There has been a recent buzz about the topic of Greek life in Universities, this is due to an incident earlier this month when a pledge died during a party held by Pi Kappa Phi, in one of Florida’s own colleges, FSU. This begs the question, is greek life really as safe or dangerous as we think?
The situation: Andrew Coffey, age 20, was a pledge at fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi. He attended a party for the fraternity. He was found unresponsive the next morning. Alcohol is believed to be involved. Andrew was young, and had his whole life ahead of himself. Unfortunately one big mistake clipped his life short.
The ripples left behind: Because of the death of Coffey, other universities in Florida are suspending and uncovering dangers of fraternities and sororities. The deaths of at least four fraternity pledges this year have helped fuel a re-examination of Greek life at US colleges, which have long struggled with how to crack down on hazing and alcohol abuse without disbanding the organizations.
Why it matters: Colleges with organizations such as fraternities and Sororities, can have their pros and cons. People join greek groups for many reasons, such as Networking, Social Skills, Diversity, and even safety. The safety of having a group of people watching your back, and friends that look out for you, is really important. When you leave your cozy little ‘group’ from high school, who do you have at your college that’s going to be by your side? Well, when you join a sorority or a fraternity, those people are there for you. The situation about the greek suspension can alter or change a person’s view on the houses, if they were planning on joining.
So we took to the junior and senior classes to ask just that!
“Let’s say you were going to join a sorority or fraternity in college. With the recent suspension, and allegations, would your choice be effected?”
“It would depend on the school and the record of the organizations on campus. If the campus is known for having a clean record, I wouldn’t see why it would affect my choice.”
“Yeah probably. I would still join one of them.”
“Yeah, It would impact my choice. You go to college to learn and you wouldn’t want to be kicked out or suspended because of an organization you associate yourself with making bad decisions. After all, college impacts your life and your future.”