Greek Life In Greek Life

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.

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.

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.

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

The political cartoon and the magazine article both have a pessimistic view of Greek life that strives to uncover truths about sororities but their intentions and audiences slightly differ. Both author’s intended audience are college students. The website, Her Campus, is intended for women in college and often aims to answer their concerns and provide advice. The article is designed to inform the reader of the negatives associated with Greek life, providing them with information if they are considering going through recruitment. While it does point out the flaws of the greek system, at the end the author does acknowledge the idea that a sorority can be a “great community within your school” and that sometime the secrets are what make each chapter unique. Since the author admits this after she spells out the secret of sororities, it shows that she is not abhorring on them but rather trying to

This is also with life, to help the stereotype of greek turn to a good one each the fraternities will have to hold each other accountable. This means competing to be the best fraternity on campus. Instead of competing on who throws the best parties compete to see who can raise the most money, or who can have the most new members. One big competition now on campus is GPA and you can see that it has a positive affect because one of the big selling points when new students come and they are being educated on greek life it is the higher GPA. To make greek life have a good reputation it would have to start small. If every fraternity challenged their members to not be the guy that does one thing and messes it up, and if it does happen to give consequences and make it known that we are better than the decisions one guy

Over several decades, Greek life has been an integral part of colleges and universities throughout the United States. There is a high demand of “fitting in” in today’s society and a question that students, parents, and teachers alike often ask themselves is, “Does Greek life provide a more safe or harmful environment?” With strong evidence, it is absolutely absurd to believe that fraternities and sororities do more good than they do harm. Various statistics provide factual evidence as to why Greek life is a toxic and dangerous environment for many young adults. Between the rape culture, hazing, and delinquency linked to the students associated with Greek life, it is time that it comes to an end for good so that students may have a more safe and enjoyable college experience. Fraternities and Sororities should be banned off of college and university campuses due to the danger and drama associated with them.

A Peek into Daily Life in Ancient Greece By Sariah .E. Meeker  The life of one from ancient Greece is unique but still resembles modern life today. They would use oxen to sow seeds, women spun all of their clothes and most everyone owned slaves that cared for the household.

Participating in Greek life allows students to be exposed and become connected with important people as soon as their freshman year of college. Many people coming from Greek background have been successful in their career. Many of this country’s important people have been involved in the Greek life. For example, according to the University of Missouri, “Up to 70 percent of the U.S. President's’ cabinet members since 1900 have been fraternity or sorority members. 
 76 percent of U.S. Senators are fraternity or sorority members” (qtd. in Mendez).

(1998). Fraternity members' perceptions of how involvement in a fraternity and involvement in student government has influenced their college experiences. 1-17. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED421956.pdf In this study, Byer interviewed four students to learn how their extracurricular activities, namely in fraternities and student government, shaped their time in college.

By participating in Greek life, the students’ social circles are expanded. Because sororities and fraternities are specific to gender, religions, races, and even majors, those who participate in Greek life create lifelong relationships with people they choose to associate with by

For the state of Nevada, University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) even states on their school campus website “Members of fraternities and sororities commit to lifelong participation in their organization and aspire to high ideals and values which guide them throughout their collegiate education and beyond. Just a few of these benefits are: academic achievement, leadership development, campus involvement, community service and philanthropic activities, career development, fosters leadership skills, and lifelong friendships & memories.” (http://getinvolved.unlv.edu/greeklife/). In perspective of a functionalist’s view, they percept parts of society to be structured and maintained for stability.

According Appalachian Magazine, the article on Greek Life describes the beginning foundation of not only fraternities but sororities. Due to the strict curriculum that college campuses enforced in the mid to late nineteenth century, students would form their own groups to explore current events and literature. This enabled the students to express their own ideas more freely and form bonds with other students. These bonds grew so strong that they not only depended on each other for curriculum base information, but social interaction as well. By the end of the nineteenth century, intellectualness, although it was still the main foundation, these groups began to find time for parties, sports events and even dances. These two groups are mainly associated with colleges and universities and still to this day are established to further

While deciding where one is going to attend college, one may decide to look into extracurricular activities to get involved on campus. Sometimes one may ask an adult they look up to about what they think one should get involved in, many would agree that one should go Greek. After listing to other adults, one may decide to go through the recruitment experience and find their home in Greek life. Since joining a Greek organization one can see how people see it as a way to gain many leadership skills along with a great way to network. However one understands that everything one is involved in has something negative, like Greek life have so many opportunities to party which is the only thing that many people see when they think of Greek life. While exploring how Greek life is a good thing and that the bad that comes with it is nothing compared to the good. For many people including myself Greek life is a place where someone can be oneself and learn many things about who one is along with the sisters around you that push you to be the best person you

Greek organizations are still relevant on today’s campus. Simon Riker, a freelance musician said, “I learned a lot about myself and other people, more than I would have otherwise… offered me a tremendous amount of opportunities and a vast social network” (Friedman 990). Many fraternities are involved in their communities. The fraternity and sorority would hold a fundraiser where they would raise more than $20 million for charity. Averagely most fraternities have a slightly higher grade-point average from just the students who are not in a fraternity. The grade-point average is approximately 2.912 (Friedman 990). Fraternity and sorority members is more likely to be prepared after their graduation. The percent within the Greeks and the non-Greeks on how prepared the students are after graduation is 37 percent Greek to 27 percent non-Greek (Friedman 990). Fraternities and sororities are seen as a way to further one’s career after graduation (Friedman 987). Kimbrough adds, “we have to figure out how to give them life lessons to make them better citizens, help them