I was trolling the internet the other day, wanting a good solid critique on Greek life and the Greek system as a whole so that I could have a reference point for the friends I try and explain to but don't see it.. I stumbled upon this one from a student at UNC- Chapel Hill and it's been one of the better ones I've read (sad that it's been actually difficult to find a good critique... -_- )
http://thrillcitync.com/paddles-and-privilege/
Thoughts? And any suggestions for good articles that offer a well-rounded, intersectional, criticism on the institution of Greek life on college campuses. Especially with pig-headed publications like "Total Frat Move" and "Total Sorority Move".
Strangely enough, I had never thought of how exclusive Greek life is in terms of wealth. Usually with wealth comes white, heterosexual men in power. I'm surprised this hasn't been brought up more. I wonder if the Greek system would change if they dropped the ridiculous fees that go into it.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really disturbed me about this article was the fact that frats are allowed to have women stay over as well as have alcohol but not the other way around. What? That is ridiculous.
"Sex within the Greek system often seems to operate on a bartering system, one which creates artificially high demand for the affection of fraternity brothers. This is often accomplished by freely admitting women to parties while denying admission to most male non-members, particularly those they perceive as threatening their chances of getting laid that night."
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the quote I copied above is something that I have seen at SLU all the time. I get the whole, "we need to invite more girls and no outside men are allowed because we wanna get laid." I don't accept it, and I think it is really stupid but I get that it happens in the stereotypical Greek life. I just found it funny that when I first started going to SLU, I was invited to all these frat parties, yet, my boyfriend of a year and a half couldn't come with me...
Anyways, I have definitely seen the concept of wealth and how it contributes to the exclusionary activities associated with Greek life. There are a TON of reasons why I do not want to join a sorority and among those reasons is the insane amount of money that it costs each semester to be part of one. There is also an internal struggle within the sororities...my friend is a member of a sorority and they have to pay insane amounts of money to get their "little" a present. My friend was given 2 littles and spent about $50 on them. Another girl, apparently, spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on her one little. Obviously there is still an internal wealth struggle that exists. In fact, one sorority at SLU has created a rule where the presents have to be between a certain amount, like $25 - $75? But I am glad that this article really touched on the issues associated with Greek life.
Oh my god, the comment section of this article though...
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