Fraternities and sororities

Colleges are rape-prone cultures with high rates of sexual victimization. Fraternities' and sororities' relationships with sexual assault are consistent themes in literature focusing on sexual violence among college students. Previous research suggests that fraternity men are more likely to endorse rape-supportive attitudes compared with non-Greek men or sorority women. The present study examines rape-supportive attitudes as well as rape and sexual assault victimization in college students with a focus on gender and Greek-life (i.e., involvement in fraternities or sororities) status variables. College students (N = 1,002) completed a survey including the Token Resistance to Sex Scale (TRSS), Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale– Short Form (IRMA-S), and items related to past experiences of nonconsensual...

The study examines how the TFM Girls Instagram account, along with its followers, shapes and maintains dominant discourses of masculinity. Mixed-method analyses revealed that women were depicted more in bikinis, posed in overtly sexually suggestive poses, excluded the women’s eyes and faces, and included predominately White, fit, big-breasted women. There was a positive correlation between the number of likes/comments with breast size. There were also instances of misogyny and objectification manifested in the men’s comments attached to the photographs. The results highlight Instagram as a digital extension of fraternal social spaces. TFM Girls reinforces hegemonic masculinity on a macro-level by allowing virtual linkages among fraternity members across the United States and by fostering a national online frat house ripe with misogyny and objectification.

Open access at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305118760809

This study explored the relationship between potential time commitments of fraternity and sorority members and academic performance. A secondary analysis of data collected using the Fraternity/Sorority Experience Survey revealed statistically significant relationships between cumulative grade point average and chapter involvement, engagement in academic activities, part-time work, and alcohol use. Chapter involvement, engagement in academic activities, and part-time work were positively associated with academic performance. Alcohol use was negatively related to academic performance. Implications for practice include establishing a culture of academic achievement in fraternal organizations, minimizing the use of alcohol, identifying and approaching academically at-risk members, and establishing initiatives to support the academic achievement of fraternity members.

Using a longitudinal survey of college students from over 400 institutions and a propensity score weighting framework, we examine the impacts of college fraternity and sorority membership on academic outcomes and general facets of the college experience. Our results suggest a mixed academic eect for males and a positive academic effect for females. For both genders, we nd evidence that membership increases the likelihood of graduating on time and graduate school aspirations. For males, however, there appears to be a small, negative impact on grades. For both genders, we nd that Greek membership increases the frequency of alcohol and cigarette consumption and decreases religious convictions and religious service attendance. Lastly, Greek organization members are more likely to participate in student government, perform volunteer work, and begin their careers immediately following graduation.

The author summarises the results of his search for parallels between the Armenian epic “Sasna cṙer” (“Daredevils of Sassoun”) and the Mahābhārata. The comparative study has revealed considerable similarity in the "ethnographic substratum" of both epics, particularly that relating to the archaic social organization mirrored by the epic. The earliest layer of both the Armenian and the Indian epics preserves the memory of a rural, largely pastoral society, in which an important role was played by young warrior brotherhoods. In the Armenian epic, this is indicated by recurrent motifs: the young heroes' rampage followed by exile, the foundation of their own outpost in the backwoods, young warrior brotherhoods, their defense of herds and warding off enemy attacks, battle frenzy (a common characteristic of all the Sassoun heroes), their immutable mentor and leader ("uncle") Keri Toros, allusions to orgiastic feasts, traces of premarital freedom by young men and women, etc. Among the Armenians, these motifs were supported by the existence until recent times of the institution of youth age-set groups, described by ethnographers. A comparative study of the Armenian epic reveals its hitherto unnoticed socio-historical aspects. Its wider use for studying other epic traditions (not only Indo-European but also those of other peoples inhabiting the Caucasus and the Eurasian steppes) will contribute to Comparative epic studies.

The purpose of this study was to compare the experiences of students residing in on-campus housing with those of students residing in fraternity/sorority housing, specifically to explore the differences in academic success, alcohol use, and perceptions of the living environment as a function of students’ living arrangement and gender. The researcher sampled 772 respondents from the aggregate results of five institutions that administered the ACUHO-I/EBI Resident Assessment and the AFA/EBI Fraternity/Sorority Assessment during the 2009—10 academic year. Differences by living arrangement and gender were tested using a rank-based factorial analysis of variance. The results revealed several significant differences. Implications for practice include encouraging students to review their academic behaviors, promoting active engagement within residence halls, establishing improved safety measures in fraternity and sorority houses, promoting academic engagement in fraternities, and reducing the prevalence of alcohol use in fraternities and sororities.

Fraternities and sororities promote the ideals of scholarship, leadership, service, and friendship. Little or no research, however, has demonstrated that college students who join fraternal organizations actually grow in these areas as a result of their fraternal experience. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess the extent to which fraternity and sorority members experienced gains in the four outcome areas. The researcher analyzed the aggregate results of 15 Southeastern institutions that administered the AFA/EBI Fraternity/Sorority Assessment during the 2008/2009 academic year. The results revealed the respondents did experience gains related to the espoused values of scholarship, leadership, service, and friendship. Recommendations for improving the experiences of fraternity and sorority members include encouraging members to spend more time preparing for class and developing the study skills and career-related abilities of members.

Fraternal organizations hold a storied place in the Western world. Sometimes romanticized and occasionally framed as malevolent and controlling forces, fraternal organizations are often thought to influence, if not rule, the social order from the shadows. Membership in these organizations is often simultaneously revered and misunderstood. The reverence toward these organizations is both a product and a cause of recent popular cultural fascination with the secret world of fraternal orders.

What informs an organization's identity? Older organizations have annals that record the history for posterity, but what of newer organizations? Their history has yet to be made and much of it is as open to negotiation as their future unfolds. To explore this contingency, I delve into one organization, a young fraternity, during an occasion in which memories are exchanged and organizational identity is expanded. What I discovered elucidates the power of living memory and the fecundity of an occasion such as a national convention for keeping it alive.

Fraternity/sorority standards have been represented as the answer to the Call for Values Congruence authored by the Franklin Squared Group (2003). The outcome of this document was a proliferation of various styles and models of standards programs utilized to establish community practices with the overarching goal of facilitating values-based fraternity and sorority campus communities. However, fraternity/sorority standards programs answering this call have established higher standards through different methods. This study solicited standards programs from institutions from across the United States. Data from 31 standards programs were collected, cataloged, and analyzed through qualitative inquiry with the use of a rubric developed to establish a typology. Five categories resulted from analysis: evaluation,
minimum standards, accreditation, awards, and comprehensive. Implications of the study are included along with future directions for research.

Les raids scandinaves qui ont frappé le littoral de la Manche et les bassins de la Seine et de la Loire entre le milieu du IXe et le premier tiers du Xe siècle ont eu pour principale conséquence de vider le Nord de la Neustrie de sa population ecclésiastique et monastique. La reconquête religieuse des Xe et XIe siècles est marquée par le formidable dynamisme de plusieurs mouvements réformateurs bénédictins venus notamment de Bourgogne (Cluny et Saint-Bénigne de Dijon) et de l’Orléanais
(Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire). L’un des facteurs essentiel à cet élan réformateur est l’extraordinaire mobilité des moines chargés de mettre en place leurs coutumes ou/et leur liturgie dans d'autres communautés religieuses. Une telle mobilité ne manque pas de surprendre : la Règle de saint Benoît, qui organise et rythme la vie communautaire des moines, est censée leur imposer une stabilité de lieu. Au-delà de motivations purement liturgiques et spirituelles, des associations confraternelles ont donc été créées entre les communautés religieuses afin de contourner cette contrainte forte et dans le but de permettre une circulation plus aisée des moines chargés de propager les réformes. L’un des objectifs de ces confraternités était de permettre l'accueil des membres associées au sein des espaces de vie communautaire de l'établissement hôte (choeur, cloître, chapitre et réfectoire), comme s'il faisait partie intégrante de la communauté. Ce processus réformateur, s'appuyant sur des confraternités favorisant les mobilités monastiques, est perceptible en Normandie à partir de la seconde moitié du Xe siècle mais s'observe surtout au cours du siècle suivant ; suite à la conquête de
1066, il atteint bientôt l’Angleterre.

Schlaraffia is a live action role-playing game (LARPG) that is played continuously since 1859. It contains impro-theatre aspects, is based on colaborative gaming, the principles of friendliness, even friendship, and (amateur) arts by employing humour, creativity and cultural learning, using the German language. The setting for the game satirises assumed medieval courts and more recent administrative pomp and forms. The game does not fully recognise winners or losers, nor does it deliver any services. Each session of the game consists of two parts, the first focusing on mock-administering the own chapter’s business, the second is centered on more artistic, mostly literary, culture. Music and songs are important for the framing rituals of each session, at least their opening and closing but wherever possible even within the session. Both parts combine role-playing and impro-theatre elements that build on clearly defined challenges. While the game is driven by banter and performances of all kinds of cultural production that mostly reflect on and/or joke about human nature, the principle of friendship between all members of Schlaraffia hinders aggressive competition or trolling behavious by its players. The text tries to describe, explain, analyse some of the crucial features of the game, with some focus on schlaraffic role-playing.

RESUMO: questões relativas ao uso e posse de terras são abordadas nesta pesquisa tendo, como foco de interesse, certas doações realizadas pelo Estado ou por proprietários particulares, em vista da construção de templos e outras destinações religiosas. O ponto de partida é a Irmandade de São José da Água Branca, São Mateus do Sul, PR, criada numa colônia basicamente de poloneses, para, entre outras obrigações, responsabilizar-se pelo " espaço do culto ". Por se tratar de um recorte temático, fazemos um percurso desde o Brasil colonial até meados do século XX; percorremos, igualmente, outros estados brasileiros, embora o enfoque esteja na região centro sul do estado do Paraná. Podemos concluir, através dessa pesquisa, que tal irmandade situa numa região densa da história, conectando aspectos da vida cultural, religiosa e política do país. Está vinculada à etnicidade, ao povoamento, aos rituais, à organização dos homens e mulheres do campo e da cidade, por fim, à ruralidade brasileira.

Fraternities and sororities commonly organize themed social functions. Unfortunately, many of these functions have themes that are racially or sexually derogatory. The belief is that these themes are “just for fun” and there isn’t any intent to harm or offend anyone. This session reviews examples of inappropriate party themes and provides suggestions on creating more inclusive and welcoming environments in fraternities and sororities.

Brotherhood and a chance to belong: Lived experiences of gay fraternity men in a college community. In J. W. Koschoreck & A. K. Tooms (Eds.), Sexuality matters: Paradigms and policies for educational leaders (pp. 221-254). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield  Education. Hesp, G and Brooks, J. S.

How did an organization founded to empower women in institutions of higher learning end up as a place where the most narrowly conservative female gender roles are encourage and performed? By looking at Kappa Alpha Theta, the first Greek letter fraternity known among women, a tale of secrecy gone awry comes into view. Theta's traditions and rituals, kept secret from the public, tell an entirely different story about the purpose of this institution than a Google search of the sorority's moniker does. I posit that this is due to the fact that these rituals and traditions are relics of another time, frozen in the past, while the secrecy behind this heritage has enabled an alternate tradition to arise where aesthetics, popularity, and heterosexuality replace official goals of scholarship, sisterhood, and loyalty. Using only the "secret" material that others have chosen to reveal along with my own embodied experience as a Theta sister, I look at the complex ways in which college sorority sisters negotiate the difference between the scripted tenants of sorority life behind closed doors and the expected stereotpye of a "sorority girl" - like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. Using theories from sources as diverse as Judith Butler, Sigmund Freud, and various authors writing about sorority life, I try to work through the theoretical implications that are produced in the space between an embodied sorority experience and the mythical sorority girl stereotype that arises out of the ignorance bred by secrecy.

Fraternity and sorority advisors might be tasked with resolving conflicts ranging from repairing strained interpersonal relationships between members and addressing policy violations.  Restorative Justice is an effective tool for engaging students in discussions about conflict in a way that addresses harm and repairs strained relationships. This session will provide an overview of Restorative Justice and examine how two campuses have implemented Restorative Justice programs to strengthen conduct processes, enhance conflict resolution skills, and build community.

Do LGBQ fraternity and sorority members experience similar benefits as their heterosexual peers? This session answers this question by presenting recent research on the educational gains of LGBQ fraternity and sorority members. As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to explain the importance of creating safe and inclusive environments in fraternal organizations and identify resources for supporting LGBTQA Greeks.