If a kid is drinking so much alcohol to the point if passout, throw up or even die or someone is doing the rumored blow or blow - I wouldn’t say it’s victim shaming. Issues on both sides.
Kids can say no. To the instance. To the Greek system.
I watched the trailer… that I assume was released by the series creators? So unless this is a bait and switch it looks pretty salacious.
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I said “most” not all. I am sure there are campus’ with Greek influence that have no bad behavior or stereotypes.
The pictures I see represent the colleges. When I see pictures of my sorority’s houses at MIT, Case Western, CMU, they are more than half Asian. ASU and the Texas schools? Many Hispanic faces. Meghan Markle is a Kappa, and while she was white while in college, she now is a minority and wants to be known as a person of color. We have one of the Kardashians as a member, and I don’t think people consider Kardashians as women of color but they are.
I also think that many colleges and the sororities themselves like to use pictures of the minority members to promote diversity. My daughter is Chinese and she was often pictured at Girl Scout events, playing her sport (at the all star event as a 5th grader, she was one of two minorities out of 60 participants - who do you think they photographed?), and yes, at her sorority (but her sorority was about 25% minority, because the school was 30% international, so more diverse than most). For her college team, her photo was one of the 4 on the sunshade the team used at games as she was the only minority on the team -for all 4 years she was there. She was the first one chosen to be on the posters hung around campus for game day. IMO, she’s cute as can be, but she is not a blue eyed blonde sorority girl. Yep, the schools like to promote their diversity too, even if it isn’t really there.
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I guess I don’t agree with the descriptor “most”.
And I’m really not intending to be argumentative. I just hope that the stereotypes won’t cause students to rule out entire universities without digging into what Greek life actually is at a specific institution.
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So let’s go through your assumptions or implications one at a time.
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It’s a series- No it’s not it is a movie/documentary
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They are looking for a second season- No this is one and done particularly given the response from the school and UA Greek community.
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They seek viewership- Absolutely!
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It’s salacious- very possibly the case but that may be a function of the subject matter and those that participated acting in a salacious manner. Kind of like saying shark week spends too much time on apex predators. This is an examination of UA rush week and the trailer is a compilation of UA students comments. It is what it is.
Are you suggesting someone made them say things, that it is a misrepresentation of the rush process, that these things don’t go on?
You seem to acknowledge these behaviors go on but don’t like such salaciousness being documented. Again you have not seen it but your desire to discredit is curious.
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In many instances, especially during rush, the law disagrees with you. Students from Missouri to Virginia to Pennsylvania and areas in between have all been charged and found guilty of hazing in situations that you describe.
And just saying no to being Greek is more complex that you represent for many kids. Some know no one and want to feel a part of something. Others have family histories of involvement. Greek life is often the lost visible and obvious route to belonging, especially at schools where it is glorified and marketed.
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For the record I have no problem with sororities SEC or small mid-west school. Most of my friends were in sororities ( in the South) and their daughters as well. Sororities offer an instant group of friends, structured study time, mentorship, leadership, and philanthropy. Sports, academic and social clubs ( outside Greek) also offer similar opportunities. My issue is that this documentary ( appears in the trailer) to highlight the worst picture and stereotypes.
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Not at Alabama. Less than 1% of students in APA sororities identify as Black/African American, while 11% of the students at UA identify as Black/African American.
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They aren’t. Northern students are choosing southern schools, including Alabama, in increasing number.
I am NOT saying that what they will portray in the documentary is untrue or coerced. It maybe completely factual … What I do not like is that it appears ( have not seen it yet) to pick on Alabama as if this is the only place where rush happens in this manner. It is frustrating; I have one kid who graduated from UA and another getting ready to matriculate, and this just confirms the stereotype ( qualifier I have not seen the full documentary). Of course, doing a documentary about those students who are successful is probably a snoozefest for HBO.
Not curious at all. Unfortunately people will watch this show and assume that is the whole culture of UA…
Most women at UA do not even join sororities, do they?
I agree that if (we don’t know yet) this documentary shows an entirely one sided representation of the Greek system it would be unfair. I have two sons that were both in frats so I have seen the good, bad and ugly.
With that said if the documentary is using “the Machine” and UA as an extreme example and representing the experience through the eyes of actual students it is hard to dismiss it is irrelevant. At a minimum it should be considered by those contemplating attending UA.
I will reserve judgement until I actually see the content but certainly won’t dismiss it sight unseen.
I understand your frustration as a UA parent and appreciate that no matter how factual the movie is it doesn’t represent the university as a whole. It is however a facet of the UA experience (rarely mentioned on CC) with an apparently outspoken 36% of the students participating in the Greek system not including those that fail to get bids.
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As in most things, college is largely what you make of it. DD1 attended a Southern school with a large on campus sorority presence, didnt participate, and had a full social life regardless. She was barely aware of the groups. DD2 attend a Northeastern school with a tiny off campus sorority presence, didnt participate, but was acutely aware of the groups. She too had a rich social life. It is what you make of it.
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I will be curious to see if the doc explores what frequently happens in this environment—guys turn into rapists, and girls turn into rape victims. Since it only follows 4 students over a limited period, I am doubtful.
That seems to be an issue at every college in the country, regardless of Greek life.
As of 6 years ago:
This is an incorrect assumption. Had I attended my in-state flagship, I would never have even considered joining a sorority. I graduated from a school with a large percentage of greek affiliated students (over 90% at the time). I chose to join after I realized that at my school, it wasn’t like what my friends from high school were telling me they experienced with the Greek system there. I was a member for three of my four years, after I made that decision.
Was it worth it? Probably not. If money had been an object of concern or I had had student loans, I would not have done it. However, I don’t regret the decision to join.
I was treated with respect at every fraternity party I attended. Off campus in public? Not so much.
“Fraternity men and student athletes were significantly more likely to commit alcohol-involved sexual assault than other men on campus.”
Is Campus Rape Primarily a Serial or One-Time Problem? Evidence From a Multicampus Study - PubMed
The key statement here is “More than 87% of alcohol-involved sexual assault was committed by serial perpetrators”. So, in a general population of people, over 87% of this type of crime was committed by a few people who would do this anyway.
Rape is difficult to study, but we do know that a few people do it over and over no matter the context. If you attended school anywhere, you probably knew or at least suspected who was guilty…
I’d be interested to see if rapists seek out clubs and affiliate organizations where they can blend in with nonviolent individuals. I bet they do, but I don’t have a study to back that up.