Fraternity and sorority life has been under attack for a few years now, but particularly in

the past few months negative attention has risen. According to the U.S. News and World Report,
there have been 22 fraternity-related deaths since October of 2010, with four of them being in
2017. These losses are horrible, and I send my condolences to all the families and communities
affected. Due to these losses, many people believe that fraternity and sorority life should come to
a close, leading universities to be put under pressure to stop Greek life as a whole. However, I
don’t believe this is the answer. There are many positive impacts that social Greek organizations
make on students.

When a student is a part of a social Greek organization, he or she is held to a certain

national standard. For example, in January, a video was released of Harley Barber, a white
student at the University of Alabama and a member of Alpha Phi - Beta Mu Chapter, repeatedly
saying the n-word, claiming it was okay because she was in the south. She also made a statement
about how much she values her sorority and that she “wanted to be in Alpha Phi since she was
in…high school.” This video went viral and made its way to Alpha Phi’s national headquarters.
She was then promptly expelled her from the sisterhood. However, in contrast to her sorority’s
actions, Barber was not expelled from her University. This makes it clear that if Barber had not
been affiliated, she would not have experienced appropriate repercussions.

This is only one way in which members of Greek organizations are held accountable for
their actions. There are grade requirements which are asked of the members of organizations.
Having this standard pushes Greek students to focus on their academics. On Elon University’s
campus, the fall average grade point average for fraternities was 3.136, whereas all Elon men’s
GPA was 3.068. At the University of Michigan, the average all Greek GPA is a 3.446, whereas
the university’s GPA is a 3.351. As stated by the North American Interfraternity Conference,
male Greek students overall have a higher GPA nationally than the entire male student
population. Living on a college campus, I witness brothers tutoring brothers and sisters having
study sessions. Nationally, Kappa Delta Sorority has an academic excellence chair position.
These women’s roles are to establish study hours and provide initiatives for sisters to forward
their education. Beta Theta Pi’s national strategy to achieve academic excellence on campuses is
to strive to outperform all other fraternities. Living on a college campus, I seldom hear of
instances where brothers and sisters do not support one another academically.

I am well aware that there are downsides to Greek organizations. There is a clear division
between those involved in Greek life and those who are not. Due to dues and some historic
biases, Greek life has a tendency to perpetuate elitism and cater to a higher social class.
According to Cornell’s official website, although “only 2 percent of America’s population is
involved in fraternities, 80 percent of Fortune 500 executives, 76 percent of U.S. senators and
congressmen, 85 percent of Supreme Court justices, and all but two presidents since 1825 have
been fraternity men.” This is an issue which is embedded in hundreds of years of history.

Since the start of social media, people have been taught that nothing can be private.
Hazing has always been associated with Greek life, but not until now have unaffiliated people
had the opportunity to know what goes on behind the doors of a fraternity house, thanks to social
media. Yes, people have heard stories, but Greek organizations could deny, deny, deny. However,
with photos and videos going viral, there is proof of hazing activities. In the past, hazing was
seen as a right of passage. David Burkman, an option contributor to USA Today, talks about how
hazing made him feel like he was achieving something real and earning the right to a
brotherhood. He spoke of how it made him and his brothers “a pack.” However, with recent
media attention regarding deaths in the Greek community, hazing is now seen as reckless and
inappropriate.

Many people believe that banning Greek life is the remedy to ending socioeconomic
division, as well as hazing. However, if Greek organizations are disbanded, universities will lose
channels of communication with the initial troublemakers. Having witnessed the suspension of
different organizations on different campuses, I have only seen their actions get worse. The lack
of supervision and standards lets these groups of brothers and sisters do what they did prior, but
without repercussions. With Greek organizations acknowledged by schools, there are means of
communications in place and morals to be upheld.

By having a mutual acknowledgment and respect for organizations, universities should

take advantage of the opportunity to create a conversation about improvement. With mutual
understanding with universities and national organizations, Greek organizations have the ability
to move mountains. According to St. Jude national website, Delta Delta Delta sorority has raised
more than $55 million for St. Jude’s hospital since 1999. The sorority even has a short-term care
facility named after them, the “Tri Delta Place.”

I am not asking that people overlook the deaths due to hazing in Greek life, but I ask that
people reconsider how to face these problems. Eliminating the letters of a Greek organization
does not get rid of the history and tradition, nor the brothers and sisters of these groups. It is
better to continue to acknowledge their presence and work with them towards mutualism.

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Daniela Nasser is a student at Elon University majoring in strategic communications with minors
in Jewish studies and leadership. She is a part of Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity - Theta Nu Chapter.