Hilfinger 1 Peyton Hilfinger Mr. Chambers English IV, Period 6 13 January 2022 The Price of a Party Whether it’s bring your own alcohol or a general entrance fee, RSVP card or simple face-to-face invitation, there’s almost always a price in order to party. But what about the other, lesser-known price OF a party? The after effects of a party that leave you doing the walk of shame, or in the case of Greek life, the after effects that could lead you to jail. Over the years, Greek like has been televised numerously over not only its highly increased sexual assault rates, but also its deaths sponsored by hazing, which begs the question, is Greek life’s price of a party too severe? Greek life at universities should be shut down, because while it gives way to an avenue of socialization amongst college kids, its cons of sexual assault and death outweigh its pros of parties. Greek life is known to be an unremitting perpetrator of sexual assualt throughout college campuses. According to the Guardian, “...sorority women are 74% more likely to be assaulted than unaffiliated students, and men who join fraternities are three times more likely to violate a woman.” This statistic makes sense, due to the fact that fraternities are typically the ones to host social events, giving them more control over the environment and situation, and thus making it harder for those that need to be held accountable to be held accountable. If Greek life were to be shut down, then these fraternities would no longer be able to create such a dangerous environment, and therefore would lower the sexual assualt stastistics, giving valid reason as to why Greek life should no longer be around. Hilfinger 2 Furthermore, Greek life has led to numerous unnecessary deaths of college students. According to journalism professor Hank Nuwer at Franklin College, “over 200 university hazing deaths have occurred since 1838, with 40 deaths between 2007 and 2017 alone.” Just imagine, you send your beloved child of 18 years, that you created from your own body, to a school you thought you could trust, only to get news back weeks or months later that they were killed by something as preventable as a “hazing death.” Imagine the pure agony of knowing that it could have been prevented if such an organization didn’t exist. If Greek life were to be discontinued, then these hazing deaths would no longer occur, and no mother, father, or guardian would ever have to experience that again. Lastly, people may argue for Greek life on the fact that it creates an avenue for socialization in the form of parties in which includes all types of individuals, and without that avenue, there will be no more avenues for socialization at colleges. Firstly, the argument is a hasty generalization, as there is a lack of supporting evidence to substantiate the claim that “there will be no more avenues for socialization at colleges.” If Greek life were to be abolished, colleges would still have other clubs and organizations you are able to join and socialize in; also you can always throw an individualized party without the backing of a fraternity or sorority. Secondly, socialization in Greek life is not all-inclusive, as most members in sororities and fraternities are white. According to a survey done by Princeton Seniors, it displayed that “77 percent of sorority members and 73 percent of fraternity members were white,” demonstrating the lack of diversity in these organizations. Greek life is not all-inclusive, and if it were to be abolished, students would still be able to party and socialize, just without the backing of a Greek life house; either individually or with another college-ran organization. Hilfinger 3 It has been made clear throughout that Greek life’s price of a party is far too high and damaging. While alumni of certain Greek life may argue that they made the best memories in their chapters, their counterarguments are laden with logical fallacies and their claims of socialization being more important than the thousands of cases of sexual assualt and hundreds of cases of deaths is of the highest insult to those victims. Greek life has been long overdue for its departure from college campuses and it’s now time that we say goodbye and good riddance. Citations “Frat Brothers Rape 300% More. One in 5 Women Is Sexually Assaulted on Campus. Should We Ban Frats? | Jessica Valenti.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 Sept. 2014, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/24/rape-sexual-assault-ban-frats. “Breathe, Nolan, Breathe.” Edited by The Kestrel Co., Anyone Collective, 16 Mar. 2021, https://weareanyone.com/case-studies/nolan/. Chang, Clio. “Separate but Unequal in College Greek Life.” The Century Foundation, 8 Mar. 2016, https://tcf.org/content/commentary/separate-but-unequal-in-college-greek-life/?agreed=1.
