Coming into college, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a part
of Greek life because of the negative stereotypes that came along with it. I am sure we’ve all heard these stereotypes
that are placed on this community.
But how can you place
a name on a group of thousands of people? Why do people think so negatively
towards the Greek community in the first place?
Media.
When something happens that has to do with Greeks, the media
is quick to cast on it and spread it to the world. Most things that are being portrayed are making
society look down upon Greek life as a whole.
One incident, with one college campus, in one fraternity house, and one
kid, and suddenly the whole Greek community looks bad. People are assuming that the rest of the
members are just like the one shown in the media.
Yes. The point of media is to show our society what is
happening in the community, but when is it too much? Where do they decide if
something actually doesn’t need to be aired? There’s just a point to something
when it gets to be too much. The media
has a lot of impact on the community.
People are so quick to judge and are so easily persuaded by what the
media says. One new story about an OU fraternity member chanting inappropriate
things and suddenly all Greek affiliates are thought of to be just like the
member being shown on the news.
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| Lambda Theta Alpha raised $26,716 for St. Jude Children's Hospital |
The Greek community puts countless hours of volunteer work
and raises thousands of dollars to many associations each year. No one knows this though because there is
never publicity about the positive things that Greek members are doing. Some may think that the only point of
fraternities and sororities is to go out and party, but in reality there’s a
whole other point to these organizations that no one ever hears about. When society only sees things where one Greek member makes a mistake and
is shown negatively, then they will start to believe what the media is saying
and people just come to the assumption that every part of the Greek communities
are bad.
Will this ever get better? I am afraid not. The media will always be there to give new
information that they hear about.
Nothing will stop them from always trying to be the first to write about
a controversial issue in the Greek community.
They will always be on the look out to find something that’s appealing
to their audiences. As a member of the
society, you don’t have to stop interacting with the media, but rather stop
being quick to pass assumptions from the media and even sometimes stop
believing everything that is put in front of you. There are many instances in the media where
something is over exaggerated or told with little white lies, so it’s better
not to place instant blames and stereotypes.
I want you to realize that the media has a huge impact on
the society and how they think. When a
world revolves around technology, the media is everywhere…literally. The issues of Greek life shown on T.V. and in
articles are so little, compared to the actual meaning of the whole
organization. There is and always will
be a greater meaning and different side of everything that is shown in the
media.
Sources:
http://www.uwec.edu/Activities/greek/images/greek_2.jpg
http://greekgab.com/bottomline-greeks-know-raise-money/
I disagree with a number or the points you make. First, I do not think that the majority of people see all Greek life in a bad light, after all, the public does see the work and university involvement from Greek Life. It is simply those with the most extreme opinions who have the loudest voices. Second, the tone of this post makes it seem like you are advocting that the media not air Sororities or Fraternities dirty laundry. This may not be what you mean to say but it is what it sound like. and on this point I fervently disagree. The bad things that happen in Greek Life in some ways reflect the institution they represent (often the university as a whole) and not airing only allows the perpetuation of actions and institutional suppression. Though, the media may exagerate, I still think that is better than complete ignorance about what is going on in our communities and on our college campuses.
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ReplyDeleteI thought your points were extremely valid and a good use of a sensitive topic in our community. I was really interested in reading this right of the bat. I think that you point out a good reason of why this is a problem within our society. You give reasons why greek life shouldn't have this negative connotation to it, and back it up with very good examples like service hours and the endless money raising greeks do within their community. I also enjoyed your technique of asking questions throughout the blog. It made me stop and thinking and reflect on a personal level about how I feel about this topic. Overall your blog was put together very well and I think you did a great job!
ReplyDeleteThe media obviously plays a huge role in over blowing Greek Life incidents, but that doesn't mean there aren't some major issues in it. The OU fraternity is a prime example of that. Something like that needs to be known by society, and it makes you wonder exactly what else could be going on in fraternities and sororities across the nation.
ReplyDeleteI agreen with Madison Green, your points were valid and effective. The topic of media only showing the bad sides of greek life can be applied to everything in the media. The media only ever seem to tell people about the negative aspects of situations, be it with greek life, politics or celebrities. There needs to be more awareness about what not to believe that the media puts out there, not just involving greeks and greek life but in general. It's a good life lesson to not always believe everything that you are told or you read. This was well written and I really liked the message.
ReplyDeleteI too was very hesitant to join greek life because the way that the media represents it. Until I took a deeper look into all the good things that are done in the greek community I was very against it. The media definitely does a good job of making the greek system look bad, I wish there were another way for the good things that members of the greek community could show the good things that they do. This post in great! I thought it was very relatable and I loved listening to your thoughts on it.
ReplyDeleteI think that one negative thing can indeed make that fraternity or sorority look bad, but not so much all of greek life as a whole. So yes one thing can sort of give the fraternity or sorority a bad name despite all the good things they may do, but I think that is part of why. Greek life is known for having good GPA's, doing community service or volunteering and so on, so I feel that when something bad happens it is disapointing that a organization spoken so highly of did such a thing. Yes it isn't quite as fair that one person can ruin that and give a house a bad rep but its that Frat or Sororities job to keep the members in line. Although greek life is known for community service, volunteering and good grades a majority are also unfortunately known for partying. Yes in the media you only really hear about the bad things frats or sororities are doing but because they are already expected to do those good things. Kind of like doo you get rewarded for showing up to class? No not really because it is already expected. I see what you are saying by the media never says anything good that greek life is doing, but that is because all around the country all of the other frats and sororities are all doing it too.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this point of view. I have also noticed how there is a looming negative connotation attached to members of Greek chapters or just the Greek community in general. I agree that a lot of it has to do with how they are portrayed in different media platforms (Ex: "Total Frat Move" on Instagram) and we regularly hear reports of certain members behaving inappropriately, therefore giving that chapter a negative reputation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Taylor, I would not say greek life as a whole, because each house and member is expected to achieve certain requirements. But i understand where you are coming from and how the media effects the whole greek community. Overall, I enjoyed reading your blog!
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