Night and Day: The Two Sides to Greek Life

In the future, when we look back upon our history, what will we be most embarrassed of? For me, it will be my voluntary yet somewhat inescapable association with Greek Life at my university.

I am not in a fraternity. Yet, just going to a university that has fraternities and sororities on its campus is enough for any individual to be conducive to Greek Life prospering, and therefore contributing to the pervasive sexual assault that plagues Greek Life at most universities. When I give my friends in fraternities 5 dollars to attend their parties, what am I really giving money to?

Instead of first analyzing how Greek Life is a destructive force, it is important to understand what it gives to schools and its members. Every fraternity and sorority member said the same thing when asked what the best thing about Greek Life is: the friendships.

“They last a lifetime” said one sorority member when asked at a party. “I’ve met girls that I never would have met without my sorority.”

Meeting friends and forming meaningful relationships with others is objectively a good thing. Fraternity members and sorority members alike have gushed over how their respective fraternity or sorority has gifted them wonderful friends.

On top of these bonds that are formed, Greek Life is responsible for excellent philanthropy and community services. THON at Penn State University was created by the IFC (Intrafraternity Council) and has raised millions, including $13 million in 2014, for Pediatric Cancer.

But, simply put, it is all for show.

The money helps those kids. The friendships that are formed are oftentimes real and meaningful. But the negatives that are associated with Greek Life’s presence at schools are simply too damaging and too massive to downplay through philanthropy or good times with friends.

Sorority women are 74% more likely to experience sexual assault at university.

A man in a fraternity is more likely to commit sexual assault by up to 300%.

These are problems that are too often chalked up to the inevitable outcome of such high levels of male-female interaction. A fraternity member at Rutgers University who preferred to remain anonymous, when pressed about the issue of sexual assault said “Look, it’s going to happen. I don’t condone it, and I don’t think I know anyone that does. But frankly, things change when alcohol is involved.”

It is this acceptance of its inevitability that is so damaging to both Greek Life members and females everywhere. Greek Life endangers any female close to it by accepting sexual assault as something that “just happens”, in the words of another fraternity member.

Beyond the gargantuan sexual assault issue, there are plenty of other issues within Greek Life that have been festering for nearly 200 years, when the first fraternities were created.

Alcoholism and alcohol poisoning has killed so many members of Greek Life, specifically through hazing, that there is a Wikipedia page dedicated to deaths specifically caused by hazing. Most recently, Timothy Piazza, a Penn State fraternity member, was killed when he suffered brain trauma from hazing rituals. Piazza’s fraternity brothers left him for almost 12 hours before he died of brain swelling and a ruptured spleen. His blood alcohol content was .40 on the night he died.

So why do schools so faithfully keep Greek Life when the facts of its flaws are as massive as sexual assault and death? For starters, Greek Life at some universities is intertwined with the history of the school itself. Take for example the University of Alabama, where several exclusive, all-white fraternities and sororities make up what is called “The Machine”. The Machine is a political force within the school and even the state, as many of Alabama’s officials and politicians graduated the school as members of The Machine. Even recently, a 34 year old man named T.J. Bunn Jr was accused of raping a 20 year old university student in Alabama. Bunn was never charged for his crimes, and the student, Megan Rondini, committed suicide. Bunn was part of an influential Tuscaloosa family that has historically been part of The Machine. In this way, Greek Life, and everything it comes with, is protected.

For others, it is a matter of image. As previously mentioned, Penn State University has raised millions through its fraternities and sororities. THON is the single largest annual fundraiser in America, and is also a massive source of recruitment and advertisement for the university. As cynical as it may sound, philanthropy makes schools look good, and Greek Life is really good at philanthropy.

It is not clear whether any major universities will make the decision to ban Greek Life outright in the future. On one hand, many young people are becoming educated about how damaging sexual assault is, and are thus shunning Greek Life after learning it is somewhat of a safe haven for those who commit such crimes. On the other hand, sexual assault and death at the hands of Greek Life is not a new phenomena. Schools have been getting over and brushing these crimes under the rug for decades. Penn State University has 36 fraternities that have been charged with criminal conduct, and all are still allowed on Penn State’s campus.

For some, friendships and raising money for unrelated issues is all it takes to accept sexual assault and death as something that just happens.