The article “The Coddling of the American Mind,” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, describes the increasing overprotective culture of American colleges, and why that is a negative thing for education. The authors include many reputable sources, as well as detailed arguments in order to convince the reader of this. For me, this article’s subject matter turned out to be more interesting than was anticipated. The article taught me some intriguing new words, like “microaggressions,” and “vindictive protectiveness.” It gave many examples to help illustrate the meaning of these words, and how they relate to colleges around the United States. It was also interesting to learn of the various ways overprotectiveness hinders college students. Such…
Being a community, network, and family details my view of the “Hokie Spirit.” At Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT), I am certain that there is overwhelming support from professors and students because of the unique atmosphere I perceived when touring. While walking around the brick buildings, I felt as if all students knew each other, or that each of them had something in common. This aspect that every person who strode pass me entailed, was pride or “Hokie Spirit.” I could sense the fulfillment each individual had for attending one of the top public schools in the United States, and because of this, “Hokie Spirit” flourishes throughout the campus.…
Planning for my future is extremely important for me especially because I decided to go back to college at an older age. I am currently 26 years old, married with no children. While I am currently attending school part time because of my full time work schedule, I intend to continue taking classes during winter and summer sessions to make up for the extra credits and continue on a full time pace.…
When one hears the words “sorority” or “fraternity,” what comes to mind? A big house, nice clothes, or even pillow fights? Some sororities may have these things, but that is not what they are about. Sororities and fraternities have been sweeping over college campuses for years and are beginning to take over even more campuses. Katie Lambert, who wrote the article How Sororities Work, stated, “For many, a sorority or fraternity can be a great way to make lasting friendships, build a smaller community within a university setting, and find opportunities for leadership and service.”…
College is a unique social experience, a time to join clubs and organizations. Among these clubs and organizations there is Greek life, fraternities and sororities. Over 800 campuses in the United States and Canada participate in Greek life. There are also over 9 million Greek members nationally. Although what does it really take to be apart of Greek life? Greek life is about brother and sisterhood, being their for one another. Although it is popular, induction into Greek organizations has become a problem because of the practice of hazing and their rituals. Hazing is defined as an initiation process involving harassment. Hazing could impact one negatively in a physical and, or psychological way. As the rituals practices are meant…
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt wrote a piece for The Atlantic claiming, “A movement is arising, undirected and driven largely by students, to scrub campuses clean of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense.” They argue the point of college is to expand the mind and test conventional ways…
My research project will dive into the recently controversial topic of Greek life at colleges and universities. The main qualm is how the pros balance with the cons of Greek life, and should college students join? The newspaper article below provides a great start to the topic at hand. Originating from a USA Today newspaper, this article is somewhat lengthy but most importantly brings a simplified approach to the issue. One of the most important components of this article is the statistics and record of events that have taken place between universities across the country. Opposing views of Greek life participation are explained. In addition, there is a brief…
There are many misconceptions about “Greek Life.” People believe participating in a fraternity or sorority supports more partying, more drinking, more drug use, more sex, and a lower GPA, as well as being filthy rich. As much as most of these misconceptions are true, they are to an extent. The public always hears about these horror stories about frat brothers taking advantage of drunken girls, which has left a stain on the brothers’ reputation forever. The truth is, any person at college has the opportunity to party hard, be promiscuous, and fail classes. Fraternities and Sororities bring people together in a community that participates in and stands for more than just drinking and partying. To the many stereotypical thoughts about fraternities and sororities, there are some downfalls. Interested students go through a pledging phase and which most people fear the hazing that supposedly still goes on. In the earlier years of “Greek Life,” hazing was the norm. Members did it to their pledges out of tradition and to evaluate to see if pledges really wanted to be…
A 2014 survey of 30,000 students at Purdue found that members of the Greek System have higher levels of emotional well-being, a sense of purpose and community, and stronger relationships with their friends and family (Hechinger 7). Fraternities and sororities pride themselves on their “brotherhood” or “sisterhood,” and through interviews with college students Julia Lauer and Josh Douglas, I discovered having close friendships is essential to maintaining a healthy mental state and can help ease the stress of transitioning to college. A key aspect of sororities and fraternities is their self-government that provides opportunities for students to be in positions of authority and results in improved leadership skills (Hevel). As college can be overwhelming, the University of Michigan and other universities offer wellness coaching as a confidential way to talk about problems and develop solutions to improve students’ mental health (Cohen Interview). Our society is quick to label Greek letter organizations as an environment that cultivates mental distress, but many people are drawn to the Greek System because of the favorable effect it has on its members’ mental…
Where I can find soaring footballs, bro-fist-bumps, bimbos with the nice bodies, boisterous all night ragers with toxic amounts of drugs and alcohol till five in the morning, and ignorance beyond belief, I can find a frat house filled with the jerk-ish charm of Greek life’s loveliest brothers of a fraternity that has some unpronounceable Greek name. These pictures are similar to the ones depiction in most movies about the college life and are usually aimed towards high schoolers that are incoming college freshmen or college students who know about life on campus. Entering into school, I had this preconceived notion that all fraternities are like the ones traditionally depicted in movies about college. However, I am a sophomore…
A college campus can be home to many people with many different backgrounds and beliefs. It is…
We are currently living in a society where women are making new gains in the business world and are obtaining more jobs that at one time were considered "male" jobs. But, it is still no secret that women and men are not treated as equals. From the beginning of your life you are either treated as a male, or a female. Not in terms of sex, but in terms of gender. Stephen Sweet (2001) describes sex as being genetically determined, while gender is a social term that encompasses the expectations of men and women that are not sex-linked. From birth boys and girls are treated differently. The lives of boys and girls growing up are socially constructed throughout their childhood, mine was no different. The two agents that most affected my socialization are my parents and my peers. These groups showed me how to conform to the expectations that society was going to put on me because I was a girl. I believe that these three agents are very common among all people, but where they differ is in the context of the class society that we live in. These agents affect us all, they just may teach us different lessons. My middle class upbringing is very different from that of a boy growing up in the South Bronx, but the agents that affect us the most are the same.…
Administration, teachers, students, and parents agree on consistent practices and procedures across the school campus in order for the school to be successful. “The ultimate goal is to create a sense of fairness on a campus, an environment where students perceive they will receive the same respect and equitable treatment from classroom to classroom and from administrator to administrator” (Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, 2005 n.p.). When students recognize this trust on campus, it creates a fair environment for everyone. Students realize they are responsible for their actions, which allows them to focus on the primary aspect of school, academics.…
As stated by Dumais, “the acquisition of cultural capital and subsequent access to academic rewards depend upon the cultural capital passed down by the family , which in turn, is largely dependent on social class” . Furthermore, the amount of cultural capital possessed is appreciable to the onset of the acquisition process . While acquisition of cultural capital is a continual process that occurs throughout college, achieving equilibrium with continuing-generation students may prove arduous if accumulation of dominant forms of capital begin at matriculation. Furthermore, first-generation college students’ responsibilities outside of academia may hamper the accumulation process. Scholarship in Sociology of Education has yet to examine this process of capital accumulation and preexisting forms of capital. The omission of such will be brought to the forefront of my…
College involves a process that has been deeply engrained in our brains ever since we were young’uns. The concept of conformity is widely accepted and promoted in that particular social institution and other similar ones in society with the same design and concept, which functions to essentially debilitate and control specific demographics. For instance, there is not much distinction between elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. Similarly, they all involve following both unwritten and written rules, social norms, and conduct in a religious and attentive manner or else there are extreme consequences that must be faced in response. Evidently, those social institutions do not allow much freedom and individuality to be permitted.…