Towards a Typology of Fraterniy/Sorority Programs: A Content Analysis

Fraternity/sorority standards have been represented as the answer to the Call for Values Congruence authored by the Franklin Squared Group (2003). The outcome of this document was a proliferation of various styles and models of standards programs utilized to establish community practices with the overarching goal of facilitating values-based fraternity and sorority campus communities. However, fraternity/sorority standards programs answering this call have established higher standards through different methods. This study solicited standards programs from institutions from across the United States. Data from 31 standards programs were collected, cataloged, and analyzed through qualitative inquiry with the use of a rubric developed to establish a typology. Five categories resulted from analysis: evaluation, minimum standards, accreditation, awards, and comprehensive. Implications of the study are included along with future directions for research

Towards a Typology of Fraterniy/Sorority Programs: A Content Analysis

Fraternity/sorority standards have been represented as the answer to the Call for Values Congruence authored by the Franklin Squared Group (2003). The outcome of this document was a proliferation of various styles and models of standards programs utilized to establish community practices with the overarching goal of facilitating values-based fraternity and sorority campus communities. However, fraternity/sorority standards programs answering this call have established higher standards through different methods. This study solicited standards programs from institutions from across the United States. Data from 31 standards programs were collected, cataloged, and analyzed through qualitative inquiry with the use of a rubric developed to establish a typology. Five categories resulted from analysis: evaluation, minimum standards, accreditation, awards, and comprehensive. Implications of the study are included along with future directions for research

An Examination of Alcohol Expectations and Social Desirability in Fraternity Members on American College Campuses

Males who are members of American college fraternal organizations remain one of the heaviest drinking populations among college students (Wall, 2006). Within fraternities, alcohol use is ceded to social status (Larimer et al., 1997). This culturally ingrained alcohol misuse has confounded interventions and programming to address this phenomenon and response to these attempts have been low or nonexistent by fraternity members. This study investigated alcohol expectations and social desirability among fraternity members. It was hypothesized that as members enter and remain in the fraternity culture, distorted expectations and socially desirable behaviors may occur as demonstrated by differences between pledges and active members. Participants took the Brown et al. (1987) Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire-Adult version and the Marlowe and Crowne (1964) Social Desirability inventory. Results revealed that pledges engaged in higher levels of socially desirable behaviors and conformed towards exaggerated expectations of alcohol related to overall alcohol use, sexual ability, and socialization. Implications for advisors, health education professionals, college administrators, and counselors are suggested

Differences in Informal Alcohol Protective Behavior Strategies between Fraternity & Sorority Members

Institutional interventions and formal policies designed to reduce alcohol misuse among fraternity and sorority members have been largely unsuccessful. However, informal policies to address alcohol use concerns can also develop within this subculture. This qualitative multi-case phenomenological study examined the informal policies chapters adopt to reduce risks associated with drinking. Findings suggested considerable informal policy development, which varies between fraternities and sororities. Sorority groups implemented more protective behavior strategies for members’ safety, whereas fraternities often focus on monitoring outside groups. Implications for practice suggest a combination of risk and harm-reduction approaches that facilitate peer-led protective behavioral strategies

A Descriptive Quantitative Exploration of College Students of Promise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The term Students of Promise is used for students considered to have a heightened risk status, which not only has a negative effect on students but also on the higher education institutions they attend. This quantitative study explored how the COVID-19 virus has impacted student populations at various US higher education institutions and to uncover what specific issues (financial, emotional, social) impacted students during this unprecedented time in light of student categories and student demographics. This study found statistical significance in Students of Promise characteristics and presents data on the behaviors, activities, and tools necessary for success, concerns surrounding COVID-19, and opinions on higher education factors. Implications are also discussed to include a deeper understanding of Students of Promise needs, social mobility, and advising. This study shows that Students of Promise continue to need academic resources but also ways to lower stress levels and to afford college

“Brunch So Hard:“ Liquid Bonding and Unspoken Rules of Feminine Hegemony Through Alcohol Use Among National Panhellenic Conference Sorority Women

This qualitative study used a descriptive psychological phenomenological method with a poststructural feminist lens to better understand experiences of National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sorority women with fraternity men and alcohol use. Findings suggest that members were unapologetic about their purveyance of alcohol-related behaviors. They used empowering feminist discourses to describe the ways in which they bonded through alcohol use and to differentiate themselves as sorority women. Chapter leadership often used alcohol to construct a system of gendered hegemony which heavily indoctrinated new members. These experiences are nuanced for NPC women who differently experienced alcohol use as a gendered instrument to transmit feminine norms and expectations. Salient study findings offer implications for practice about alcohol misuse and wellness related to supporting identity development and power relationships with fraternity men

Angry White Men on Campus: Theoretical Perspectives and Recommended Responses

In this article, the authors explore a rise in violent protest among white college men, theoretical interpretations of this trend, and recommendations that student affairs educators can implement to address the harmful acts of white male on campus. By examining hegemonic masculinity, the theory of dispossession, anomic protest masculinity, and white men’s disengagement in college, student affairs professionals can begin to understand the larger contemporary trend of student activism among white college men. Moreover, evaluating common strategies for engaging college men, including behavior-only approaches, bad-dogging accountability practices, and white privilege pedagogy, educators can gain perspective on how current responses in the field of student affairs may be counterproductive to solving the problem of protest masculinities on campus. Finally, through a critical analysis of patriarchy and white supremacy as systems of oppression in graduate preparation, professional development, and individual self-reflection, educators can begin to effectively engage angry white men in college

Post(racial)-Malone: (Un)conscious Habits of White Iverson

This phenomenological qualitative study explored the gender performativity of protest masculinity in a multi-institutional study of white male-identified fraternity men. The participants expressed sentiments of dispossession, postracial attitudes, and performed cultural appropriation. Participants appropriated Black culture because they considered this synonymous with their own lack of power and privilege, which they believe has been dispossessed. Implications are provided to suggest how campus-based professionals can further disrupt the (un) conscious habits of whiteness in fraternity men and forms of white supremacy through collaborative programming and campus-wide efforts

Towards a Relationship-Centered Approach in Higher Education: The Dynamic Student Development Metatheodel (DSDM)

College success is often too simply measured as ultimate graduation and overlooks students\u27 critical need for a perceived sense of affiliation and belonging to the collegiate community which develops self-identity as a college student and can result in a higher level of performance over the academic lifespan. This article presents the Dynamic Student Development Metatheodel (DSDM) which was developed from common factors identified in multiple theories and models of human development, student development, and learning. When intentionally employed, the DSDM can be expected to improve retention, persistence, and ultimate graduation, as well as improve students\u27 academic and co-curricular experience

Sense of Belonging of New Members who are First-Generation College Students: A Single-Institution Qualitative Case Study

While there is research to suggest that first-generation college students benefit from and have a greater sense of belonging as a result of involvement in student organizations, there is limited research on how first-generation college students develop a sense of belonging specifically through their involvement as new members of a fraternity or sorority. This study, constructed within a single-institution qualitative case study framework, highlighted the unique role that organizational involvement, mentorship, emotional support, and first-generation status and identity can play in the development of sense of belonging for fraternity and sorority new members that are first-generation college students