In 1776, the first fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, was founded at The College of William and Mary (Mullins Jones). Men came together to form a group where their common interests could be shared: brotherhood, literature, debate, and socializing. Over the next few centuries, more and more of these academic organizations came into existence. These fraternities were an opportunity for college men to make new friends, gain leadership experience, become involved in the school and community, find academic support, and prepare themselves for the working world. However, in today's society, fraternities have lost the reputation of being honorable social and scholarly organizations. In fact, many people believe that fraternities no longer serve a purpose and that they should be removed from college campuses entirely.

It is logical why the call to abolish Greek life is growing louder. Nearly every week it seems that national headlines tell the story of a fraternity getting suspended for sexual assault. Fraternities seem to be synonymous with scandal. In the spring semester alone of 2015, 133 fraternities and sororities were suspended, shut down, or punished by the school in some way (Otani). These suspensions and punishments do not seem to be effective, though. After being caught for any variety of violations, fraternities often only get a fine or probation. Even chapters that are suspended for sexual assault can manage to get back on campus in a matter of years. Fraternities are constantly being exposed for their wrongdoings, yet the situation doesn't seem to be improving. This cycle has led many people to believe that Greek life is an old, broken system which needs to be abandoned altogether. 

Despite all of the flaws in fraternities, there are still many reasons why they should remain on college campuses across America. Fraternities help students find a home when making the transition to college, volunteer on campus and in the community, and teach young men leadership and responsibility. Fraternities provide many valuable opportunities that can not be found anywhere else in college. Although sexual assault is a serious and prevalent problem, the Greek system is beneficial and salvageable. Fraternities consist of millions of students across America; the infractions of a select few do not warrant the eradication of this system, rather the reformation.  Federal legislation enforcing transparency of fraternity violations, rape prevention programs, and zero-tolerance policies for sexual assault are needed in order to improve fraternities, instead of abolish them.

College is one of the most influential times in a person's life. Not only do students learn new things and decide what they want to do with their life, but it is also the first time that many people live on their own. For many kids, the transition to college can be a difficult one.  College requires students to meet new friends, take difficult classes, and live on their own. All of these things can be overwhelming to an 18-year-old. Fraternities are a great way for college freshman to feel at home right away. Brotherhood is one of the key principles of fraternities. As soon as a student joins a fraternity, they have a giant group of brothers who want to get to know them and spend time together. In 2006, 36% of college men said that at some time in the past year they felt so depressed that it was hard to function (Tartakovsky). Although fraternities aren't necessarily a cure for depression, they can certainly help. The brotherhood, activities, and support that comes with joining a fraternity can help men feel at home and thrive during their college years. This is demonstrated by the fact that Greek student's graduation rates are 20% higher than un-affiliated students (Jacobs).

Not only can fraternities help students to fit in, but they can be academically beneficial, as well. If a student is having trouble with a class, there is a good chance that there is a brother in the fraternity that has already taken the class and can tutor him. At many schools, there is a minimum GPA for any student who wants to be in a fraternity. Also, lots of fraternities require brothers struggling to maintain this GPA to go to mandatory study hours. Having a high GPA can give a fraternity a good reputation with potential new members, the university, and the national conference. Because of this, fraternities place schoolwork as their highest priority. In fact, the North American Interfraternity Conference found that during the 2013-2014 school year, the majority of the chapters that submitted data had higher GPA's than the non-affiliated students at that school (Jacobs). 

One of the most commonly known benefits of joining a fraternity is the leadership experience that it provides to the members. Most fraternities consist of dozens of members, some having more than 200. Any organization with this many members requires a great deal of effort and coordination to manage. In fraternities, there are various positions held by brothers to make sure that everything runs smoothly. To name a few, the recruitment chair is responsible for bringing in new members, the social chair plans and manages social events, the risk manager makes sure everyone is safe and responsible, and the treasurer is in charge of collecting dues and making the budget. Elections are held to determine who should be given these positions. Brothers must campaign to the fellow members of the fraternity why they are qualified to receive the position. These elections are often quite competitive and can be great experience for future job interviews. Once an official has been selected, they can then expect a great deal of stress and hard work to come with their position. Not only do officials have to delegate orders to the other brothers on their committees, but they are also held accountable for all the duties that is required of their position. These positions give students a great deal of experience in leading others, advancing within an organization, and taking responsibility for their actions.

This leadership experience is the reason why fraternities are known to be such great networking tools. When a fraternity man graduates from college, he is not only linked to the other students in his particular fraternity, but every member or alumni of that fraternity nationwide. Simply the name of their fraternity can be a means for graduated students to get their foot in the door with potential employers. Once that first connection has been made, fraternity leadership experience can be the deciding factor in a job interview. Perhaps this is why 85% of Fortune 500 executives are Greek (Blake). The business world isn't the only application for fraternity networking, though. Since 1900, 85% of Supreme Court justices and 70% of presidential cabinet members have been members of fraternities or sororities (Blake). These are just a few examples of people who used their fraternity to make important connections to advance their careers. 

Not only are fraternities great resources for everyone who is involved in one, but they also have an enormous impact on the community.  Both fraternities and sororities do philanthropy events in order to raise money for various causes. Bakes sales, walk-a-thons, raffle nights, and other fundraisers are all used to raise money for causes such as hospitals, charities, and foundations. Combined, fraternities and sororities across America do roughly 10 million hours of community service each year (Blake). Some schools require students to complete a certain number of community service hours before they are even allowed to join a fraternity.

This emphasis on community service and charity is found in every fraternity across the country, yet rare in other campus organizations. 

Seemingly all of these great benefits and accomplishments, however, are overshadowed by the various scandals that plague fraternities. Sexual assault, particularly, has led to the growing animosity towards fraternities  --  and rightfully so. In fact, men in fraternities are 300% more likely to commit sexual assault than un-affiliated men (Lohse). These stories have become all too common. Wolfgang Ballinger, the president of his fraternity at Cornell, was arrested for sexual assault in Ferbruary of 2016 (Ferrigno). Ballinger allegedly took the victim to his room and forced her to have sex with him, despite her insistence that she was too drunk. It is no surprise that fraternities are notorious for sexual assault when even a fraternity president at an ivy-league school is making headlines for rape. It shouldn't be assumed, however, that fraternities endorse sexual assault and cause their members to be rapists. In actuality, serial rapists commit 9 out of every 10 rapes on college campuses (Gustafson). This means that the sexual assault problem in fraternities is not caused by the institution, but the minority of repeat offenders. Rather than abolishing the entire fraternity system, specific changes need to be made to prevent and punish the few serial rapists. 

The best way to prevent serial rapists in a fraternity is to make sure that they are held accountable. As was the case with Wolfgang Ballinger, alcohol is one of the most common methods by which a rapist carries out sexual assault. As people continue to drink, their thoughts become less rational, they lose muscle coordination, and are more likely to become unconscious. These are all reasons why alcohol is the most commonly used date-rape drug. In her research study of alcohol-related sexual assaults, Dr. Antonia Abbey found that "On average, at least 50% of college students' sexual assaults are associated with alcohol use." Bars, tailgates, and parties are the most common places where college men and women drink together. It is inevitable, then, that these places are breeding grounds for sexual assault. All of these places are public, meaning that there are hundreds of people around who could step in and prevent a rape before it happens. Usually, though, the other people around are too unaware or apathetic to make sure that a girl is safe. That doesn't have to be true with fraternities.

Because a very small number of rapists commit a very large percentage of sexual assaults, it can be assumed that the majority of men believe that rape is wrong. There is a difference between beliefs and actions, however. Just because someone wouldn't commit sexual assault themselves does not mean they would go out of their way to prevent it. Certainly there are fraternity members across the country who have intervened when a brother of theirs was going to commit sexual assault. This kind of accountability is not nearly as common as it should be, because, often, there are no consequences for sexual assault. Many sexual assault cases are swept under the rug because police and school officials blame, ignore, and refute the victim in order to maintain the university's image. After his daughter was raped, Henry Lorenzen said "They [The University of California at Berkeley] wanted to protect the university more than have a process that worked well both for the victim and the accused." Aside from morality, there is little incentive for a man to prevent his fraternity brother from committing sexual assault. Stricter laws are needed in order to crack down on sexual assault on college campuses.

Under The Clery Act, universities are required to report all crime that occurs on their campus (Flanagan). However, many university's reports are short and give no actual details for staying safe. Congress must pass a law that requires all public universities to give updated, detailed information on every violation committed by a fraternity. One of the best ways for women to help prevent sexual assault is to stay informed on the fraternities that have been charged with sexual assault and those under investigation. To stop sexual assault on college campuses, university officials must stop pretending as if it doesn't exist. Giving students updated, detailed information is the first step. Posting information on the university website about every sexual assault committed by fraternities will serve two purposes. First, it will allow women to make smart, informed decisions about which fraternities they should talk to. Secondly, it will increase accountability within fraternities. No fraternity member wants their house to be notorious for sexual assault, so they will be more likely to make sure their brothers are making honorable decisions.  

Congress must not just be reactive, though. America needs to make an effort to fight sexual assault before it ever happens. One of the best ways of doing this is through prevention programs. Prevention programs are any kind of video, speech, or presentation that teaches people about sexual assault. The United States military is another institution that has struggled with sexual assault. At the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois, sexual assault prevention programs are believed to have reduced the total number of sexual assaults by 60% (Castleman).  There are also new programs which focus on bystander intervention. Along with telling the stories of various girls who were sexually assaulted, it gives men a call to action. The program explains that if someone sees their friend attempting to sexually assault a girl, it is their responsibility to intervene for the well being of everyone. After conducting a survey, researchers found that men who participated in the bystander intervention program prevented a sexual assault three times more often than the control group. These programs are exactly what is needed to end sexual assault. Some universities already require potential new members to go through a prevention program before joining a fraternity. Congress must write that into legislation. Sexual assault is such a big problem in fraternities that every fraternity member should be aware of the prevalence, harm, and risk of it. 

The final reform needed to eradicate sexual assault in fraternities is a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault at any on-campus fraternity house or fraternity function. In other words, sexual assault occurring at any social event or university-owned house will result in a permanent suspension. Currently, if a fraternity member is convicted of sexual assault, they will be expelled from the school along with their legal sentencing, but there is no definite penalty for his fraternity. Often, a convicted rapist's fraternity will be suspended until his trial is over or receive no punishment at all. When sexual assault yields little or no punishment for a fraternity, there is no accountability amongst brothers. However, if sexual assault is punished with an automatic permanent suspension, fraternity men will always make sure that their brothers are making smart, honorable decisions in regards to sex. Of course, if a member sexually assaults a girl in his own house or off-campus, only the individual should be held responsible. However, any time the fraternity is together at parties, bars, date functions, retreats, or the fraternity house, they will face permanent suspension for sexual assault. Not only will this law lead to the expulsion of the fraternities guilty of sexual assault, but it will also prevent rape culture by forcing fraternity members to look out for women and their fellow brothers. 

Although many people believe fraternities are outdated and useless in today's society, there are still various benefits of them. Joining a fraternity gives students a giant group of friends, leadership experience, academic support, and a network of thousands of alumni. Fraternities are not perfect institutions by any means, though. Fraternities get in trouble for a plethora of violations. None are more prevalent and horrifying than sexual assault. As terrible as sexual assault is, though, it can be eliminated. Although the abolition of fraternities might seem to be the most logical solution to some, reforming the Greek system can fight sexual assault and improve fraternities as a whole.  

To begin, students, voters, and lawmakers need to work for the transparency of sexual assault information on college campuses. University officials want people to believe that their schools are perfectly safe so they ignore victims and reveal very little information on rape. Once the colleges begin being honest about sexual assault statistics, fraternities of honorable men will separate themselves from those who sexually assault women. Another huge step towards the elimination of rape in fraternities are prevention programs. Sexual assault prevention programs get students thinking about the pain caused by sexual assault and the things they can do to stop it. Statistically speaking, prevention programs are proven to reduce the likelihood of sexual assault.

Transparency of information and prevention programs will be steps in the right direction, but stricter punishments are the only way to completely eliminate sexual assault in fraternities. After all, 9 out of 10 campus sexual assaults are committed by serial rapists. These repeat offenders will likely not be deterred by information transparency or prevention programs. This is the time that fraternities need to cut their dead weight and never look back. Sexual assault has no place in Greek life; any rapist needs to be expelled and their fraternity kicked off campus. This will not be easy legislation to pass. FratPAC is a lobbying group that has lots of influence in Congress and will oppose any bill proposing stricter rules for fraternities. With enough support from voters, though, legislation cracking down on sexual assault will gain momentum. No fraternity member is in favor of harsher penalties but these reforms are necessary. Sexual assault has gone on for far too long. Legislation must be passed in order to eliminate sexual assault thereby saving everything that is great about fraternities.  

