After writing the draft, Martin did some reading and research on the topic. The following revision shows his expanded view and use of sources.

Fraternities and Sororities

Martin Copeland

From the outside, it is very difficult to tell exactly what fraternities and sororities do or don’t do for their members. What an outsider can do, however, is give an honest opinion of his or her perception to members to help them understand how their organizations are perceived, what the misconceptions are, and why they may have difficulty attracting new members. The general idea and philosophy of fraternities and sororities is to provide a positive community environment for their members, and in their purest form, they can do just that. Unfortunately, most fraternities and sororities are not in their “purest form” and have been corrupted by what might be a minority of highly visible members.

It is important to understand the language of “positive community environment.” Were the question concerned only with sororities and fraternities providing a community environment for their members, my answer would have been an enthusiastic yes. Fraternities and sororities are perhaps the closest groups on college campuses. On many campuses, they live, study, and party together. The “rush” process alone is enough to bring several wannabe members together as one cohesive unit. Often, within fraternities and sororities, students make lifetime friends and professional contacts. In his explanation of why he is proud to be part of a fraternity, Douglas Luetjen points out that “all but eight U.S. presidents since 1856 have been regular or honorary members of a college fraternity. And . . . 85% of the Fortune 500 executives are fraternity members.”

Furthermore, in a sorority or a fraternity, students can build a support system away from home that for many is the ship that keeps them afloat in the vast ocean that is college. Anne Remington begins her article for Parent Times, an online magazine from the University of Iowa, with a story about a freshman who felt that no one remembered her birthday until her Alpha Chi Omega sisters began singing to her: “And in that instance, she knew she had found a new ‘home.’” Remington continues to describe Greek-letter organizations that appeal to specific minorities and that provide a “sense of belonging” for many students who are away from home for the first time.

The problem, however, lies in the fact that the question included the word “positive.” For all of the great things fraternities and sororities do for their members, much of it, though pleasurable, does not always seem positive. We have all heard stories of fraternities and sororities placing their pledges in compromising and even dangerous situations all for the sake of brotherhood or sisterhood. Such stories are more frequent than these organizations would have the general public believe. The process that pledges have to endure to make it to the positive community environment can often humiliate them, bringing them down to the point that they feel that walking away from such a group would make them less than the others.

A major problem with fraternities and sororities is drinking and the negative behaviors that accompany it. According to a study at the University of Washington, 85% of those living in Greek houses drank at least one to two times per week, 37% three to four times (Baer et al.). Another national study reported that sorority members are nearly twice as likely to become binge drinkers than their nonsorority counterparts, and 75% of fraternity members were self-described binge drinkers (Wechsler). This study also reported higher incidences of missed classes and unprotected sex among fraternity and sorority members.

In essence, my argument is not that fraternities and sororities are necessarily a negative community environment, but they do promote negative and potentially dangerous behaviors. As a whole, it seems that too many fraternities and sororities have become “organized saloons” (Cross) and departed from the principles and values upon which they were founded: “scholarship, relationships, leadership, and service” (Remington). Finding those principles again and rebuilding their lost legacies will be a step toward becoming truly positive community environments, though it will take the work of many individuals to change the way outsiders perceive fraternities and sororities.

Works Cited

Baer, J.S., D. R. Kivlahan, and G.A. Marlatt. “High-Risk Drinking across the Transition from High School to College.” Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 19.1 (1995): 54–61.

Cross, Charles R. “Why I’m Proud I’m Not a Greek.” Columns: University of Washington Alumni Magazine September 2001: XX. Web. 6 Mar. 2004. <http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/sept01/greekdebate1.html>.

Luetjen, Douglas A. “Why I’m Proud I’m a Greek.” Columns: University of Washington Alumni Magazine September 2001: XX. Web. 6 Mar. 2004. <http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/sept01/greekdebate1.html>.

Remington, Anne. “It’s All Greek to Me.” Parent Times Online Winter 2004–2005: n. pag. U of Iowa. Web. 15 Mar. 2004. <http://www.uiowa.edu/~ptimes/issues04-05/winter04-05/greek.html>.

Wechsler, Henry. Binge Drinking on American College Campuses: A New Look at an Old Problem. Harvard School of Public Health (1995). Web. 20 Mar. 2004. <http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/Documents/monograph_2000/cas_mono_2000.pdf>.