Truth about the Greek System at UA

Colleges & Universities University of Alabama
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I think I will live, hahahaha

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You’ll live? As will I


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Or you could have gone to Dartmouth and drowned drunk.

It’s the kids, not the school.

Let’s not tarnish a university when they are far from the only !!

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Every school, from kindergarten through grad school, is the kids, not the school. But the administration clearly has something to do with it, if they tolerate these organizations on campus, with overconsumption of alcohol, beatings, and gang rapes going on at these frat houses.

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Yes, similar problems exist at many or even most universities, not just UA. As I see it, this only makes it MORE important to talk about these problems openly wherever they occur, rather than hush things up.

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Reminder this thread is in the open forum - please stay on topic which is about UA, and a reminder that this is supposed to be a friendly and welcoming place.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation going forward!

Any further OT posts will be deleted without comment.

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Reminds me of that Golden Girls episode and Blanche’s high school beau Benjamin.

Blanche: “Now you have to understand in those days in the South, a lot of things were still taboo. Certain people were not to mix. So Benjamin and I had to meet in secret. We knew if any of the bigots in town found out about us, there’d be a terrible scandal. And then one day I had to make a decision. Benjamin invited me to our senior prom. I didn’t know what to do. Should I go out with this boy I really cared for, or should I bow to the pressure of an unjust society?”

Dorothy: “So what did you do?”

Blanche: “I walked into that gymnasium on Benjamin’s arm. Heads turned, jaws dropped. Why the room was buzzing all evening. I didn’t care. I had followed my heart and I’ve never regretted it.”

Rose: “Oh, Blanche, that’s a beautiful story. That must have taken real courage for both of you.”

Dorothy: “And it’s terrible to think that the two of you were almost kept apart just because Benjamin was black.”

Blanche: “Black? Benjamin wasn’t black. He was from New Jersey. I went to my senior prom with a YANKEE.”

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University of Alabama prides themselves on their Greek community. From their website


“With around 12,000 students, the UA Greek community comprises 36 percent of the undergraduate student body and is home to 71 social Greek-letter organizations. Since Fall 2011, The University of Alabama has held the coveted honor of being the largest fraternity and sorority community in the nation with regard to overall fraternity and sorority membership.”

Some recent incidents


Not Greek specific but on campus


And a slightly older first hand narrative


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I was about to say the same thing about a broad brush. My daughters are in sororities, really no hazing, my 23 year old loved it, met a lot of great friends, I think held an office, plus had a part time job, got into every DPT high ranked program she applied to. She’s very type A, hasn’t slept more than 6 hours a night since middle school, a huge joiner, is 1 of 3 people in her BU cohort with a job, plus volunteers in a special needs running program for fun. Her sister pledged a sorority freshman year at a big rah rah southern school, loves it, was an officer for 2 years. Oldest son pledged a “business” frat (oldest frat on campus, basically a social frat), definitely hazing, but he struggled getting a senior internship (regional college, they’re on their own). Fortunately a local company founded by frat brothers years ago came through, he’s graduated and still there 5 years later. Our kids know that any Greek expenses are on them.

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For anyone interested in real data re: academic records, hazing, alcohol violations, sexual misconduct and disciplinary actions taken, here is a link to the Greek Scorecard: Greek Reports - Fraternity and Sorority Life

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And for demographic info of the Greek System at UA: https://ofsl.sa.ua.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/12/Fall-2023-OFSL-Demographic-Report.pdf

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Detailed information re: hazing incidents over the last 4 years: Violations | End Hazing

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Actually partial and incomplete data. These are just those violations that were discovered or reported. I suspect the vast majority go under the radar.

It should be noted this report details numerous and often multiple hazing violations at 14 different fraternities.

Sub 3% Black or African American participation amongst the 12,500 strong Greek community and less than 1% Asian.

On the Greek student council only 32 of 4,033 are black, so less than 1%. Thank you for sharing this info, do you think this implies diversity?

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True-- but we have to start somewhere!

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Not UA, but a general comment on fraternities. My S joined one (a big national one) at an HYPS, and I was concerned at the time. For better or worse, with the drinking age raised to 21, the weekend social scene had pretty much moved off campus, but at some point you have to trust that your kid will make the right choices. His frat turned out to be one of the most diverse on campus and probably had the highest GPA. S got a lot of help and advice from older brothers when it came time for summer internships, and he then played it forward, still does to some extent. So for him, it was a positive experience because of his brothers. I do think if your kid is a “pleaser” and easily subject to peer pressure, that is where real risk lies. While that risk exists outside of frats, the structured peer group magnifies those risks.

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good advice-- and I definitely see the positives. As someone who didn’t belong to a sorority myself, it’s interesting to parent a kid that seems like he is kind of made for it (at least in its best incarnations). And I do think he is fundamentally a good kid but he is a kid and he has grown up in an insulated, rural environment. I also worry the mayhem might seem
glamorous. But you’re right, I need to have faith that I’ve raised him to make decent decisions.

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OP you may want to read through this student’s experience as it directly relates to your initial post.

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Yeah it’s a bit late but I can definitely answer any additional greek life questions. I won’t know frat specific stuff though

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Maybe you know how hard it would be for a northern kid to pledge a frat at UA? I hear some of them are solidly southern (Old Row or something? I don’t even know what that means) My son is very social and has a way with people but probably wouldn’t be comfortable in a house that is solidly southern or solidly northern. He’d likely feel best in a mix.