The RP’s Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of College

The presence of fraternities and sororities on college campuses is a distinctive element seen at a variety of schools in America. What is the greek system all about? Why should you join one? [Petersons]

Greek life can vary widely in the type of presence it holds on campus, in which kinds of students join and in what the houses as a whole focus on (community service, parties, academics). There are many ranking lists of which universities have the “best” greek life. Consider one of the more comprehensive options here. [College Prowler]

Greek life has an impressive presence in our country’s history. Some interesting facts include that since the founding of the first fraternity, all but three presidents and two vice presidents have been fraternity men. Also, 85% of Fortune 500 company executives are greek. Read here for other interesting statistics. [UW Greek]

Despite the many positive benefits that Greek organizations can provide, the primary negative attribute associated with them is hazing. Throughout the past few decades, there have been intermittent stories of aggressive hazing techniques that have gone as far as leading to deaths of chapter members. Although it is not certain whether these practices are truly widespread, the instances which the media has picked up on clearly indicate some amount of excessive hazing is occurring. Anti-hazing rules have been instituted across the country, but it is difficult to measure how effective these actually are. Certain schools, such as Cornell, are now taking more extreme stances against hazing in the hopes of eradicating the practice once and for all. Read an article here written by the university’s president. [NYTimes]

While hazing has traditionally been associated with fraternities, a light is now being cast upon sororities. While the types of hazing are distinct from those experienced by fraternity men, they are troublesome nonetheless. Read about some experiences that have been documented in recent years. [ABC News]