It has become an all too familiar story in which a university has suspended Greek life after a pattern of appalling scandals. Last week it was West Virginia University, which was soon forced to cease all fraternity and sorority activities indefinitely after a series of arrests in early November and the death of a student Friday.
This was not the first incident to occur within WVU’s Greek life; the university suspended its Sigma Chi chapter two weeks ago after 19 pledges faced arrest or citations for alcohol possession, according to NBC news. To add further damage, the pledges reportedly told authorities they were members of a different fraternity, which could result in obstruction of justice charges.
WVU is adding its name to a long list of universities that have taken action against Greek life. Earlier this month, Johns Hopkins University suspended a fraternity and banned all open fraternity parties following an incident in which a 16-year-old reported being raped at one such party. MIT had to restrict fraternity parties of more than 49 attendees after a woman fell from the window of a frat house. Meanwhile, Amherst College took a step further earlier this year and prohibited Greek life entirely.
The simple solution to the recurring incidents that happen within the fraternities and sororities is to shut down their activities. Initially, this seems like an easy fix, especially with a study from the University of Oregon, which found that 38 percent of women in the Greek system were victims of at least one attempted or completed rape, compared to 15.3 percent of women outside it.
However, nationwide bans could potentially drive more parties to relocate off campus and establish an adversarial relationship between students and administrators. In addition to this, it is not certain that placing a ban on any social activity is a successful deterrent for fraternities. The Journal of Primary Prevention published a study in 2006 that discovered that even forbidding alcohol within a chapter rarely results in a decrease in drinking and, in some cases, may even lead to increased alcohol use. A nationwide ban would also be unjust to the chapters that are fulfilling the standards of what Greek life is meant to uphold.
It would be naïve to think that ending Greek life would result in an end to sexual assault, drinking or partying on campus. It may appear that Greek life itself is the problem, but I would say that blame is often misplaced; fraternities seem to attract much of the blame due to the fact that they are often the centers of social life on campuses. It is important to note that the incident that occurred at a chapter at John Hopkins University involved people who were not affiliated with Greek life or even the university itself. The perilous situation we find ourselves in is not a Greek life problem, but rather a community-wide problem. Blame shouldn’t be misguided toward Greek organizations, but to campuses as a whole.
