The trailer for “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” was released last month, and it will bring a decade-long debate back to the surface: whether or not it is sexist for the National Panhellenic Conference to institute alcohol-free housing.
Even though it’s just a movie, this plot line highlights a real debate among college-aged women. The National Panhellenic Conference ruled in 1998 that alcohol is not allowed in any sorority house. The National Panhellenic Conference is the umbrella organization for 26 major sororities in this country, and breaking rules could result in chapter probation, suspension or even termination.
While some women in sororities see this rule as unreasonable and sexist, it actually has more benefits than detriments. As the debate over the alcohol ban continues, it’s important to remember that the rule helps sororities in a myriad of ways, and should stay in place.
This rule has less to do with keeping women from being adults and more to do with putting out a positive image on a college campus. I know many responsible women in Greek life who make smart choices about alcohol – but I think it’s important that alcohol isn’t one of the most prominent things people think of when they imagine life in a sorority.
Being part of a Greek organization gives young women an opportunity to be philanthropic, professional and a force of good on a college campus. That kind of image doesn’t come about by focusing on alcohol. And sororities aren’t the only groups concerned about their image: Since 1997, many fraternities have also began to make their houses dry, or alcohol-free.
Before I joined a sorority this semester, my ideas about Greek life were heavily influenced by the media’s depiction of it. My family wasn’t initially comfortable with me joining Greek life because it is so often associated with unsafe activities. After joining my sorority, I learned that a sorority experience doesn’t have to revolve around alcohol and parties – I found that philanthropy and sisterhood are the driving factors of being a member.
Unfortunately, many people outside of Greek life will continue to have these negative perceptions, and they aren’t totally off base. The majority of women in sororities binge drink regularly compared to 35 percent of non-sorority affiliated women, according to a Harvard University study from 2009. And over the last year, GW placed alcohol-related sanctions on more than half of the sororities on campus.
It’s reasonable to believe that this number would increase if sorority women were allowed to have alcohol in their houses, especially when considering fraternity houses, where alcohol is often allowed. Eighty-six percent of fraternity house residents engage in binge drinking, compared to 71 percent of men in fraternities who do not live in fraternity housing, according to the Harvard study. Having this sort of alcohol use ingrained in Greek culture is dangerous, and ending the alcohol ban could only make it worse.
GW’s Panhellenic Association announced earlier this semester that they were hoping to add two new sororities in the coming years. As our campus goes through this expansion process, it’s important for us to remember the kind of standards to which we hold our Greek organizations. Greek life should be a safe community to join, not one that encourages hazardous behavior.
It’s clear members of sorority life at GW already care about creating a positive image. This year Greek life kick-started a values-based recruitment which focused on matching chapters and potential new members based upon similar morals and ideals.
Greek life gives me, and so many others at GW, the ability to make new friends and do service projects. Because of my involvement in my sorority, I’ve had the chance to meet people both in my organization and in the larger Greek community that I know will be my friends for much longer than my four years at college. I’m confident I’ll be able to bond and get to know them better in ways that don’t involve drinking in the sorority house.
We can’t be naive about the role alcohol plays in college life. Just last month, one of our peer schools, Duke University, was forced to deal with the negatives of drinking and Greek life. Officials there suspended 10 of its sorority chapters due to an alcohol-related incident, in which a student was hospitalized and in critical condition.
As a student and as a new member of a sorority, I’d never want to see anything like this happen on campus. Sororities need to be working to prevent these occurrences from happening at all, rather than taking a step backward. Those who do want to enjoy drinking should seek out parties in other locations.
Sure, the alcohol ban can be annoying. It prevents a sorority from hosting brunch in their houses with some mimosas, and it even prevents women who live in sorority houses from enjoying a glass of wine in the comfort of their own bedroom. But sororities have values to uphold, as do fraternities.
“Neighbors 2” promises to be funny and over-the-top. However, Greek life doesn’t need any more battles. With universities across the country cracking down on Greek organizations, it’s time for us to focus on our ideals and morals, and not try to host another party.
Aria Vyas, a freshman double majoring in biology and psychology, is a Hatchet opinions writer. Want to respond to this piece? Submit a letter to the editor.
