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 A mom called me last week about this very issue. Her son
was in one of the A&A [Arts and Architecture] studio majors. He was a strong
student in high school and had a significant number of
college credits. He held a job and bought his own car.
Basically, the mom said he was very responsible. He flunked
out the first year and lost most of his scholarships and
financial aid. (He was on a full ride.) She placed the majority
of the blame on the fraternity that he pledged as a first-year
student. She claimed the fraternity boasted about high GPAs
of their members. She felt this was a total misrepresentation.
She is trying to help her son go to another campus non-degree. Her first question about the campus was, “Does it
have fraternities?” She felt that they should be prohibited for
first-year students.I think it is a difficult decision. I have seen my advisees do poorly because of the amount of time they devote to fraternities. I also see students handle the time management just fine. I strongly advise students to beware of the time commitment and to put their academics first—especially the first year. ~ Joane Stoneberg, DUS programs coordinator, Penn State, August 11, 2008 I advise at a private university with 3,000 undergraduate students,
two fraternities, and two sororities. As an adviser, I do not recommend students
to pledge, but I allow them to come to their own decision after we discuss their
reasons for wanting to join. I have had enough of my advisees get into serious
academic trouble their first semester when they do pledge because of the time
commitment, even though I am told there are study tables for the pledges. One
of the biggest support for fraternities and sororities is that it provides a
“family” for the student, creates bonding with the institution, and helps with
socialization. I would rather the student use the first semester to become more
familiar with the campus as a whole. To help them get integrated into the
university scene better, I would rather have them join a club or organization.
If they do want to pledge, I suggest they use their first semester to get a
better, more objective view of the fraternities and sororities on our campus and then pledge second semester. That also
gives me as an adviser a better chance to see how they are performing
academically and use that information to better guide the student.~ Donna M. Smith, director of Academic Support Center, The University of Findlay, August 11, 2008 All first-year college students must adjust to new cultures including friends,
environments, policies, academics, extracurricular activities, and being away
from home. Pledging for a fraternity frequently results from family and peer
pressure. Being part of the community and getting involved can be complicated
for many first-year students. Pledging fraternities compounds the pressure to
belong by enduring the positive and negative rights of passage into Greek life.As an adviser for a university sorority for more than twenty years, I was provided with many interesting revelations. Mean girls do exist. Many wonderful young women were easily swept into the meanest. My primary responsibility as a sorority adviser was to keep the peace by expecting respect and demanding civility as the rule. Interestingly enough, expectations do produce results. Without a question or any reservations, I strongly promote pledging fraternities but not during the first year. I asked two best friends at graduation what they would have changed about their four years of college. Clearly and without hesitation, they absolutely would not pledge a fraternity their first year. They each had goals of going to professional schools. It did not happen for either student. Did fraternity life cause the failure to academically achieve entrance to professional schools? Both young men attributed their weak academic scholarship to fraternity life. While not empirically driven, I cannot ignore getting a bad start influences departure and failure rates. Braxton (2004) reported more than a quarter of students who enroll in four-year institutions depart after their first year. He examined the “departure puzzle” as a institutional dilemma related to policies. Additional research questions should address departure rates as related to policies related to Greek participation for first-year students. Institutional policies should foster a culture taking pride in academic excellence rather than being part of the top five party schools. Institutional policy should state clearly first-year students cannot pledge fraternities or sororities. The message conspicuously states the college experience primarily relates to excellence in academics. Reference: Braxton, J. M. (2004). Reworking the student departure puzzle. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press. ~ Barbara K. Wade, Ph.D., senior undergraduate studies adviser, Penn State, August 11, 2008 The Mentor is published by Penn State's Division of Undergraduate Studies Available online at www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/ Privacy and Legal Statements | Copyright | © The Pennsylvania State University | All rights reserved | |
