Running Head: POSITION PAPER
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Position Paper:
Should SDSU Ban Social Greek Life?
Acacia Kapusta
San Diego State University
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Identify the Issue
For a number of decades at many higher education institutions across the nation,
there has been a large concern over Greek organizations, especially social ones. San
Diego State University (SDSU) is not at all immune to this concern. Social Greek life is
often linked to hazing incidents, underage drinking, discriminatory acts, and many other
negative implications. Even though other Greek organizations like professional
fraternities and cultural fraternities and sororities experience some of the same media
attention as social organizations, they are often viewed differently. The assumption is
that, even though these organizations may have “done something wrong,” their purposes
and goals are of higher value because of the idea that the serve a greater purpose to the
students involved. For this reason, the issue that will be discussed will be focused on
social Greek organizations. Therefore, the question is, should SDSU ban social Greek
life in an effort to eliminate hazing and minimize underage alcohol consumption at this
campus?
Clarify the Issue
Greek organizations can be broken down into three general categories:
professional, cultural and social. Professional fraternities typically require a student to be
in a specific major or department, and have interest in going into the specified field
professionally. Cultural Greek organizations have goals and purposes that revolve
around similar cultures or cultural interests amongst its constituents. Social Greek
organizations are those that are not specific to either a profession or a culture, but are
instead primarily focused on social aspects such as leadership or character development.
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For the purposes of this discussion, the term “hazing” is defined as “any action
taken or situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule,
or risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of a group or team, whether new or
note, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate” (HazingPrevention.org).
In regards to SDSU specifically, the issue revolves around a large amount of
hazing and underage alcohol consumption. In the past year, three Greek organizations at
SDSU have been put on probation for “Social Event Policy Violations,” for hazing, or for
both (Greek Life – Judicial Records). The reputation of Greek life on campus is damaged
each time issues such as these arise.
Analyze the Issue
Pro
The argument on the pro side of the issue is quite strong. It revolves largely
around the idea that banning social Greek organizations will eliminate hazing and reduce
underage alcohol consumption. As assumption to take into consideration with this point
is that social Greek organizations are the sole sources of hazing incidents and are mostly
the source of underage alcohol consumption.
Another point that is made on the pro side is that eliminating hazing would allow
and encourage students to focus on their academics and on productive clubs and
organizations on campus. The assumption here is that being involved in a Greek
organization discourages or takes a student’s time away from other things like academics
and other leadership opportunities.
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A third argument for the pro side is that Greek organizations self-segregate, so
removing these from the campus environment will minimize racial and class segregation.
In an article supporting the potential idea of Princeton University banning Greek life, the
author noted that fraternity members at the campus were “wealthier and whiter than other
students on campus. 88% of Greek Life at Princeton is white, 70% of Greeks come from
families that make more than $150,000 a year” (Lewis, 2010).
An action-suggestion on the pro side of the argument is simple: San Diego State
University should ban social Greek life in order to eliminate hazing and reduce underage
alcohol consumption. The potential problem with this is that the organizations could end
up “going underground,” meaning that they will continue to exist in the community, and
even be recognized by their national chapters. This would mean that the behavior would
continue, plus the institution would have no regulatory power or judicial repercussions
for the organizations or individuals with the organizations who perpetuate the poor
behavior.
Con
Supporters of the con side argue more tangible facts, one of which being that on
many campuses, the average fraternity GPA is higher than the average overall male
student GPA. San Diego State University is listed specifically as one of those campuses
where this statistic is represented as truth (Dorn, 2013). The assumption here is that the
difference between the two GPA numbers is statistically significant.
Another supporting statistic for the con side of the issue is higher graduation rates.
According to national statistics, 71% of all Greek members graduate, as opposed to 50%
of non-Greek members (Student Involvement, 2014). Also, according to the same
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source, leadership opportunities, both in college and beyond, are increased by
involvement in a Greek organization. The assumption with these statistics is that these
are direct causes of involvement in social Greek life.
An action-suggestion for the con side of the argument is, firstly, to continue to
allow social Greek organizations to exist and be recognized at SDSU. Furthermore, in
order to address the issues of hazing and underage alcohol consumption, the university
would create mandatory workshops for all newly initiated members of all Greek
organizations. The problem with this is, for one thing, scheduling conflicts; if a student
has class, work or family obligations, they would have to attend a make-up session. The
larger issue has to do with student investment; if the students are not invested in the
session, how much of an impact will the workshop actually make on individuals and
organizations?
State Your Position
My personal opinion is that San Diego State University should not ban social
Greek fraternities and sororities from the campus. The statistics show that involvement
in Greek life is correlated to overall higher GPA and graduation rates here at SDSU. Part
of this is likely attributed to most organizations requiring a minimum GPA and a
minimum number of study hours in order to stay active within the chapter. Also, social
Greek life tends to cultivate and strengthen friendships amongst its constituents. Strong
friendships in higher education increase validation, involvement and feelings of mattering
and belonging for students.
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Most fraternities and sororities require each member to acquire a minimum
number of community service hours for every semester in order to stay active in their
chapter. This leads to significantly higher overall contributions to the surrounding San
Diego community, as well as increased monetary support of local and national
organizations because of Greek adoption of philanthropies and involvement in
fundraisers. As is true at most institutions, at Columbia University in 2013, it was found
that the large majority of the funds raised for Relay for Life was raised by Greeks
(Fraternities and Sororities, 2014). These kinds of huge contribution to philanthropic
organizations would be greatly missed throughout campus if SDSU were to ban social
Greek organizations. One fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, even began and owns its own
philanthropy called Push America, which supports and helps to better the lives of
children and adults with disabilities (Push America, 2010).
Part of the problem of the negative views on social Greek organizations has more
to do with the media attention and skewed perspectives from outsiders of what actually
happens in Greek life than it does the true issues that exist within the system. Movies and
television shows tend to perpetuate the stereotypes that our society already has in regards
to Greek life. Often times a single hazing incident will be covered in the media for weeks
or even months at a time, while the many positive contributions, like Push America, go
largely unnoticed by the media.
In all, the benefits far outweigh the risks of continuing to allow social Greek
fraternities and sororities to exist as campus organizations, both for the individual
students as well as the campus and local communities. Students are encouraged to focus
some of their energy on their academics, they are exposed to many leadership and
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networking opportunities, and they contribute countless positive services to both local
and national philanthropic organizations.
Leadership Implications
Some of the implications for Student Affairs leadership at San Diego State
University include an institutional change in attitude toward social Greek life,
implementing a new member workshop, and promoting diversity among the
organizations.
Firstly, the institution needs to have a top-down change in attitude and perception
of social Greek life on campus. Often times, administration tends to focus on the few
negative behaviors of the organizations and the individuals affiliated with them. The first
step is to recognize the positive contributions that these organizations make to its
members, the institution and the surrounding community. Then, to take it a step further,
we need to reward them for the positive contributions that they make. For instance, the
organization that has the highest percentage of attendance at the basketball games could
be rewarded with their flag being hung in the gym for the rest of the academic year.
Secondly, the institution should implement a mandatory training session for all
newly initiated members of all Greek organizations on campus. The training session
would include information about hazing and underage drinking; it will teach the students
the realities of these activities, give examples of hazing and drinking gone wrong, and
finish with the students signing a pledge to refrain from these activities and encourage
their peers to refrain, as well.
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In order to promote diversity amongst traditionally white upper class Greek
organizations, the new members of all fraternities and sororities will also go through a
diversity training session, which will include activities and discussions based around
privilege and oppression. It will especially focus on educating the students on covert
forms of racism, classism, ableism, etc., and then it will express to the students the
personal and organizational benefits of diversifying each their organizations. This
diversity training will address the sub-issue of racial and class segregation that is viewed
to be common amongst social Greek organizations at SDSU.
Summary
Social Greek life, especially at San Diego State University, has a poor reputation.
It is viewed that there are extreme hazards attached to these organizations, and this often
overshadows the benefits of having them on campus and affiliated with the institution.
For this reason, many people wish to ban social Greek organizations from institutions
such as SDSU. However, the benefits of these organizations, both individually and
within the community, heavily outweigh the few incidents that happen that create a
perception of a hazardous and destructive lifestyle. The key is, instead of banning these
organizations, to emphasize the good that they do and the benefits that they offer, actively
work to reduce the problems that are there, and to offer up resources and information to
the students in the organizations in order to best help them succeed.
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References
Dorn, R. (2013, August 1). A List Of The 117 Campuses That Reported Higher GPAs
For Fraternity Members Than GDIs. Total Frat Move. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from
http://totalfratmove.com/a-list-of-the-117-campuses-that-reported-higher-gpas-forfraternity-members-than-gdis/
Fraternities and sororities. (2014, March 24). - WikiCU, the Columbia University wiki
encyclopedia. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from
http://www.wikicu.com/Fraternities_and_sororities
Greek Life - Judicial Records | SDSU. (n.d.). Greek Life - Judicial Records | SDSU.
Retrieved May 16, 2014, from
https://newscenter.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/sll/judicialrecords.aspx
HazingPrevention.Org. (n.d.). Hazing Prevention. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from
http://www.hazingprevention.org/hazing-information/hazing-definitions.html
Lewis, M. (2010, June 9). Princeton May Ban Greek Life, Become Civilized > daily
princetonian, greek life, president tilghman, Princeton, princeton frats | IvyGate. IvyGate
RSS. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from http://www.ivygateblog.com/2010/06/princetonmay-ban-greek-life-become-civilize/
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Push America - Abilities Teamwork Empathy Integrity. (2010, January 1). Push America
- Abilities Teamwork Empathy Integrity. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from
http://www.pushamerica.org
Student Involvement. (2014, January 1). Fraternity & Sorority National Statistics.
Retrieved May 16, 2014, from http://www.umkc.edu/getinvolved/fsa-nationalstatistics.asp