<p>Here is another one this week. <a href=“Rutgers student, 19, dies during frat house party”>http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/22/rutgers-student-death-investigation/16073007/</a></p>
<p>Temporarily suspended. So it will be business as usual again sometime soon.</p>
<p>It seems to me that there is a significant correlation between Greek life, alcohol abuse, and sexual misconduct, and something needs to be done about it.</p>
<p>How can universities claim to be doing all they can to end the rape culture on campus, while allowing the Greek system to continue in its present state?</p>
<p>I agree with you, but it’s a difficult issue. How much control to colleges really have if students take the frats off campus? Can they really prevent students from joining? I would never support my child to be in a Greek organization but other people feel differently, despite all the tragedies. (And yes, I realize that there are some good Greek organizations but it’s clear they are not able to police themselves, they are providing a history and social environment that regularly breeds these horrific behaviors and so they should reconsider the entire premise of what they are doing). To me they are like a cancer that just will not go away despite decades of the same occurrences–hazing, kids drinking themselves to death or falling to their death in a drunken stupor, rapes and drugging of women, and all the repulsive attitudes that go along with this. Kids are not born thinking it would be a good idea conspire to drug a group of girls and then rape them or conspire to pressure a so-called friend into drinking an obviously dangerous amount of liquor. I don’t believe that every kid who joins one of these frats is bad. But this is culturally transmitted, and the peer pressure created in these organizations must be very intense for all the kids to be complicit. How often does a frat member come forward as a whistleblower about these things? We rarely hear about it until someone ends up in the hospital or dead. And then there’s a lot of handwringing but not a lot of “why didn’t anyone step up and defy the frat leaders or call police or whatever?” I don’t think it is likely to end no matter what administrations do short of successfully shutting them down. </p>
<p>And it seems the Greek organizations are spreading to schools which haven’t had much Greek presence and where the administration is actively trying to discourage it. There are plenty of schools with abundant Greek options, so it rather bothers me that some people take it upon themselves to push these in communities where the majority of students were perhaps attracted precisely because of the lack of Greek “life”.</p>
<p>I also look at this and think, “what happened?” All these good kids with glowing letters from their teachers, who spent their high school years studying hard, supporting their team members, volunteering at the local nursing home, running the food drive, whatever. When did these kids with all their intellectual curiosity and community spirit turn into thugs who want to assault people and drink themselves into oblivion?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.channel3000.com/news/frat-boots-uwm-chapter-president-amid-drug-probe/28213168”>http://www.channel3000.com/news/frat-boots-uwm-chapter-president-amid-drug-probe/28213168</a>
<a href=“Frat boots UWM chapter president amid 'date rape' drug probe”>http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/frat-boots-uwm-chapter-president-amid-date-rape-drug-probe-b99357293z1-276456761.html</a></p>
<p>Odd - the president of that UW-Milwaukee fraternity chapter is 28 years old.</p>
<p>Ten years of college down the drain…</p>
<p>^^^^^LOL. Thank you, Animal House. :D</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The obvious answer is they don’t. The thugs go to college and associate with as many other thugs as they can find. The decent people go to college and associate with mostly decent people. (Although chances are that they take a stab at drinking themselves into oblivion now and then, kids being kids.) Some of each–male and female–join Greek organizations.</p>
<p>Of course I know there are always going to be individual thugs at any college. But these frat activities are generally premeditated group activities. Did no one hear the plan to drug these girls and think to warn anyone or speak out against this? </p>
<p>Do you fill out a questionnaire at a frat rush party that specifies approval or disapproval of various forms of predatory behavior and only join the rape frat or the force vodka down their throats frat or simply the strip and humiliate frat depending on your quiz results? </p>
<p>Given the secrecy in many of these organizations how is a kid really going to know what is really going on until they join? I cannot believe that so many kids would join a frat that hazes if they knew what they were getting into in advance. If well-meaning kids checking out the frats can tell a thug frat without even joining, then why isn’t more pressure and publicity being put on such frats and why aren’t they being shut down? Or if a well-meaning kid cannot identify a thug frat, then why don’t they act once they are in the organization to prevent the few bad apples from doing harm? Why is anyone still in this frat–why haven’t they all resigned–what kind of person wants to be in such an organization?</p>
<p>I think that well-meaning kids CAN identify thug frats, and generally avoid them. Especially if given enough time. At S’s school, there was no freshman rush. Kids knew exactly what they were getting into by fall term sophomore year, when rush took place.</p>
<p>A big problem is first semester freshman year rush. Kids really do not have time to get to know current members. I am not a fan of Greek organizations generally, and would happily see them all shut down, but I <em>really</em> disapprove of early rushes and would love to see at least that practice stopped. At some schools, of course, housing the all underclassmen is not guaranteed, and kids pledge to find somewhere to live. I think that is irresponsible on the school’s part.</p>
<p>BTW, at S’s school, the fraternities recently proposed eliminating pledge terms across the board. The school has also forbidden first year students to attend any frat parties until after Homecoming weekend, in an effort to stem the tide of first years plunging into alcohol consumption and getting in trouble.</p>
<p>Clemson has shut down their frats. Again. None of the 30 are talking. Yet.</p>
<p>RE: What happened"…I do think many, many students are good students, with great academic intentions, but I see some, even here on CC (known for high achievers), that say they want to go to college primarily for the parties and the Greek experience. I’m always surprised that parents are willing to help finance that.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>shoboemom, you don’t think they tell their parents, do you? 
</p>
<p>I am surprised that the college is only suspending the fraternity during the investigation. The hand markings and the common experience of the four people who drank the drink would be enough to convince me to shut the fraternity down. </p>
<p>To me, when this happens at a fraternity, the fraternity should be responsible in addition to the individuals. How else can you begin to put an end to this type of behavior?</p>
<p>I think the lack of response from U of Wisconsin is shameful.</p>
<p>@Much2learn: Please refer properly to UW-Milwaukee - it is NOT U of Wisconsin, which is UW-Madison – our state flagship.</p>
<p>Heh heh <a href=“Way to go, Tau Kappa Epsilon of UW-M. What is WRONG with you?? - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1687212-way-to-go-tau-kappa-epsilon-of-uw-m-what-is-wrong-with-you.html</a></p>
<p>Darn Tekes… </p>
<p>I agree. This is not a he-said-she-said case where no outsider will ever really know what happened, or where the parties involved may have had different perceptions of what was occurring. The evidence is overwhelming. Temporary suspension is insulting to the poisoned victims who were sent to the hospital.</p>