Greek Life: Too Much Partying?

Rachael Pincsak
Rhetoric 003: 050

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 College is simply a time during which one can open their educational horizons, meet new

people, and become more independent, but let’s get real here. It’s Iowa City. Every weekend

arrests and citations sky rocket as cops lurk the streets searching for drunks and underage

partiers. Although it seems a great percentage of the university’s population like to go out and

party on the weekends, there are organizations in particular that clearly appear to know how to

have a fun, alcohol-filled weekend; Greek life. University officials constantly bicker over how to

minimize Greek life partying, while others do not seem to think anything of it and think all of the

partying is just a way to keep an active social life. Of course, not all sororities or fraternities are

caught up in the party scene as much as others, though. Some specific Greek communities are at

a higher risk of being kicked off campus for increased arrest and citations, while some do not

even have to consider this as a means of punishment. A single fraternity house could have a party

every weekend, while the one across the street from it might never even have one. The university

makes new policies for Greeks to follow almost every semester to try and control the party goers.

Is this really necessary, though? Many Greek students do not understand how the university can

come to the assumption that Greeks party too much. A vast majority of the people who receive

tickets over the weekend are not even a part of Greek life. Is Greek partying getting to be too

much?

For those who think Greeks party too much, they certainly have legitimate arguments.

Many university students here at Iowa can simply find out about weekend fraternity parties by

having a diverse social capital. Texts fly as people gossip and discuss their plans, and word

spreads like wild fire when members in a fraternity acknowledge that they will be having a party.

One sorority member finds out and before you know it, every sorority is getting ready to crash

the designated frat house. Usually, there is not only one fraternity having a party regardless, so a

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student has many options in terms of what kind of party they are looking for. Sometimes, all of

this partying may lead a student to decide not to join Greek life. Back in the year 2009 at the

University of Iowa, Matt Boyle, a junior at the time, thought he had found a home at Delta Chi,

but he was wrong. In the beginning of his initiation process, he was enthused because as a

potential pharmacy student at the time, the idea of succeeding appealed to him. “I liked the

people,” he said. “They had the same mindset as me. I felt like they were accepting of all kinds

of people” (Moon, 2010). As he moved further into the process, he soon noticed that “all the

guys were way into sex and drugs and drinking. It just didn’t seem that they gave a damn about

their grades” (Moon, 2010). Once realizing Delta Chi was not for him, he dropped. He was

content that he did, because “his chapter was ranked 14th out of 18 fraternities at the University

of Iowa by cumulative chapter GPA the spring after he dropped the house” (Moon, 2010). Grade

point averages have always been used as a means of argument to distinguish whether or not

partying is involved too much in Greek life. In an article “Does being involved in Greek Life

Affect GPA?” published in 2012, Lindsay Yates surveyed 46 Greek/ non- Greek students to

determine whether being in a fraternity or sorority had any effect on grades. She took into

consideration each individuals study hours, nights out, classes missed per week, and whether or

not the individual had a 3.0 or higher. She found the more nights a student went out, the less

study hours they were likely to complete. Less completed study hours can equal a lower GPA.

Due to the fact that the Greek average GPA may not be as high as the non- Greek average GPA,

and the actuality that Greek- related parties can easily be tracked down, it may not be difficult for

people to believe Greek members do party too much.

Along with a GPA decrease, people often object to the Greek life party culture for other

reasons such as hazing and the sense that a party culture promotes the wrong understanding of

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what college is about. Let’s look at the basics. Why do people ultimately go to college? In these

times, people need college in order to create a layout for the future. Students do not come to

college to party. They come to college so they can better themselves; partying is merely a bonus.

This so called bonus may lead to a problem. In high school, many students who may want to try

drinking are not allowed to because of parental supervision; therefore, parties may not happen as

often as parties in college do. Once a student comes to college, their life has the possibility of

turning upside down. Soon, a student may realize that alcohol, fake IDs, and drugs, such as

marijuana, are not hard to come by. If a student comes from a home where rules are strictly

enforced, such as the ‘no alcohol or drugs’ rule, that student may come to college and go off the

deep end trying everything they possibly could. Nearly 30,000 students attend the University of

Iowa. Within those students, peer pressure lurks, especially in Greek life. Once a member, you

gain a sense of closeness between the other members within your chapter. People start to trust

one another more, but this may not always be a positive aspect. Hazing is nothing new; being

penalized for something has been around since the Middle Ages. An anonymous authority

member who attended college explains “… a newcomer to the university was an… uncivilized

man, who had first to be polished before he could become a regular member of the university…”

(James, 2002). This idea is very similar to what some, but not all, sorority and fraternities

believe. New members must engage in a humiliating activity of some sort in order to fully

belong to Greek life. Unfortunately, hazing continues to increase yearly not only at Iowa, but

across the nation. It is sad to believe that “… students die at the hands of other students [yearly],

often… involving massive amounts of alcohol” (Writers, 2009). Between hazing at parties to the

idea that Greek life parties skew the general idea of what college is really suppose to be about,

sororities and fraternities may not look so good in the eyes of the beholder.

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 With nearly 1900 students involved in Greek life at the University of Iowa, all 40

sororities and fraternities are packed with many different types of individuals. If you compare

every sorority or fraternity to the others, you will find overall GPAs and student involvement to

be very different amongst many. Based on the University of Iowa Fraternity and Sorority

Academic Report from spring 2010, you can see the GPA ranking of every individual Greek

organization on campus. Kappa Alpha Psi had an overall GPA of 1.53, while Alpha Phi Alpha

had an overall GPA of 3.59. Based on the idea that a high GPA usually requires a greater amount

of studying, one can say Alpha Phi Alpha most likely studied more than Kappa Alpha Psi. More

studying usually leads to less party time. Sorority data, on the other hand, also represents a wide

range of GPAs. From the data provided through the website, it can be inferred that some

sororities and fraternities like to party more than others. Although GPA is an important

responsibility, Greek life also knows they must meet the activity requirement as well as the arrest

and citation constraint. Not only are Greek organizations required to hold events for their

philanthropy and attend 6 non- alcoholic socials and 2 educational events per semester, but they

also must keep the arrest and citation rate below the overall rate for the university at all times. If

these requirements are not met, the organization’s house may be kicked off campus. Why does

this matter? If a Greek organization, such as Delta Delta Delta, gets kicked off campus, it only

affects them, right? Wrong. Tri Delta’s philanthropy has been the same since the early 1970s; to

raise money for Children’s Cancer Charities. Since 1999, Tri Deltas across the nation have raised

more than 17 million dollars. Every year, the U of Iowa Deltas give money to the hospital right

here in Iowa City in hopes to help provide better hospital equipment. If the Tri Delta house were

to be kicked off campus, they would no longer be allowed to hold events to raise money for their

philanthropy. This would affect the amount of funds the hospital receives yearly. Philanthropies

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for every individual Greek organization are different; therefore, if a Greek house gets kicked off

campus, it may be a serious concern for the organization involved in their philanthropy. Greeks

are fully aware of the punishments that can be placed on them, yet some still continue to push the

limits. Almost every year, a Greek house is forced to leave campus mostly due to arrest rates

being ridiculously high. From the data provided on the academic report and the activity

requirements that some Greek organizations do not always meet, one can argue that some Greeks

party more than others, but not all choose to.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, many students as well as school officials do not

think Greeks party too much; people see the partying as a way to keep an active social life.

While non- Greek students spend their time doing many diverse activities during the weekend, a

specific fraternity usually pairs up with a sorority on a Friday or Saturday night to party. During

these social events, it is specifically Greek students. This allows for Greek members to get to

know each other and make stronger friendships. Others look at the partying as a simple means

for members to temporarily escape the stresses they experience. According to a student author

overview, “Greeks already do a great deal of community service, and their names can be found

attached to many community activities, [like] organizing a dance marathon” (College Prowler,

University of Iowa). Partying goes on every weekend regardless if it is a fraternity party or not.

The student overview also says, “… you won’t lose many opportunities for drinking or partying

if you choose not to become involved [in Greek life]” (College Prowler, University of Iowa). A

student does not need to have friends in Greek life to go out and party on a weekend, neither. Not

only do Greeks help out the community, but on the University of Iowa Fraternity and Sorority

Academic Report for spring 2010, the overall Greek averages compared to the overall non-

Greek averages were slightly higher between the men and the women. This numerical GPA

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evidence supports the claim that Greek life does not consist of too much partying. In an article

called “Going Greek for Grades” published in 2010, the author discusses how fraternities and

sororities are a bit stricter on their probation GPA mark; a 2.5 in Greek Life is probation while

through the university, a 2.0 is. This shows that fraternities and sororities do try to keep up their

GPAs through means of punishment and increased study hours. Christine, the president of a

sorority, admits “… some [fraternities or sororities] pride themselves on never or rarely partying,

some pride themselves on partying all the time… the majority are in the middle, not really

caring… about parties. Parties [do not] consume their lives” (Yahoo! Answers, 2008). Greek

members will party over the weekend, but for many, academics will still be essential. Besides,

how could Greeks be partying too much when they are busy academically succeeding and

helping out the community most of the time?

College is a time to branch out into life while staying academically focused. Whether

people believe Greek life to be too wild and superficial or not, there is evidence to back up both

arguments including every opinion in between. As stated in the college search made by students

for students, “Many [people] involved in Greek life think that it is the best part… while others

say Greek life is like a cult and that members need to get out more and meet new people”

(College Prowler, University of Iowa). Greek life may not be for everybody, but many people

who are in it enjoy it. Between the stresses of maintaining a certain GPA to preserve membership

to the weekly meetings and non- academic requirements, Greek members need to have some fun;

it’s college. Regardless of what people think, sororities and fraternities will always party on

whether it’s too much or simply not enough.

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 Bibliography

(2008). Yahoo! Answers. In Sororities: are they worth it? Do they really party all the time?.

Retrieved February 26, 2012, from

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080213143417AATCVwf.

College Prowler. In University of Iowa – Greek Life. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from

http://collegeprowler.com/university-of-iowa/greek-life/.

The University of Iowa. In Fraternity and Sorority Academic Report Spring 2010. Retrieved

February 26, 2012, from

http://uiowagreeks.celect.org/uploads/files/0008/8410/published_spring10_gpa.pdf.

James. (June 1, 2002). Greek Chat. In History of Greek Hazing. Retrieved March 6, 2012, from

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/archive/index.php/t-18797.html.

Jimenez, G. (2001). Department of Psychology. In EFFECT OF PARTICIPATION IN

GREEK ORGANIZATIONS ON THE G.P.A. AND SELF-ESTEEM IN COLLEGE

STUDENTS. Retrieved February 21, 2012, from

http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/251.php.

Moon, L. (November 30, 2010). Stories from the heart(land). In Going Greek for grades.

Retrieved February 21, 2012, from

http://wiki.uiowa.edu/display/stories/Going+Greek+for+grades,+by+Lindsey+Moon.

Writers, S. (November 29, 2009). Online Colleges. In Top Ten Worst Greek Hazing Scandals

and Stories. Retrieved March 6, 2012, from

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/11/29/top-10-worst-greek-hazing-scandals-stories/.

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Yates, L. (February 15, 2012). StatCrunch. In Does being involved in Greek Life affect GPA?.

Retrieved February 21, 2012, from

http://www.statcrunch.com/5.0/viewreport.php?reportid=23822&groupid=657.

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