Community Service Allows Students to Fulfill their Needs

Every student dreams of the day they get to move into their perfect dorm and make friends that will be with them for a lifetime. Most importantly though, they want to feel safe. Startling statistics reveal that boys who join fraternities are three times more likely to rape someone, resulting in over 50% of gang rape being perpetrated by fraternities. These numbers, which indicate that the risk of girls being sexually assaulted on a college campus is significantly heightened by fraternity involvement, demand attention.

Can these figures be lessened, even eliminated? Is it possible to diminish this disturbing recurrence in people’s day-to-day lives? Can these tragic stories stop being plastered all over the headlines and ceasing to be just another statistic? How can this issue be prevented? The solution might be simpler than you’d think: there are hundreds of routes that students can take to fulfill their needs without fraternities.

When students step onto a college campus, the world is their oyster. They can join various clubs and councils, and participate in the campus’ social events. College is a place where students should discover who they are, not risk becoming a statistic at a fraternity house. Given the other opportunities available to them, it might be time for colleges to remove fraternity houses from their campuses. While some students join fraternities to fulfill community service hours and meet new people, there are many other ways to achieve these goals without the added risks associated with fraternity houses. There are numerous social organizations that don’t have hazing scandals integrated into their names. According to the Journal of American College Health’s most recent article, “A Longitudinal Study of Interest and Membership in a Fraternity, Rape Myth Acceptance, and Proclivity to Perpetrate Assault,” it was disclosed that 20-25% of women will be sexually assaulted during their time at college. Mrs. Seabrook Rita points out, “We don’t have the right to be surprised anymore. These incidents aren’t outliers or cases of individual impropriety, but data points in clear historical pattern.”

The severity of the situation cannot be ignored. The issue of sexual assault at fraternity houses has become so common that news broadcasts of these cases are often overlooked, becoming just another statistic. In order to abolish sexual assault on college campuses, this suggests a potential solution: eliminating fraternity houses entirely. This is not a new or emerging issue; fraternities have sparked multiple controversies since their inception. Fraternity houses can perpetuate segregation, which is often rooted in their long, complex Greek histories. While not all fraternities are built around partying—some even offer internships and mentorships—the risks associated with them cannot be overlooked.

The saying, “One bad apple shouldn’t make the whole bunch look bad,” can be applied in this case because many fraternities claim their bad reputation is due to one or two members who commit sexual assault. However, over time, instances of sexual assault start piling up. It spreads from one member to another because, in the fraternity household, it is socially accepted for guys to “hook up” with girls. Studies on Time.com show that those who join a fraternity are 300% more likely to commit rape than non-affiliated students, supporting Caitlin Flanagan’s statement. In her article, “Caitlin Flanagan: We Need Transparency on the Issue of Fraternity Rape,” Mrs. Flanagan asserts, “abolition is the only answer. All social fraternities—alongside the sycophantic sororities they exploit—must go.

They must go permanently and forever…and everywhere else. Reform is simply not possible.” By abolishing fraternity houses, the rates of sexual assault on college campuses will drastically decrease. Despite the fact that sexual assault and rape will unfortunately remain prevalent in today’s society, why not start reducing these numbers on college campuses? On these campuses, the main correlation to sexual assault links back to fraternity houses. Thus, to eliminate all connections would mean eradicating the fraternity houses. Numerous studies have proven that sexual assault on college campuses is prevalent because of the fraternities established under the colleges’ names. These fraternity houses are the key source of all sexual assault and rape cases on college campuses.

Many cases of sexual assault within fraternities are attributed to alcohol/drug abuse and peer pressure. In Vanessa Grigoriadis’s novel, “Blurred Lines: Rethinking Sex, Power, & Consent, on Campus,” she details how the practices of Greek life at fraternities are linked to excessive drinking, which leads to high rates of sexual assault, hazardous initiation rites, and fatal accidents. It is inevitable that students are going to experiment during college and try new things such as partaking in drinking and drugs. Colleges can try to reduce the use of these substances on their campuses, but unfortunately, they cannot eliminate them entirely. The most effective thing they can do is target the primary source of it, identified as the fraternity houses. Every student should not have to live with the fear of rape. They should not have to keep quiet and be silenced. When we start caring enough to abolish these fraternities, their lives can begin to improve.

None of these students chose for sexual assault to happen to them. They must live daily with the fact that this issue has affected them. In the world, this situation can easily be reduced, not just by educating students about consent but by minimizing the opportunities for committing this crime. To decrease, remove, and demolish all statistics, the most straightforward solution is to eliminate the root of it—the fraternities themselves. The unforgivable act of sexual assault cannot be tolerated, specifically within the Greek fraternity culture. Therefore, fraternities should be abolished to reduce sexual assault cases.

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