Does Greek Life Perpetuate Rape Culture?
Addressing campus concerns about sexual assault
—By Kylee Groves
Members of sororities are 74% more likely to be sexually assaulted than other women according to The Guardian. Despite this frightening statistic, a large number of students at UMich and other universities across the US participate in Greek life every year. With a high volume of students affected by these organizations, the issue of sexual assault needs to be addressed. There are many reasons that Greek life could be connected to rape culture, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “a society or environment in which social attitudes make sexual violence appear normal or unimportant.” The mindset of Greek organizations, as well as the activities they participate in, explain the connection to sexual assault. Because of the high incidence rate of sexual violence in Greek life a solution needs to be explored, including the possibility of of banning Greek life as a whole.
Not all bad
UMich states that 5,425 students were a part of Greek life for Winter 2024, which is 16% of the undergraduate population. Many of these students feel that Greek life has enhanced their college experience through friendships and networking. Zack Vigliotti, a sophomore at UMich and a rush chair for Pi Kappa Phi, said, “A lot of stress that kids feel in their first year at college stems from a lack of social life and having that taken care of for you, in my opinion, gives you a big advantage.” Members are also invited to live in the organization’s house with their fellow members and attend exciting events throughout their college years. Greek organizations also help their communities by raising money for charity through events such as Winterfest here at UMich. Despite these benefits, if there is a connection between Greek life and sexual assault, it is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Are Greek life and sexual assault connected?
Statistics suggest that sexual assault and Greek life are connected and members of Greek life at UMich seem to agree that sexual assault is a reoccuring issue in fraterinites and sororities. Isabella Santana, a sophomore at UMich and member of Kappa Delta, agreed that there may be a correlation, stating, “I only hear stories of girls getting assaulted at frats.” It is common for young women to be told cautionary tales of sexual assaults at fraternity parties to warn them of the dangers that accompany those spaces. Almost as soon as I stepped on campus I was informed which fraternities were dangerous and which fraternities were “safe,” along with horror stories of what could happen if I were not careful. The stories told are not without merit; as the LA Times reported men in frats are three times more likely to commit rape than men outside of fraternities. These findings suggest a correlation between Greek life and sexual assault and display a need for change in Greek organizations.
Reasons for this problem
There are a myriad of reasons for the higher levels of sexual assault in Greek life. The members of Greek life that were interviewed unanimously agreed that the excessive drinking occurring at Greek events is one of the reasons for the sexual assault. Vigliotti revealed that drinking and drug use is so common in Greek life that “if you don’t participate in these [things] you may feel like an outsider.” The Journal of Adolescent Health found that male fraternity members are more likely to binge drink than other men; this behavior may lead to thoughtless actions and bad decisions which can lead to higher levels of sexual assault.
The mindset perpetuated in Greek life could also be seen as a problem. A facet of this mindset is objectification of women, seen through the ranking of sororities based on their “hotness.” The reduction of women’s worth to their looks is a problematic practice that demonstrates where the value is placed in Greek life. Women are expected to dress up and are often sexualized at the events thrown, which is concerning that the sexualization and objectification of women is part of the mindset that leads to rape culture. An article in the Journal of American College Health asserts that “adherence to rape myths and stereotypical gender roles,” such as objectification of women, “is an indicator of one’s likelihood of victim blaming and willingness to protect perpetrators of sexual violence, or worse, potential to engage in violence.”
The Greek organizations may also adhere to these problematic, stereotypical gender roles by encouraging men to be more aggressive in order to show dominance over non-Greek people and other fraternities. While “Jeremy,” a sophomore in Greek life, said that it is not true of all men in Greek life, he did feel that fraternities encourage aggressive behavior that Santana said “goes hand in hand with having power in sexual situations.” By encouraging this behavior, fraternities are inadvertently perpetuate rape culture.
Another problem with the mindset regarding sexual assault in Greek life is the trivialization of sexual assault when it occurs. Santana said that, though she does not feel sexual assault is normalized, she does feel that it is trivialized because when something happens “everyone whispers about it but then moves on.” She feels that the incidents are not given the priority that they deserve. DPSS in its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report stated that there were 283 events of sexual assault reported to the U-M Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Center in 2022. These many incidents may be swept under the rug to avoid a negative look from the parties involved. According to Santana, women may be encouraged not to report assault as it would give the sorority a “bad look,” while “Jeremy” said incidents are not made a big deal because it could look bad on Greek life as a whole. By discouraging reporting and placing responsibility on anyone other than the perpetrator rape culture is perpetuated through victim blaming.
Potential solutions
Sexual assault is obviously a serious problem that needs to be addressed to ensure the safety of all students. The fraternities and sororities at UMich have created safeguards in an attempt to protect the members of Greek life. “Jeremy” says that his fraternity always has “sober monitors” at their parties and took classes on sexual assault prevention and Santana said that they also have sober members at the party who can assist anyone who may need help. Santana says she feels there needs to be more awareness of this issue and the incidents need to be made a “bigger deal” as they can sometimes be brushed over. Greek organizations do not want sexual assault to take place or be associated with their organization so may they attempt to solve the problem without the university administration’s help.
But sexual assault continues to be a problem in Greek life, showing that the university needs to take action for this situation to be rectified. If the problem cannot be fixed by closed drinks, sober monitors, and prevention of drugging should Greek life be shut down as a whole? Many students across different campuses feel that Greek organizations do more harm than good. Maddison Linker, a non-Greek junior at UMich, expressed her feeling that the best solution is to “get rid of Greek life.” She stated that, while she feels social organizations are acceptable, Greek organizations have a tradition of problematic mindsets including classism, racism, homophobia, and sexism which promotes exclusivity. However, this may be a difficult solution to accomplish with The Guardian even calling it a “pipe dream.”
Could Greek life be banned?
The evidence that Greek life perpetuates rape culture leads many to ask why it is still around and so popular despite its downfalls. One reason is because of the longstanding tradition that Greek life has. The college of William and Mary says that it was home to the first fraternity,started in 1776, which means that there is almost 250 years of history backing Greek life.
Another reason for the continued operation of Greek life is the popularity of these organizations. Many students dream of joining a fraternity or sorority because of its commonality in American culture and would be upset if that were not an option.
One final reason could be the large amount of money that universities receive from Greek organizations and their alumni. Greek organizations are historically home to many wealthy students, as a result of the expensive chapter dues and lavish lifestyle that students are sometimes expected to maintain. This means that the Greek organizations have a large amount of money and brings in money for schools. The University of New Mexico estimates that “75% of all money donated to universities” by alumni is from Greek alumni. Because of the popularity and profitability of Greek life, it would be difficult to ban it from campuses even though it seems to be contributing to the serious problem of sexual assault.
The issue of Greek life and its correlation to sexual assault is a topic that needs be addressed in all universities. Despite the importance of protecting their students, Umich and other universities seem to brush over the incidences of sexual violence in Greek life. Greek life has many benefits and enhances students lives, but change needs to be made throughout the organizations to prevent harm to students. If the changes do not solve this problem administrators, members, and students need to decide if the benefits of Greek life outweigh the harm that is done to sexual assault victims.
Feature Photo by Nima Sarram on Unsplash