I do not believe that NYU number for a university that large. Just do not. Sexual assault is under-reported anyway; a high percentage of students at NYU not only live off-campus but don’t live in one of the police precincts surrounding the campus (does a kid living in an apartment in Queens who commutes to classes at NYU go to NYU Health if she’s been assaulted, or show up at the nearest ER or clinic?).
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I think people have given a pretty good picture of the frats at MIT (they are there, they are popular, they aren’t going away).
Every college is not going to be all good or all bad. Some are going to have activities the student doesn’t participate in, doesn’t like. You have to decide. We see people making decisions based on the religious offerings (or requirements), the ratio of female to male students, percentage living on campus, whether non music majors can get into the ‘good’ groups, sports and how big they are, etc. Don’t like what MIT offers? Don’t go.
My sister was pretty anti-Greek, had two children who joined, and she very much enjoyed participating in parents’/mom’s weekends. My niece was in charge of a fund raiser and my sister flew out to help with the event. Parents don’t have to participate, but it sure made the experience better for my niece and nephew.
In my own experience, the parents of some of my sorority sisters also became friends. I was at a funeral for the parent of a friend and the parents of another friend attended. I have gone to a lot of funerals for the parents of sister, both to support the sister but also because I’ve known the parents for 40 years and really enjoy them as people too.
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Bros will find each other no matter what setting you put them in. The only question is whether they are one of a crowd or regarded as exotics.
OP, if you’re interested in sexual assault on college campuses I would recommend Jon Krakauer’s Missoula. It’s been a while since I read it but I remember it being quite eye opening.
I recently read Disclosure by Michael Crichton. It’s an old book (from the 90s I think) and takes place at a tech company with a certain bro culture. Crichton flips the narrative and has a female boss sexually harass someone under her. Apart from it being an interesting read (what he considered cutting edge technology then seems so clunky now) it encourages the reader to see this huge and persistent problem in a different light.
Finally, I don’t know much about fraternities other than the bad press they receive. Like others have mentioned, there seems to be a drinking culture at most (many) universities and that seems to be a much bigger problem.
I just watched The Hunting Ground based on @CollegeNerd67’s post and found it compelling. The interviews with the parents were especially heartbreaking. Not much to argue with from my perspective.
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I was talking with an admissions counselor at one of the top Boston area schools at an alumni event a few years ago.
She told me many parents of 14, 15, 16 year old child prodigies ask if their son or daughter gets admitted, what will the school do to “protect” them.
She said the standard reply is: “Can your child handle sex, drugs, and rock & roll? Because that’s what they’ll be exposed to.”
And further explained that schools can only go so far protecting students, and that it’s up to the student to be able to make good decisions.
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This is so true. The students that I encountered who had the most trouble at MIT were those from very sheltered backgrounds. MIT does not really act in loco parentis. The assumption is that their students are largely adults and can make their own decisions.
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You might to read some MIT blogs like this one: