Despite the bad press fraternities have been getting, a new study from UCLA shows that incoming college students’ interest in joining a fraternity or sorority is the highest it’s been in 15 years.
The study surveyed 100,000 incoming college students on their attitudes on a variety of topics. On the subject of whether they’ll join a Greek organization, over 15 percent of women respondents answered in the affirmative, and over 11 percent of men said the same thing.
Incidents of binge drinking, hazing and the exhibition of questionable behavior have cast a negative spotlight on the fraternity movement. The latest example: A recently-surfaced short video showing members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the University of Oklahoma chanting to a racist song.
Does episode like this hurt the image of the Greek system in the long run?
Guests:
Katelyn Griffith, Print Editor at The Oklahoma Daily, campus newspaper for the University of Oklahoma, which first published the video
Mark Koepsell, Executive Director of Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, which represents the campus personnel working at fraternal organizations. He’s also Executive Director of Association of Fraternal Leadership & Values, which works with student members at fraternities and sororities across North America