

Here are some statistics. Overall, there are over 9 million Greek members nationally. Out of the nation’s 50 largest corporations, 43 of them are headed by fraternity men. 76 percent of all Congressmen and Senators belong to a fraternity, less than 2 percent of an average college student’s expenses go toward fraternity dues. (U.S. Office of Education). Over seven million dollars is raised each year by Greek organizations nationally. The Greek systems are the largest network of volunteers in the Unites States, with members and alumni donating over 10 million hours of volunteer services each year. There are 123 fraternities and sororities nationwide. About 750,000 undergraduate students in 12,000 chapters, make up more than 800 campuses in the United States and Canada (U.S. Office of

Greek life, made up of sororities and fraternities, is prominent in many universities and colleges throughout the United States. Greek life is on all types of campuses ranging from public to private, and especially Ivy League schools. Those who choose to participate in Greek life have the opportunity to become members of sororities and fraternities specific to gender, religions, races, and even majors. Colleges and universities in the South have strong Greek life with many undergraduate students participating, and at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, twenty percent of undergraduates participate in Greek life. For many, Greek life is an important facet of their college experience. Getting involved in Greek life provides students with many opportunities, such as an expansion of their social circle, involvement in community service, and leadership opportunities. In addition, the students who participate in Greek life are less likely to drop out. While participating in Greek life provides students with benefits, downsides also occur on college campuses. Serious dangers range from hazing to drug and alcohol or abuse, or even sexual assault.

HBCU Greek organizations are one of the most prospective and student sanctioned organizations. They have the representation to either be a great organization where the concept of charity and family is govern. Or they can be the source of reckless activities and worse of it all hazing. Throughout the articles, I gathered that these organizations can either be a source of inspiration or the student’s downfall.

When you are a part of Greek life you are popular. In professional sports, with men sports the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major Baseball League etc., there is a history of hazing to accept new rookies into the league. Even though, the organization have dangerous activities, but ignore outrageous events they may have to endure to become part of the organization. Hazing is classified into three types subtle, violent, and harassment. Subtle hazing is mainly deception, or not having to do the same thing other new members had to do. These falls under “reasonable hazing” to others, but to me it is not. With subtle hazing when a pledge is lining up you could call a guy run a lap but referring to him as a girl. Mainly, required greeting of members in a specific manner when seen on campus. With harassment hazing is causes stress, a relative degree of discomfort, physically or emotionally, to the new members

The first Greek organization to assemble was in 1776 at the College of William and Mary. Fraternities were built to provide friendship and recreation. It has been 239 years since the first fraternity was established and now in 2015, there are 123 fraternities and sororities. There are nine million college students involved in Greek organizations (Glass, Nicole). These members are looking to make friends, to build their resumes, to go to social events, or to learn leadership skills. Each member when joining has the incentive to change some aspect of his or her life (Glass, Nicole). If one has the opportunity to join a Greek life organization he or she should for the reasons of giving back to the community, the higher academic standards, the

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.

Never in a million years did I plan on joining Greek life in college. When I got to school I quickly decided that I wanted to be more involved and help make a difference in people’s lives. I decided to rush a sorority which happened to be Delta Gamma. Delta Gamma has provided me with so many wonderful opportunities to make a difference. When the Whited family reached out to our chapter here at IUP I knew this would be something I would remember doing for years to come. The Whited family came to one of our chapter meetings and we got to meet little Lochlan who touched all of our hearts. I have had so many wonderful opportunities from this organization already and have received such great experience by joining

government would have to spend a vast amount of money to control hazing and try to prevent

Sororities and fraternities are becoming more influential on college campuses and among the professional world. Over 730 schools across the United States have the Greek life system and there are several different fraternities and sororities on each college campus. Many Americans have extremely different opinions about Greek life as a whole. Although many say it is all about partying, there are many pros and cons to joining Greek life. Greek life can be a very good experience in college, it is whatever people make it.

The Greek communities that have risen across the country have created huge impacts on every university that they have established themselves on. Historically, fraternities were designed for students to discreetly meet to discuss issues and host debates that their members believed would be deemed inappropriate by their collegiate faculties. Since their founding, fraternities and sororities have completely revamped their focuses. They are used as social, professional, and honorary organizations that promote many different combinations of community service, leadership, and academic success. The ideas of brotherhood and sisterhood have also transcended the college experience,

Hazing in universities across the nation has become an increasingly dangerous ritual that is seemingly becoming more difficult to put an end to due to its development into an "underground" activity. Though a regular activity in the seventies, hazing, a possible dangerous act of initiation to a group, has now become an activity that is banned in thirty-nine states (Wagner 16). However, this ritual has not been stopped or become less severe. In fact it is becoming more dangerous. Since it has been banned, with many colleges imposing their own penalties against those participating in it, many fraternities and sororities have pursued this activity in an underground fashion. Since these groups have gone underground, some victims of these

First off, colleges and universities should ban Greek life on campuses for obvious reasons, the first being rape culture. Sexual violence is not something to be swept under the rug and brushed off. It continues to be a massive problem everywhere in America, and colleges are no exception. An article by The Guardian states, “Frat brothers rape 300% more. One in five women are sexually assaulted on campus” (Valenti, 2014). Looking at that statistic in real terms, 20% of females on a college campus will be sexually assaulted before they graduate. This evidence clearly

Some advantages of Greek life are leadership skills, more community involvement, and higher grade point averages. Then there are the negative aspects of Greek life which involve alcohol abuse, hazing, and skipping classes because of binge drinking the night before. Even though there are both negative and positive aspects of Greek life one must also consider that the media blows Greek life out of proportion when discussing negative aspects of Greek life and that there are many programs put in place to help prevent hazing along with alcohol abuse as well. Overall when looking into joining a Greek organization one needs to look at it from all perspectives not just the positive and not just the negative. Just like everything one may be involved in there are positive and negative aspects Greek

Men taking advantage of women is considered a social norm. Also, When fraternity members admitted to doing things that by law are considered rape they did not believe that they were rapist. They insist that if a girl is intoxicated then they are still able to consent to sex. Granted not all Greeks are this way. Many fraternity members treat women respectfully and contribute greatly to bettering the college experience. The problem is too many offenders do exist and they have ruined the once credible reputation of fraternities everywhere.