“Should colleges ban fraternities and sororities?” is a question that is frequently asked due to all of the controversy surrounding Greek life. It is also the title of Jake New’s InsideHigherEd article outlining the various instances of misbehavior by Greek organizations across America. One incident that is mentioned is when “the Texas Tech University chapter of Phi Delta Theta was suspended after displaying a banner that read ‘No Means Yes, Yes Means Anal’ ” (New). The banner obviously angered students and parents having them question the safety of female students on campus. An alarming fact is “that incidents of sexual assault and high risk drinking are particularly prevalent among fraternity and sorority members than other students on campus”
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Figuring out how to combat these problems without punishing whole organizations has become a major issue.
Many incoming and current college students join Greek organizations to enhance their overall college experience. They are presented with promises of lifelong friendships, networking opportunities, social events, and chances for community service, but no one reveals the dark side to them in detail before they get to college. Horrifying accounts of hazing, binge drinking, and sexual assault are increasingly making headlines more often these days. These problems have escalated due to many schools efforts to sweep them under the rug in order to maintain their image. Students, parents, and administrators against Greek life are calling for the ban of Greek organizations, because hazing, binge drinking, and sexual assault are damaging to a student’s physical, emotional, and mental health. Some schools choose to comply with these demands and outright ban the organizations because they think they will resolve …show more content…
Potential new members are sworn to secrecy in order to keep the tradition alive according to talk among students. One recent incident is when someone posted, “The next time pi kap sends over a pledge dressed as a gnome to take selfies on our porch, you will not get them back in one piece. #tryus”on the popular college app, YikYak. Then someone in the comments said, “I’m reporting this. Hazing is not acceptable.” UAB has not released anything to the public about this, so it may have been handled privately or not at all. One might assume the problem was handled appropriately if it did not end up in the local media. UAB does not specify in their Non-Academic Code of Conduct which sanction is assigned for hazing, so it must be decided on a case by case basis. A past incident that occurred is when an Alpha Tau Omega member, Stuart Wall fell from a moving truck on interstate 65 on January 26, 1995, and died about two weeks later on February 9. UAB responded to this incident by placing the chapter on charter probation until August 1999. They also put sanctions on the fraternity ordering the members to write a plan to eliminate hazing, meet with the UAB vice president of student affairs and other officials “to discuss chapter progress,” “perform 250 hours of community service,” implement “an educational program on decision making,” and “attend an educational session on risk
Figuring out how to combat these problems without punishing whole organizations has become a major issue.
Many incoming and current college students join Greek organizations to enhance their overall college experience. They are presented with promises of lifelong friendships, networking opportunities, social events, and chances for community service, but no one reveals the dark side to them in detail before they get to college. Horrifying accounts of hazing, binge drinking, and sexual assault are increasingly making headlines more often these days. These problems have escalated due to many schools efforts to sweep them under the rug in order to maintain their image. Students, parents, and administrators against Greek life are calling for the ban of Greek organizations, because hazing, binge drinking, and sexual assault are damaging to a student’s physical, emotional, and mental health. Some schools choose to comply with these demands and outright ban the organizations because they think they will resolve …show more content…
Potential new members are sworn to secrecy in order to keep the tradition alive according to talk among students. One recent incident is when someone posted, “The next time pi kap sends over a pledge dressed as a gnome to take selfies on our porch, you will not get them back in one piece. #tryus”on the popular college app, YikYak. Then someone in the comments said, “I’m reporting this. Hazing is not acceptable.” UAB has not released anything to the public about this, so it may have been handled privately or not at all. One might assume the problem was handled appropriately if it did not end up in the local media. UAB does not specify in their Non-Academic Code of Conduct which sanction is assigned for hazing, so it must be decided on a case by case basis. A past incident that occurred is when an Alpha Tau Omega member, Stuart Wall fell from a moving truck on interstate 65 on January 26, 1995, and died about two weeks later on February 9. UAB responded to this incident by placing the chapter on charter probation until August 1999. They also put sanctions on the fraternity ordering the members to write a plan to eliminate hazing, meet with the UAB vice president of student affairs and other officials “to discuss chapter progress,” “perform 250 hours of community service,” implement “an educational program on decision making,” and “attend an educational session on risk