UNC should abolish Greek life
Fraternity Court at UNC Chapel Hill. Photo by Cy Neff https://www.dailytarheel.com/multimedia/frat-court
Last month, the house mother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at UNC resigned after learning that members of the fraternity still plan to host parties this fall despite the pandemic-- prompting outrage across the UNC community. This information, coupled with a growing movement to address racial and class inequality in America this summer, have sparked calls from students to ban Greek life-- and rightfully so. Fraternities, and White Greek life as a whole, partake in a range of activities from sexual assault to hazing that harm students and contribute to an overall negative campus culture. It’s time for UNC, and all colleges, to abolish Greek life.
When it comes to sexual assault on college campuses, fraternities serve as the main sites of the problem, often even teaching and encouraging rape culture. At UNC, drugged cocktails consumed at fraternities are so common they’re nicknamed “knocktails.” While most members of a fraternity will not commit an act of sexual assault or violence, statistics show that fraternity life will enable the men who are prone to commit these acts. A study done at Ohio University in 2005 is one of three finding that men in fraternities are 300% more likely to commit rape than men who are not in fraternities.
This problem isn’t new, and it isn’t going away. There’s a reason women at UNC know within their first weeks which frats to avoid. Universities may put in place programs like “Safe Haven” at UNC, and create crisis centers for students who are victims of sexual assault, but it’s not enough. Colleges and universities need to look towards the source of this problem to prevent sexual assault from happening, instead of just giving students the resources to deal with it after the fact.
Greek life also faces serious problems when it comes to hazing, a series of reckless, sadistic behaviors in which fraternity pledges are often forced to participate in order to become members. Hazing, while “against the rules” at most universities, is troublingly prominent in the Greek community. In February 2017, 19 year old Tim Piazza was forced to drink a “life-threatening” amount of alcohol, fell down the stairs, and died while pledging Beta Theta Pi at Penn State University. His death was followed by three more in 2017 that were associated with hazing at various universities. In fall of 2019, there were five fraternity related deaths by November. In an op-ed published in the News and Observer, the former Sigma Nu president at UNC elaborated on the dangerous behaviors surrounding hazing at UNC. His op-ed came to the conclusion that the only reason more hazing related deaths haven’t occurred at UNC is pure luck.
Greek life is also plagued by discrimination on the basis of race and wealth. Until 2013, sororities at the University of Alabama had only admitted 1 Black person in 112 years. White fraternities are routinely caught exhibiting racist behavior. Last year, a reporter from the News and Observer unearthed a UNC yearbook from 1979 that featured photos of Chi Phi fraternity members dressed up as the KKK. This problem is not ancient history, fraternities have been caught performing acts of racism or racist harassment in 2015, 2018, 2019, and as recently as this past March -- and that’s just what’s been caught on camera.
Greek life is designed to almost exclusively admit wealthy, White members into its ranks, providing networking opportunities and connections to a select few. Former members of Greek life serve in some of the most powerful positions in this country. 44% of US Presidents, 85% of Supreme Court Justices, and 76% of U.S. Senators have been fraternity members. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper was himself a Chi Psi at UNC. These alumni bring money and status to the schools that they graduate from-- former members of Greek life make up 75% of all donations to universities. Universities like to take actions that will make their donors happy, and it’s likely that universities keep Greek life around to appease their donors. However, allowing for an unsafe campus environment in the name of fundraising is a sorry and dangerous excuse for a development strategy.
Fraternities provide a location for students to commit crimes and a community of people who will encourage, or at least not object, to the crimes being committed. Without Greek life there would not be a university sanctioned central location--where first-year women are targeted, their entrance and exit from the location and their alcohol consumption controlled solely by men--for these behaviors to occur. Despite what they claim, universities know exactly what Greek life promotes and fosters. It is impossible to reform an institution as entrenched in classism, racism, and misogyny as Greek life is-- it must be abolished. By abolishing Greek life, universities would definitively reject the negative ideals and behaviors that Greek life thrives on.