Fraternities and Sororities: Developing a Compelling Case for Relevance in Higher Education

Authors

James P. Barber, William & MaryFollow

Files

Document Type

Book

Department/Program

Education

Publication Date

2015

Book Title

Today’s College Students: A Reader

Publisher

Peter Lang Press

Editor

Pietro A. Sasso and Joseph L. DeVitis

City

New York, NY

Volume

57

Series

Adolescent Cultures, School, and Society

First Page

241

Last Page

255

Abstract

With over 60 collective years of serving the fraternal movement as fraternity/sorority members, chapter advisors, fraternity/sorority life advisors, and (inter)national fraternal leaders, we approached writing about the experiences of college students who participate in fraternities and sororities from an affirming and positive perspective. We believe these distinctive and intergenerational organizations can provide a forum for college students to create meaningful, well-rounded, and learning-oriented experiences. Deep and long-standing challenges continue to exist, but the juxtaposition of the best and worst actions of today's college students make fraternities and sororities among the most complex organizations on college campuses. In addition, there is a high level of interaction between and among students, the campus community, administrators, faculty, alumni, and external stakeholders such as parents and (inter)national fraternity/sorority headquarters. Such dynamic experiences can create shared and distinctive realities for students that are integral to student development. This chapter provides insight into the historical and modern-day complexities that affect students' experiences in fraternities and sororities and offers a framework for working with this population across contexts.

ISBN

9781433123955

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Publication Statement

This is a Version of Record that has been published in Today's College Students A Reader. Users of the material shall give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. They may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses the licensee or his/ her use. The material may not be used for commercial purposes. If a user remixes, transforms, or builds upon the material, he/she may not distribute the modified material. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode

Recommended Citation

Barber, J. P. (2015). Fraternities and Sororities: Developing a Compelling Case for Relevance in Higher Education. Pietro A. Sasso and Joseph L. DeVitis (Ed.), Today’s College Students: A Reader (pp. 241-255). New York, NY: Peter Lang Press. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/asbookchapters/119