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Student safety in school
Student safety in school
Public safety on college campuses
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College life brings many thoughts to mind
friendships, football , pizza, late nights, parties, fraternities, sororities, as well as racial discrimination, binge drinking, hazing and dying. The latter part of this list may not come naturally to most people, but they are frightening realities of the Greek system. Parents send their children to college assuming they will be in a safe, educational environment while enjoying all the benefits campus life has to offer, including fraternities and sororities. They do not expect a phone call in the early hours of the morning notifying them of their child's death. Since March of 2000, over 60 people have died in events associated with fraternities, alcohol and/or hazing (Marklein p. A3). Greek life and all its implications should be examined more closely before anyone commits to join such an organization.
Thousands of college students across the country participate in the Greek System at their university. People generally become members of Greek organizations to aid in meeting new people and to participate in a social and community service organization. At many schools, the Greeks have their own headquarters or houses where the members meet, live, eat, and host social functions. The University of Alabama's website claims, "Greek life is a jointure - a time when friendships are cemented and close ties are woven between members through living, studying, working, and competing together. These relationships go beyond ordinary friendship and become like those of family - often lasting a lifetime" (Greek Life). These "friendships" are sometimes established after pledges endure humiliating and dangerous hazing leading up to initiation.
Often overlooked, excessive drinking plagu...
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...cil, the governing organization for traditionally African American fraternities and sororities. The member chapters of the Pan-Hellenic Council do not even participate in the same Rush/Recruitment process as the other fraternities and sororities on campus.
While sororities and fraternities were created to nurture scholarships, service, and social ties for young people, many Greek organizations have become ensnared in less than fulfilling practices. Before students agree to associate themselves with a group of people who willingly participate in human degradation, they should thoroughly research current statistics regarding involvement in crime across campus, and reports of alcohol poisoning, hazing, and racial discrimination. The mere knowledge of these outrageous behaviors should cause people to think twice before supporting the organizations that commit them.
Greek organizations, such as, fraternities and sororities have been a part of the college experience for centuries. We pride ourselves in brotherly and sisterly love, academic success, and helping others. There are countless stereotypes and myths that surround the “Greek life” name. Just some myths include: all Greeks haze their members, they only care about physical looks not personalities, and they go to college just to party and get drunk. Kappa Delta Sorority upholds none of these stereotypes. We have a strong no haze policy. Hazing is defined as an activity or situation that can cause emotional, mental, or physical discomfort. If a member is caught hazing or if a new member is caught allowing herself to be hazed, there will be major consequences, such as, national probation or deferral of initiation. Kappa Delta also does not look at physical appearance as the only quality for possible new members. We look at personality and qualifications that can benefit our sorority; instead of having a group of women that are pretty and popular, we like to have women with strong morals, work ethic, and have the willingness to love each and every member of Kappa Delta. Kappa Delta Sorority is like no other fraternity or sorority on campus; we do not waste our time with partying and drinking. We pride ourselves in our historical background, philanthropies, and our values. I know Kappa Delta is the best sorority not only on MTSU campus but in the whole country.
The Greek Life at Baylor University is a community of twelve fraternities and eight sororities. However, the communities within Baylor University are not treated equally. The University of Baylor favors the sororities over the fraternities at Baylor. There are multiple different things that Baylor allows the sororities to attain that the fraternities are prevented from pursuing or accomplishing. This bias between the Greek Life of Baylor and the university itself is one major reason for strain between the relationships of the groups. The sororities at Baylor are supplied a meeting place, allowed to have mixers before rushing on Baylor campus, and are allowed to return to Baylor early after breaks for events. The university must resolve these problems in order to become a more unbiased university and community.
Do people really understand the secrets behind the Greek community? There are many pressures girls face that the public is not familiar with that are specifically evident in sororities. Alexandra Robbins, the author of the book Pledged: The Secret Lives of Sororities, went undercover and followed four different girls during their experiences within the Greek system. Although there are many struggles girls can face in sororities, the five most prevalent type of pressures include: having a perfect body image, substance abuse, stress, silence, and hazing.
A major part of every college campus is the Greek system. Although, many times it goes unnoticed there is major segregation among the fraternities and sororities in the south. Why is such an important issue often overlooked? We need to be more aware of segregation because in many cases it causes conflict. What if an African American wanted to join a traditionally white fraternity or sorority or vise versa? The chances of him/her getting in are pretty slim. In fact, it would be most likely that they would not. The walls of race and the barriers from so-called ?traditions? in the Greek system should be broken in order to diversify the organizations and lead to the changes necessary to end segregation and discrimination for good.
So what allows a campus fraternity to fall under the category of a social institution? Social institutions are commonly conceived as the necessary focuses of a social organization, which is common to most of society and usually deals with the problems and procedures of structured social life. General characteristics of a social institution involve regulated patterns of behavior that are specific, continuous, and organized. The patterns become the regulated norm, and are carried on from generation to generation, allowing the social institution to continue on through the years. Fraternities were first developed back in the late seventeen hundreds and continued to expand over the past couple of hundred years. Today there are about sixty different fraternities all over the United States, represented by different letters of the Greek Alphabet, with several chapters and various schools. Fraternities is a ‘member only’ social institution that is just for guys, (women have similar institution called sororities). Every fraternity has a board of members that they personally e...
Day in and day out we hear about high school and college students wanting to pursue a sorority and/or a fraternity based on the stereotypes these organizations uphold, well I chose to differ. I told myself if I ever decided to become a member of a sorority it would be based solely on their ethical standards, history, and values they are founded upon. Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated consists of ladies of distinction and exemplary character who excel in scholarship, leadership, and service, which are qualities I have chosen to uphold. From my perspective, I encourage myself to maintain a respectable appearance and reputation which doing so inspires me to embrace my self-concept; which helps me confidently excel academically and professionally as a “lady of distinction” and “exemplary character.” Most importantly, I continuously remain involved in community service, being involved allows me the opportunity to learn and understand the lives and circumstances of others by opening my mind, heart, and soul. Overall these qualities strengthen my passion to be a member of the prestigious Alp...
Every year students at an accredited university have a decision to join groups/activities. In many cases a lot of students choose to join either a fraternity or a
That standard of academic excellence pushes you to become a great student, “if students want to become affiliated with academic discourse communities, or even if they want to succeed in school, they have to make considerable sacrifices,” (Johns 326). Johns’ outline of success academic discourse communities is on point. Fraternities are academic communities along with social. Much sacrificed time has to be taken to be apart and contribute to fraternity, for example a leadership role. A fraternity offers many opportunities of leadership opportunities.
"Some have argued that fraternities are places where rape is likely to occur on college campuses and that the students most likely to accept rape mouths and be more sexually aggressive are more likely to live in fraternities and sororities, consume higher doses of alcohol and drugs, and place higher value on social life at college." according to the article "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous places for Women?" written by A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade. The article ...
Greek organizations are debatably the most undervalued and misconceived aspect of college campuses. Most people don’t see the benefits that fraternities and sororities bring to college campuses and their communities. Some see these organizations as large beneficial clubs and others see them as potential problems. Many of the allegations put forth by individuals that discredit the benefits and good deeds done by Greek organizations are weak justifications for their removal from college campuses. Greek organizations provide campus communities with academically responsible students, philanthropic activities and increase community involvement.
As the end of spring semester of my freshman year approached, I was overcome with both joy and relief knowing that soon I would be done with finals and, more importantly, I would soon be completing my slightly long and extremely dry initiation process and finally be allowed to called myself a sister of Sigma Delta Tau. Even though I was beyond excited to become a sister, I couldn’t help but feel weird about the entire situation. Up until the day I decided to rush, I never in a million years would’ve thought that I, of all people, would join a sorority. Even though I had come to terms with the fact that I was in fact meant to be a sorority girl, I was still unsure of how to tell my friends and family back home that I was a sister. In high school, I’d always
I came to college with a negative look on sororities. All my knowledge of greek life came from the media. Sororities are portrayed in a dismissive
The article starts off with interesting statistics about the success that Greek Life has brought to people's lives. “85% of Fortune 500 executives were part of Greek life. The first female astronaut was Greek. So was the first female senator. And college graduation rates are 20% higher among Greeks than non-Greeks.” This part of the article immediately had me intrigued because it shows how impactful Greek Life can be to your life. “I really see that there’s a great correlation between those skills being developed and the ability to be successful in any endeavor,” she said. “Not necessarily just famous-successful, like a president or CEO, but successful as a community leader or as a small business owner.” This source in its entirety was good insight about how Greek Life’s main focus is not to party but to better yourself like many of today's leaders. The article is an attractive read to students who are skeptic about the purpose of joining these
When teenagers leave the safety of home and enter college life, they can feel very out of place. In order for them to feel that they belong when joining a fraternity or sorority, they can be pressured into binge drinking and other types of behavior that they wouldn't normally do. By doing what the fraternity brothers or sorority sisters ask them to do, they think that they are proving themselves to be worthy of a place in the organization. This can be very dangerous for many reasons. "Results from a recent Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study provide the first national picture in almost fifty years of just how widespread and harmful heavy episodic or "binge" drinking has become, not only for those students who abuse alcohol, but also for others in their immediate environment" (Wechsler, 178). Binge drinkers put themselves at high r...
Hazing in universities across the nation has become a common tradition that develops mostly in Greek organizations. Hazing is seen in many different social groups such as schools, military units, sport teams, fraternities, and sororities. Prohibited by law for unnecessary reasons; hazing is a way to grow with friends in a closer way than independent students will ever have the chance to. Every year there are thousands of teenagers that pledge for a fraternity knowing of the possible chance of being hazed. People that join fraternities join for a sense of belonging and to meet people with similar interests. Trying to fit into a new college campus can be hard for a person to do. Almost every group pressures the new pledges to participate in hazing activities to create a sense of brotherhood. Hazing is a process that creates a sense of unity, also it teaches the one being hazed about himself and his brothers; being hazed into a group will help someone become a well-rounded person and will help them overcome struggles later in life.