In modern day university culture, the more someone can drink, the more impressive they seem in the eyes of their peers. College students, especially fraternity boys, are frequently trying to outdrink one another, prove their abilities, or show off to a friend or crush. Whereas drinking used to be a casual social activity leaving people feeling relaxed and maybe a bit buzzed, today’s drinking culture revolves around blacking out, getting laid, or wreaking havoc. The morning after a night out often consists of friends desperately texting or calling each other, trying to piece together their nights. While some nights end with laughs, blurry pictures and hazy memories, others end in bruises, tears, and assault. It has been proven that college students who engage in excessive drinking are more likely to be involved in a sexual assault case, either as the victim or the attacker. And while heavy alcohol consumption and sexual assault can play a role in the lives of students not in Greek organizations, it has a much bigger part role when looking at students in sororities or fraternities. Several studies have shown that 75% of male college students in fraternities admitted frequent participation in binge drinking, opposed to the 49% of male college students not in fraternities who also admitted to binge drinking. Females in sororities saw similar results, at 62% versus 41% for non-Greek life female students. Most college students have the mindset that without alcohol, a social life cannot exist, nor thrive. It is now deeply rooted in college culture that alcohol is a key component for having fun, fitting in, and the overall college experience. Regardless of the problematic outcomes it can sometimes produce, alcohol is being abused by college students today more than ever before. Furthermore, it has been noted that the drinking culture within Greek organizations, specifically fraternities, at large American universities has a distinct impact on the amount of sexual assault that occurs on those college campuses. While sexual assault is an issue in itself, due to the group thinking (or attitudes) and misogyny present in fraternities, the act of sexual assault and taking advantage of a girl becomes expected and viewed as acceptable. This behavior not only has despicable outcomes throughout college years, but later in life as well. Boys who surround themselves with these behaviors and attitudes, grow up into men who believe it is okay to abuse and assault women. This trail continues to spiral downwards, and may lead these fraternity alums to sexually assault women who work with or for them, and may even result in domestic violence in their families. Since these actions were previously accepted and even encouraged by their closest friends, they are often left with the impression that this is normal behavior. 

Fraternity brothers often compete for the status of the “biggest bro” by consuming hazardous amounts of alcohol. Boys who drink less, or can’t handle their intoxication when pressured to drink more, are often teased for being “lightweights”. If a fraternity member was to walk into a bathroom and find another member laying on the floor next to a puddle of puke, the suffering brother would immediately be labeled with derogatory terms such as a “pussy” or “faggot”. Although the students within these fraternities view the bullying as a harmless joke, it is considered hazing, which is a huge problem at many colleges. Hazing can range from anything as harmless as getting a “pledge” to clean up your apartment, to forcing these men into activities that could result in grave consequences. Some hazing of students rushing a fraternity have even been recognized as “severe and inhumane”, and may include getting a girl so drunk that she’ll be too intoxicated to say no to sex, or even encouraging the potential “newbies” to spike a girl’s drink (Paquette). The younger boys feel that by drinking immense quantities of alcohol or having intercourse with a girl, they are proving themselves worthy of a spot in whichever desired fraternity. These students are also frightened by the fact that if they were to stand up for these women, or refuse to complete an abhorrent hazing request, they would have no chance of being accepted into the fraternity. 

While it is extensively understood that majority of college students engage in risky amounts of underage drinking, it is not understood that this heavy drinking “is one of the most significant predictors of sexual assault” (Brown, Hendrix, and Svrluga). This is backed up by the evidence that “women who say they sometimes or often drink more than they should are twice as likely to be victims of completed, attempted or suspected sexual assault than those who rarely or never drink.” (Brown, Hendrix, and Svrluga). Within their article discussing the centralism of drinking to the college culture, Brown, Hendrix, and Svrluga explain the belief that “college for many, is a generously spike four years” due to the ceaseless parties, bar crawls, day drinks, and tailgates (Brown, Hendrix, and Svrluga).  This only serves to reiterate the fact that college students are surrounded by alcohol and often feel they must partake in these “festivities” in order to cohere to the college lifestyle. Alcohol’s ability to provide confidence and comfortability allows students to feel less awkward in new social settings. The lowering of inhibitions makes it easier to meet new people, including probable “hooks-ups”. 

During an interview with Kyra Stephenson, an anti-sexual violence activist, it was brought up that “there [an] idea in our college culture that alcohol and sex should always be available…the whole context around alcohol is this is something we do to facilitate sex.” (Brown, Hendrix, and Svrluga). Alcohol is regularly used, but not exclusively, by college students, in hopes that it will lead to some sort of sexual interaction. Furthermore, it is often abused by fraternity members to take advantage of an unwilling female victim. A specific relative case involving an anonymous female freshman who attended a fraternity party at Boston University, mentions the female playing the popular drinking game “beer-pong” with a guy she was friendly with. After attempting to piece together her hazy night, she remembered her so-called friend, and other fraternity members continuously encouraging her to drink “…even though [she] was probably already in an unsafe condition.” (qtd. in Brown, Hendrix, and Svrluga). The victim recalls feeling extremely nervous and afraid, but continued to act casually because she was ashamed to seem uncool, or cause a scene in front of the older fraternity guys she desperately wanted to impress. The victim remembers faintly hearing the attacker’s “brothers” cheering him on, as the two of them made their way upstairs. During her interview, the victim explained “I feel like I should have been able to verbalize ‘I would like to do this’ or ‘I wouldn’t like to do this’ before it happened”, but never had the chance (Brown, Hendrix, and Svrluga). 

This case highlights the sense of belonging and the feeling of praise which are clearly apparent when discussing brotherhood within fraternities. If you were to individually ask male college students, specifically ones in a fraternity, if rape is acceptable, most likely every answer would be “No”. Yet while it is morally understood that rape and sexual assault is wrong, when these college-aged boys are put together in social settings, their morality levels conform in order to fit in with the surrounding stigma. The idea of “getting laid” is much more impressive to these groups than the principle of respect and virtuous behavior.

Most people might even admit that they think of college as the time for getting around in the hookup world. College is known for not only providing students with an education, but allowing them to experiment, meet new people, and go a little crazy before having to settle into the real world. While females are often judged for their “body-count” number, boys are praised for being able to sleep with as many girls as they can. Though the approval and commendation these boys receive from their friends is undeniably an important factor behind the sexual relations they have, it is not the only one. As Jessica Bennett explained, “fraternity culture reinforces ‘within-group attitudes’ that perpetuate sexual coercion” (Bennett). Boys belonging to fraternities feed off each-others behavior, opinions, and ideals. It has been recognized that fraternities exert a huge amount of social control on college campuses due to the fact that they provide willing students with alcohol, drugs, parties, and more college “essentials”. The power these groups gain from their influence over a campus ties in with the power the members gain from impressing their friends by being able to have sex with a girl. Thereby reinstating that the sexual relations these fraternity boys have, whether consensual or not, are not only for pleasure, but for power.

 During their four years, fraternity members may feel as though they run the school which they attend. Their status and brotherhood grants them with many privileges and connections “And when the frat boys grow up? they slide right into the boy’s club of the business world, where brothers land Wall Street jobs via the ‘fraternity pipeline’” (Bennett). As the business world is overruled by the males, so is college. Within almost all aspects of life and society, males are the ones who have the power and make the rules. One Penn State University freshman even 

acknowledged noticing right away that "there's a sense of subordination to the fraternities. They have so much power here on campus” (qtd. in Paquette). Since sororities are not allowed to host parties and serve alcohol, the social scene at some schools is left entirely in the hands of fraternities. Girls are often granted entry to a party based on how attractive the fraternity member at the front door deems them. And while during the daytime or for classes males and females typically dress similarly in a casual manner, when it comes time to go out, “…the guys will still be dressed that way, while the women will be sporting party dresses, high heels and make-up” (Bennett). The fact that the male students can stay in the same, comfortable outfit all day and night, while females have to change into more provocative and revealing clothing, speaks volumes about the authority that lies within fraternities. 

When thinking about a sexual assault or rape perpetuator, it is likely that a male figure will come into someone’s mind. It has been proven through endless surveys and studies that men are more likely to sexually assault, or attempt to sexually assault, someone. Just within college, “fraternity men are three times more likely to rape” than women or non-fraternity member male students (Bennett). Yet terms like “slut-shaming” and “victim blaming” still exist, and are quite prevalent. These phrases refer to blaming a female sexual assault victim for deserving to be raped due to the clothing she was, or was not, wearing, or because her intoxicated behavior was misleading. Proposals to fixing the sexual assault problem on college campuses are mostly related to creating a dry campus, putting an end to fraternities, making them attend sexual assault prevention seminars, or implementing a mandatory online program which educates about sexual assault and how to avoid/prevent it. However, the University of Missouri is challenging this norm through their consideration of banning women from fraternity houses on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, which are known as “party nights”, in order to yield sexual assault that occurs at fraternity parties. 

Tessa Berenson, a journalist for Time, writes about this controversial fix occurring not only at the University of Missouri, but also several other colleges. At the University of Virginia, sorority members were “outraged after their national chapters ordered them to avoid fraternity parties over the weekend” (Berenson). These women have spoken out about their feelings that “instead of addressing rape and sexual assault at UVA, this mandate perpetuates the idea that women are inferior, sexual objects” (Berenson). Because females are typically the ones who are attacked, certain groups agree that preventing them from socially interacting with fraternity members will cease the sexual assault occurrences. The understood and accepted norm in college is that girls often dress and behave in certain ways to make themselves appear more attractive. And while their goal is not to get raped, it is clear that they are showing more skin, or drinking more alcohol to impress the boys attending the same parties. While it is impossible to control the way every college aged female dresses or acts, by keeping these women out of the fraternity member’s sight and reach, it makes the possibility of sexual assault much less likely. While sorority members are angered by this idea, supporters claim that it is reasonable due to the fact that men are often times “tricked” into raping a girl because it was unclear of what she wanted, or because she acted/ dressed like she wanted to have sex. 

This controversial approach has lead one sorority member to speak out for herself and many others, explaining “I don’t understand where or when I signed up for an organization that encouraged women to hide from men,” (qtd. in Berenson). Female empowerment and equality is stronger in today’s society than ever before. Female college students, sorority members and parents are fighting this clause with the belief that colleges “should not violate the rights of those who live by the rules simply because they are in some way affiliated with those who do not” (qtd. in Smithhisler). Many people refuse to accept this approach, as it is unfair to punish women, and teach them how not to get raped, when the focus should be on teaching men not to rape. When interviewing members of sororities at Penn State University, one 19-year-old female student disclosed that her and her friends understood the way to avoid sexual assault at fraternity parties, was to avoid going upstairs because “all of the scary things at frats seem to happen upstairs” (qtd. in Paquette). In college lingo, it has been recognized that “want to go upstairs” is code for “want to have sex?”. The issue standing behind this is the fact that a student whom has had too much to drink may not have a clear understanding of what is being asked, and agree to go upstairs, without realizing that the other student is taking this answer as sexual consent. 

In reality, it is often the men who are more crude in their behaviors and beliefs when it comes to sex. For example, a notebook written in by members of two fraternities at North Carolina State University, left behind and found at a local restaurant, contained vulgar sexually violent statements such as “if she’s hot enough, she doesn’t need a pulse” (qtd. in Paquette). Fraternity members take pride in their obscenity, and even include proclamations such as “tonight’s they type of night that makes fathers afraid to send their daughters away to school” in party invitations in order to boast about the expectations of their event (Dvorak). It is undeniable that “the fraternity selection process inhibits diversity and promotes dangerous group-think” which encourages committing sexually violent acts in order to stay true to the fraternity expectations and take pride in their brotherhood (Paquette). 

“Don’t go anywhere alone.”, “Always watch your cup.”, “Don’t accept drinks from strangers.”, “Don’t dress too provocatively.” These are just a few examples of the warnings girls often hear before a night out. From childhood, girls are always told to watch out for themselves, and for each other. There are endless stories of women being sexually assaulted, many of which involve alcohol consumption. According to Staurt Dunnings III, because alcohol is easily accessible at college and less frowned upon compared to narcotics such as Rohypnol, more commonly called “roofies”, or GHB, it has become “the number one date rape drug” (qtd. in Brown, Hendrix, and Svrluga). Placing all of the blame when it comes to rape and sexual assault on fraternities as a whole is unfair due to the fact that “most rapes are committed by serial predators” who attack girl after girl, while some fraternity members are just as appalled by the idea of rape as anyone else (Parry). But, it is an unavoidable fact that due to the drinking culture, hazing, and group-think, “fraternity men are three times as likely as other male students to rape” (Parry). The lifestyle within fraternities leads certain members to act in ways they otherwise would not. While these men might have been aware those actions and behaviors are far beyond indecent, it was understood that “…rape created solidarity among members and those who did not participate in the gang rapes were not members” (qtd. in Sanday). 

While fraternity organizations have the ability to provide students with exceptional opportunities, experiences, and connections, it has been confirmed that large, American colleges with fraternities on campus experience much higher rates of sexual assault, as a result of the drinking culture within those fraternities. This information is not only important to students already attending universities, but is detrimental to the overall future success of universities. These facts and issues can damage a college’s reputation, and prevent perspective students from attending these schools. Parents oftentimes put a lot of time and effort into checking into the background and safety of a school that their child may want to attend. Most parents would be immediately deterred from sending their child to a certain college if they found information that the university often suffers from sexual assault on its campus, or that they do not strictly combat these sexual assault reports. So far, in regards to stopping campus sexual assault, it has been questioned why universities don’t just get rid of Greek life entirely, but these universities have reasoned that it provides students with a strong sense of community, gets them involved in community service, raises money for charities, and so on. The most popular action universities have taken as an effort to prevent nonconsensual sexual interactions on campus is enforcing sexual assault prevention workshops and seminars for all fraternity members. Along with suspending, or even removing, fraternities who have been involved in unacceptable sexual violence, or have posted vulgar language/ pictures referring to rape and other sexual assault.

It is utterly important that Universities, specifically faculty members who have control within the Greek community on campus, preclude this conduct from fraternities, and chastise members or organizations who do become involved in sexual assault incidents as a result of the drinking culture they participate in. If not, these fraternities will breed men who go into society with the impression that it is admissible to maltreat women in all aspects of their life, in turn creating prejudicial and biased behaviors in the work place, along with domestic and, family abuse.
