Though a major portion of high school students
participate in binge drinking on the weekends, studies show that a much larger
number of students abuse alcohol in college.
Some of the consequences of alcohol abuse are: missed classes, failure
to turn in assignments, motor vehicle accidents, unprotected sex, violence, and
many more. For years, alcohol
consumption has been viewed as somewhat of a rite of passage, but it is clear
that the consequences of alcohol abuse suggest otherwise. Studies show that one of the strongest
determinations of abusing alcohol in college is whether or not the student is
in a fraternity or a sorority. While Greek life promotes academic excellence
and a higher standard of student conduct, research suggests that Greek life
actually produces the opposite.
The main focus of this particular
study was to observe if students involved in Greek life at a university consume
alcohol more frequently and in larger quantities than those who are not members
of a fraternity or sorority. The study
also focused on the consequences and behaviors of students involved in Greek
life, versus those who are not. In order to assess this, a 20-page
questionnaire was created and given to students at 140 different
universities. The types of questions on
the questionnaire included: whether the student was a member of a fraternity or
sorority, what kinds of consequences the student had experienced from drinking
alcohol (i.e. missed classes, damaged property, unplanned sexual behaviors,
uncompleted assignments), and what kinds of consequences the student had
experienced from their peers consuming alcohol (i.e. were bullied or insulted,
physically hit, interrupted study time).
When the results were turned in, the students were divided into three
different groups; fraternity or sorority members who lived in their
organizations’ house, fraternity or sorority members who lived somewhere other
than their organizations’ house, and students not affiliated with a fraternity
or sorority (Wechsler &
Kuh & Davenport, 2009).
One of the main findings of this
particular study was that students who were members of a fraternity or sorority
were more likely to believe that drinking and partying were considered
important activities in college. Many of
the students who completed the questionnaire indicated that heavy drinking was
a serious problem on their campus.
Regarding binge drinking (consuming five or more drinking
consecutively), 89% of residential fraternity members engage in binge drinking,
71% of nonresidential fraternity members recorded binge drinking, and only 45%
of non-fraternity members. The findings
on binge drinking were very similar with women in sororities. The study also
found that men who were binge drinkers in high school, continued their binge
drinking in a fraternity in college, while women who were not binge drinkers in
high school, became binge drinkers in college upon joining a sorority. Women members of a sorority also indicated
that sexual assaults due to alcohol abuse were an ever-growing problem
Fraternity and sorority members
reported experiencing unwanted consequences from drinking much more so than the
students uninvolved in Greek life.
Almost twice as many fraternity members reported getting behind in their
studies as a result of drinking than non-fraternity men. Fraternity and sorority members were also
more likely to drink and drive after binge drinking than nonmembers. Members of Greek life also reported
interrupted sleep and study time more often than nonmembers, as well as having
to consistently take care of someone who had a little too much to drink. Surprisingly, students involved in Greek life
were less likely to get in trouble with the law for alcohol use than
nonmembers
There are multiple implications of
these new findings in this study. Underage
drinking, creating fake IDs to obtain alcohol, and irresponsible conduct
related to alcohol abuse are not only tolerated in fraternities and sororities,
but encouraged. Greek life was initially
intended to enhance academic success, but strongly fails to do so. Because of this, some institutions have
withdrawn formal recognition of Greek life altogether. Other implications include discussing the
topic of alcohol abuse at a national level and addressing the behaviors of
students in fraternities and sororities as a whole rather than
individually. To redefine the binge
drinking, partying culture of Greek life, presidents and officials on the board
of the universities need to take action to prevent such behaviors. The leaders of the university should work
hard in changing the social culture of fraternities and sororities into one of
higher academic and social excellence
One
of the main limitations of this research was that the study did not take into
account Christian fraternities and sororities.
While the majority of fraternities and sororities have no religious
affiliation, there is a small subgroup that abstains from the use of alcohol
altogether. Another limitation of the
study was that it could have been easy for the students to lie on their
questionnaires. This study was entirely
based off of the answers of questionnaires, while little observation was done.
Overall,
it is evident from this study that fraternity and sorority members are far more
encouraged to engage in excessive alcohol consumption than nonmembers. This puts Greek life members at a much greater
risk for unwanted problems and consequences due to drinking than
nonmembers. Serious action regarding
Greek life needs to occur by the leaders of each individual university to
ensure that illegal and dangerous behavior does not continue and that students
in Greek life are reaching their full potential instead of hindering it.
References
Wechsler, H., & Kuh, G., &
Davenport, A. E. (2009). Fraternities, sororities, and binge drinking: Results
from a national study of American colleges. NASPA
Journal, 46(3).
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