What are the institutional problems with Greek life?

I have yet to see any real reasons that Greek life is inherently a problem. In my opinion the things that are inherent to Greek life are:
- dues to a national organization
- choosing members

That’s it really, and if you disaffiliate from nationals, that solves the first problem. As for choosing members, I believe there are legitimate strategies to address any bias that might exist there.

The replacement proposal I have heard is that washu provide social clubs that you can randomly join depending on a lottery. Here’s the issues:
- the cost has to be paid somehow. That probably means another increase in tuition, making washu more oppressive to low SES students
- there is minimal motivation to stay in these clubs, since they’re not founded on any particular interests or values. Although they might be twisted, there are certain things in each Greek organization that members have in common (besides being white and rich).
- there’s no real alumni network. Part of the draw of Greek life is being able to connect with alumni both from your school and across the country.
- they’re still exclusive, presumably. And since washu requires closed parties, any events they have would still be exclusive.

There are a number of problems with Greek Life as an institution, as far as I’ve seen. Some are WashU specific and some are not, but I think most abolitionists feel that the people and individual members are not the issue. Greek life does have a very specific impact on campus life, and it’s mostly to do with the breakdown between sororities and fraternities.

In the college tour, they will advertise WashU’s 30% participation rate Greek Life. This figure totally ignores the social reality of washu:
50% of women on campus will rush. The vast majority of those (~90%) will join an organization. While an individual sorority might be “competitive,” getting into a sorority is a near guarantee. After bid day, the economic and social pressures of adhering to greek life become a stressor. I agree that this one seems like an obvious fix, by offering more financial aid and implementing a need-blind rush process. I come from a higher income family and while I only spent $400 on dues (which a scholarship could cover), I probably spent close to a $1000 a semester trying to keep up with the spending habits of my sisters, including donations, brunches, and outfits for events. I agree that socializing at WashU is expensive, but when hanging out with my friends outside the sorority, I never felt like I HAD to brunch to get a photo as a family, or I HAD to buy an outfit to fit in. I spent hundreds on my big little baskets and they were underwhelming. I know a girl that spent thousands. This is normally the point where someone from a lower income status, who was lured in by the promise of financial aid, probably starts to realize they will be excluded from some activities (and in my opinion, some of the most meaningful activities) unless they start shelling out money. Would I feel left out if I didn’t have money? Definitely. Are these all workable issues in the Greek Life framework, or as a disaffiliated organization? I’d say absolutely. This is less an institutional problem with Greek Life and more an issue with the outrageous spending habits of WashU students.

Fraternities are a completely different story. Only 20% of men end up in fraternities. Unlike sororities, they can pick and choose who they rush, and the ratio of rushees to pledges is much lower. This means a very small number of men actually end up in a frat and a lot of the recruitment is done through “knowing someone.” Unlike Panhellenic rush, the rush process is done over the semester, giving ample time for brothers to party with potential brothers (even though this is technically in violation of the rules). So who ends up in fraternities then? Mostly wealthy, white men who can bro down with strangers. Unlike sororities, which I’d say are fairly representational of the campus population, fraternities are the absolute essence of the social connections and wealth you had coming into school.

So what are the institutional benefit of joining a fraternity?
- Priority housing on campus. Fraternities give