Sororities as a Social Institution Essay

Viral videos of fraternity and sorority members partying and getting drunk off of beer might be the first images of Greek Life that pop into your mind, but that’s only a stereotype. There are nine historically black Greek letter organizations across the country that present an entirely different image of Greek life. Focusing on their multiple involvement on campus, National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) members are proactive in the community and on USCA’s campus.

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

Between family legacies, traditions, and an abundance of college themed movies, books, and television shows, it would be difficult to find a prospective college student who is not familiar with the idea of “Greek life.” For the purpose of this essay, “Greek life” refers to the system employed by many colleges and universities to establish and maintain fraternities and sororities (primarily dominated by caucasian and economically advantages students). It is important to note the existence of fraternities and organizations outside of this stereotypical “Greek” realm, such as coeducational honor and service based fraternities, though even these are not fully exempt from detrimental practices. Fraternities and sororities are often looked down upon with a negative light for a number of reasons, some of which include dangerous hazing habits and unsavory social scenes. While there certainly are undeniable benefits and negatives within these systems, the biggest effect they have is on gender. “Greek life” in college is unhealthy due to its impact on post-college gender expectations by promoting party culture, encouraging misogyny through ingrained tradition, and indoctrinating women into subservience at an impressionable age.

Delta Zeta, 2017, described their sorority as different, always there for each other, and a support system. Individual members said, “my favorite part are the friends I have made,” “they are so strange, but they are the best,” and “people who don’t expect me to be something I’m not” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3MfD6lvt3w).

Walking around a university’s campus any day of the week, one sees an array of Greek letters worn proudly by young men and women in the Greek system. Fraternities and sororities play a big part in a university. The Greek system can also be an easy target to direct criticism. There are those who oppose the Greek system and those who embrace it. Evan Wright opposes the Greek system in his article “Sister Act” that was featured in Rolling Stone Magazine. He uses examples from students at Ohio State University in Columbus to show his disapproval of the way sororities are now days. He portrays sorority girls as catty conformists who are obsessed with partying with fraternity

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.

College students have many life altering questions they must answer through the journey of further education. From a student’s major, living circumstance, classes, and getting involved on campus, it can start to get stressful if there are mixed signals about what they are getting into. Getting involved on campus is a great way to meet people and improve skills needed after graduation. A student might choose to be involved in Greek life because of the parties, friends, and job application quirks down the road (Joining a Fraternity, np). The outcome involves those things, but it also involves leadership traits, lifelong relationships, the ability to surpass the negative public perception of Fraternity and Sorority men and women, and keep up good grades.

It is important to discuss the history behind fraternities and sororities in order to gain a full understanding of how they can affect ways in which students interact with each other. The first Greek letter organization was created in 1776 as a way for students to meet with each other and discuss current events and literature. From there on, more of these groups were started at schools around the country. It was rare to have women be appointed into one of these because of their lesser social status. It was not until almost 100 years later that a women’s organization was founded. Because of their rich history, fraternities are more dominate than sororities and much more well-off.

The social scene at colleges typically orbits greek life, and the University of Richmond is no exception. However, when race and economic capital are main factors on who is able to join a sorority or fraternity, it leads to a class structure that limits minorities and promotes

The deep roots of elitism and privileged seen in fraternity culture helps identify the roles of Greek organizations in shaping the gender identities of its members as well as forming maladaptive behaviors and beliefs deriving out of narrow minded ideals of femininity and masculinity that will shape the future leaders of America.

Considering the fact that fraternities are gendered organizations, specific Greek affiliations and gender become the sole and defining aspects of their self-identities (DeStantis 20). Since many students do self-identify first by their gender and then by their Greek affiliation, it becomes very troublesome when someone's defining characteristics are limited to two facets of identity.

Greek-lettered organizations often carry a negative stigma, due largely to a growingly publicized minority of fraternities and sororities in the media. Similarly to ethnic groups that are marginalized in much the same way, these minorities have not represented the larger body as a whole, regardless of membership. However, in more recent history, the publicity of these minority members has aided in the cultivation of a such a negative reputation. The effect has led to a further decline in value systems that many of these organizations were initially intended to uphold. The impact this has

Fraternities are a common, well known subculture within American universities. Their dress behavior and what it communicates brings many questions to the table, making it easily researchable. At UNT alone, fraternities are accessible and abundant. We would use face-to-face interviews as the members are easy to find and our group’s association with Greek life will make this the primary form of research. We will conduct the interviews with members here at UNT and at surrounding universities. Also, we would use the survey tool to access a larger number fraternity members that we can’t reach solely with face-to-face

With 123 organizations and over 9 million members in total, Greek Letter Organizations is the largest network of people in the Nation. This network include most Presidents and Vice Presidents of America, 76% of Congressmen and Senators, and”40 of the 47 [members] of the United States Supreme Court Justices since 1910”. In many of your campuses your students leaders are normally consist of Greek Members, who also serve in many of leadership positions in their organization as well. Men ad Woman who wear Greek Letters complete the most service hours, over 10 million, each year in the world. Even with some of these amazing facts, many here are contemplating the actually significant of Greek Life on your own campus or have already kicked the

Fraternities and sororities are social groups formed in colleges and universities. These fraternities and sororities are called the Greek Life. These clubs use two or more greek letters for their names. Fraternities are for males and sororities are for females. Greek life is very popular in this day and age at universities and colleges. Greek life is very beneficial during and after college. But universities are beginning to ban these clubs. Greek life shouldn’t be banned because it allows for leadership skills, builds chance for success, networking opportunity, and life-long friends.