In college I would say there are two kinds of people; those who are in Greek life and love it, and those who despise Greek life and want nothing to do with it. Either way they have a point. The college students involved in Greek life love it because they know what really goes on in those giant mansions in Greek Village. They know the deep connections they have made with people and the ways they have benefitted by being a part of something bigger than themselves.  For those students who only see Greek Life as a big exclusive party scene (and in some ways it can be) this is the only part of Greek life they see. The movies portray Greek members as these stuck up rich kids just looking to party and become the most popular. So who can blame people not involved for not knowing what they are really like from the inside? I wanted to write about this because I would have been one of those people who despised Greek life and its party scene before I was convinced to rush and join a sorority. Now that I have seen what being in a sorority is like from the inside I think it is very important for people to be informed on the benefits and the struggles of being involved in Greek life before deciding to love it or hate it. 

The article that I read from Psychology Today describes the benefits of joining a sorority/fraternity. It also goes on to describe how the success rate of affiliated members may have nothing to do with them being involved in Greek Life at all. They are saying the success rates could be due to the types of people that join Greek Life. They noticed that hard working, driven, leaders usually seek out the Greek Life community. So the question here is does Greek Life give students these skills they need to succeed or are the kinds of people Greek Life attracting people who already contain these qualities? One piece of evidence that I found interesting from this article was about a study done testing fraternity/sorority members cognitive abilities. freshman involved in Greek life seemed to do worse than those not affiliated with a fraternity/sorority. They continued this study on sophomores and juniors as well. This study showed the older the students got the better the affiliated students did while the non affiliated seemed to stay the same. This makes me come to the conclusion that the longer these students are in Greek organizations the more their cognitive abilities improved. The author of this article was not in a Greek organization which could make him biased against fraternities/sororities. He states that he had family members in these organizations and he provides multiple pieces of evidence from both sides of the argument making him seem like an unbiased source. This makes him a good source to use. He also shares multiple websites where he got his information from so that you can check his credibility and he has a PH. D. Some of the stakes and values in this article are Greek Life's reputation. The article wants to uphold the reputation of the Greek Life organizations and make sure that people respect them. Another is the cognitive skills of the Greek Life students. It is important to the author of this article that Greek Life students have good cognitive scores and do not fall behind the affiliated members. 

The second article I read is trying to introduce the idea that before judging Greek life make sure you are informed; not only on the fraternity party that you attended last semester but the academic benefits of joining that fraternities/sororities have. She goes on to explain how being involved in a Greek organization benefitted her in many aspects of life. Many Greek organizations set a standard for their students that they are expected to maintain. For example, the girl in this article is expected to maintain a 3.1 GPA. If a student were to fall behind and receive a GPA lower than the standard, he/she would be placed on academic probation and provided with multiple means of tutoring and support from the VP of membership and other members of the organization in order to get their grades back up to par. This article describes the benefit of having someone to keep you accountable for your grades. Also, being a part of something so much bigger than yourself can be motivation enough to keep your grades up. Everything you do reflects back on the sorority/fraternity and you wouldn't want to let them down. The author of this article was involved in a sorority, which could sway her to be pro Greek organizations. This could also mean that she is well informed in this situation and has personal experience with it. The article was written in 2014 making the statistics and information provided relevant with today's Greek Organizations. The values and stakes in this article are similar to the first. The author agrees that it is important for people to be informed on the real benefits of being in Greek Life. Also, GPA is a value here. The girls in the sorority need to keep their GPA up to better themselves and the sorority. 

The last article that I researched is about an Alpha Delta Pi sister who is describing the "power" of being in a sorority. On joining a sorority, she discovered it was much more than she had imagined. She had signed up for a good time and meeting new people but she got all of that plus much more; she got people who were there for her and want her to succeed. As far as GPA goes she explains how you always have a group of sisters to go to the library with. Your GPA does not only reflect you but also your sorority so you have to make sure you are always at the top of your game when it comes to grades. Knowing that you have 100 or more people wanting you to succeed and willing to help you is so powerful; how could you not succeed? The author of this article is also a sorority girl. This could say her to be biased for Greek life however, I am involved in Greek life and I can vouch for her that everything she said is true. You are involved in something bigger than yourself. You are always wearing your letters and you must represent your sorority in a positive way on campus. The values and stakes in this article are also similar. This author values her sisters and their support. She also values her GPA and the GPA of the chapter as a whole. She values the power that sororities have to help empower women and to help them grow into successful ladies. 

My research question is arguable because many people would disagree that Greek life can help you improve in the classroom because to them Greek life is a giant party scene. On the contrary others have had great experiences with receiving help from their brothers/sisters when they are in need of academic support. Being involved in Greek Life and keeping your grades up can be a challenge because of the parties and social events you have to attend, but it is all about time management and knowing when to say no. I may need to revise my research question to succeeding inside and outside of the classroom academically. I agree with all of my sources. I do think that they all bring up very good points about how being in Greek Life can benefit students academically. I also agree that Greek Life attracts young people that are willing to succeed in some cases but I still think that being involved in Greek Life supports and gives students resources that they need in order to better themselves academically. These sources also agree with each other. They all agree that Greek life has a positive affect on academics. 

