Is Greek Life the problem or RU? Revision

             When in high school, what a student does most is wait. Any typical teenager’s goal is what every adult expects it to be, to get to college. What else does a teenager who is tired of living the same life everyday within high school want more than to be free and get the experience of a lifetime? A huge university is where most students want to spend their 4 years after high school yet applying to and looking for schools that are a perfect matches comes with many background checks on the student life as well. Everything from the activities and organizations on campus to videos of partying is checked out online when making the decision that is capable of making their lives worth so much more. Rutgers, being highly acclaimed for their great academic system and their enthusiastic student life style, has been mentioned on the news several times of incidents that have occurred on campus, especially within the Greek Life organizations. Although so many other schools have gone through far worse incidents, not all leave a trail behind that makes the school suffer. So in reality, is the true problem the Greek life organizations or the students themselves who go too far?

The larger the population of a university or college is, the more attention the school receives, whether it be good or bad. Throughout the years, more and more incidents have occurred on college campuses that make not only parents concerned about their children’s wellbeing, but  makes the student think further into why they should even consider the institution any longer. If an incoming student were to do further research into the organizations on campus at a certain college, the most current occurrences are brought up first which effects the school at that moment.

At Rutgers University, there have been past events where students have gotten in trouble and even been in danger due to drinking. With it being such a prestigious school, news quickly breaks out. When the incidents of students drinking get to the point where a student’s life is taken, such as the life of nineteen year old Caitlyn Kovacks whom was enrolled at Rutgers New Brunswick as a sophomore, many questions are left unanswered. Not everyone knows the circumstances of how it all happened and because of the actions committed by that one student and it becoming unfortunate, the school board decided it would be best to make the banning of all parties within Greek life organizations on campus, a rule. Although starting off with simply some organizations on campus to be watched and not allowed drinking, a numerous amount of Greek life organizations were added to the list as more and more incidents surfaced. “Rutgers University has banned fraternity and sorority house parties at its main campus for the rest of the spring semester after several alcohol-related problems this school year, including the death of a student (Kingkade).” The death of the student Caitlyn Kovacks not only brought commotion to the students of the school but broke down the sister and brotherhood of the Greek life on campus.

            Now the real dilemma is whether the student of the Greek life organizations are the source of the recent problems at Rutgers with drinking. “The problem with college drinking is not necessarily the drinking itself, but the negative consequences that result from excessive drinking (College Drinking).” With the Greek life being the main source of the drinking and parties within colleges, this being banned gives the board of education, along with several parents, the comfort in knowing that their children are now safer than before. But before the death of Caitlyn Kovacks at Rutgers, other schools have been seen as sources to not only unhealthy drinking habits throughtout students, but underage drinking as well. If there were no fraternities on campus to support and be the source of the drinking, it would not be such an issue as it is now? Greek life, being the life of the party and encouraging the drinking, is what makes it such a much bigger problem. At that point, there is a source to the problem. Having a student die in a dorm from over drinking would not cause the same commotion as a student who dies directly after leaving a fraternity house, where the source of the drinking is obvious.

            Many would think the solution to the underage drinking and Greek life fatalities would be to shut down the source from where the problem is arising from. The tragedies are capable of happening wherever it is going to happen, whether it be in a frat house, in a dorm room, or even at an everyday student’s household. Instead of having the Greek life organizations shut down, such as occurred to Sigma Phi Epsilon in Rutgers New Brunswick, the students should be held responsible for the accidents they are involved in. Organizations could become more organized with the quantity and age of the people whom attend these parties but in at the end of the day, it’s the student’s decision on what and how much they will be taking in.

Is Greek Life the problem or RU?

            When in high school, what a student does most is wait. Any typical teenager’s goal is what every adult expects it to be, to get to college. What else does a teenager who is tired of living the same life everyday within high school want more than to be free and get the experience of a lifetime? To go to a huge university and live the way life is meant to be spent, fearless. Yet applying to and looking for schools that are a perfect match comes with many background checks on the student life as well. Everything from the activities and organizations on campus to I’m Shmacked videos of partying is checked out online when making the decision that is capable of making their lives worth so much more. Rutgers, being highly acclaimed for their great academic system and their greatly enthusiastic student life style, has been mentioned on the news several times of incidents that have occurred on campus, especially within the Greek Life organizations. Although so many other schools have gone through far worse incidents, not all leave a trail behind that makes the school suffer. So in reality, is the true problem the Greek life organizations or the students themselves whom go too far?

            The larger the population of a University or college is, the more attention the school receives, whether it be good or bad. Throughout the years, more and more incidents have occurred on college campuses that make not only parents concerned about their children’s wellbeing, but  makes the student think further into why they should even consider the institution any longer. “Rutgers University has banned fraternity and sorority house parties at its main campus for the rest of the spring semester after several alcohol-related problems this school year, including the death of a student (Kingkade).” When the incident gets to the point where a student’s life is taken, such as what occurred at Rutgers New Brunswick, many questions are left unanswered because not everyone knows the circumstances of how it all happened. Due to the actions committed by one student and her decision to become highly intoxicated, the school board decided it would be best to make it a rule within all of Greek life organizations. Although starting off with simply some organizations on campus to be watched and not allowed drinking, a numerous amount of Greek life organizations were added to the list as more and more incidents surfaced. “Rutgers bestowed this heavy-handed punishment upon its 86 fraternities and sororities this week, citing the aforementioned alcohol-fueled incidents (Rutgers Bans Frat Parties for 3 Weeks to Teach Everyone a Lesson about Binge Drinking).”

            “The problem with college drinking is not necessarily the drinking itself, but the negative consequences that result from excessive drinking (College Drinking).” With the Greek life being the main source of the drinking and parties within colleges, this being banned gives the board of education, along with several parents, the comfort in knowing that their children are now safer than before. But before the death at Rutgers, other schools have had fatalities within their Greek life organizations as well making it questionable whether or not the festivities being held on these campuses are the main source of the fatalities. “The University of Oklahoma banned drinking from the campus, starting last month, after the death last fall of Blake Hammontree, 19, who died at a Sigma Chi party, his blood-alcohol level five times the legal limit (Fraternity Fatalities).” If there were no fraternities on campus to support and be the source of the drinking, it would not be such an issue. Greek life, being the life of the party and encouraging the drinking, is what makes it such a much bigger problem. Having a student die in a dorm from over drinking would not cause the same commotion as a student who dies directly after leaving a fraternity house, where the source of the drinking is obvious.

            Many would think the solution to the underage drinking and Greek life fatalities would be to shut down the source from where the problem is arising from. Yet the tragedies are capable of happening wherever it is going to happen, whether it be in a frat house, in a dorm room, or even at an everyday student’s household. Instead of having the Greek life organizations shut down, such as occurred to Sigma Phi Epsilon in Rutgers New Brunswick, the organizations should simply be more organized with the quantity and age of the people whom attend these parties and make it their priority to not be of any danger to those whom participate in the activities. 

How Far Do Parties Really Go?

Works Cited

"College Drinking." College Drinking. NIAAA, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Fishbein, Rebecca. "Rutgers Bans Frat Parties for 3 Weeks To Teach Everyone A Lesson

About Binge Drinking." Gothamist. Gothamist, 7 Apr. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

"Fraternity Fatalities." Fraternity Fatalities. College Parents of America, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Kingkade, Tyler. "Rutgers Bans Fraternity Parties Following Alcohol-Related Problems.

"The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

The Freedom of Wisdom

            The meaning of freedom to whomever you ask is most likely to be the idea of having the power to express what is wanted without any kind of hesitation to do so. It is all about the idea of having power. In the book Good Lord Bird, James McBride displays the freedom that the characters have within the book and shows the kind of freedom that each character “has.” Although the two characters, Pie and Sibonia, are in completely different situations and atmospheres, they are both slaves. They both have different levels and in a way, different statuses, but they are both slaves. McBride shows Pie and Sibonia in entirely different ways within the slavery world. Even though the author shows the job Pie has and shows Onion the life she leads there, it is different from the environment Sibonia is in. Both of them, being in power and having freedom in their own atmospheres, gives the best example of how their lives differentiate. Although Pie has her status within the “high class hotel” due to the case she is a mulatto, Sibonia’s status is not seen out in society the way Pie’s life is. They are around two different kinds of people. By the way McBride shows Sibonia, the way she speaks and carries herself, she shows she has more wisdom than Pie has, along with her inner freedom.

            The definition of the word freedom is different to everyone. It is the way one interprets it. McBride shows how the white man is freer because of the backgrounds the other characters have and the lives they lived. Their social statuses and by the comparison of their treatment towards blacks tells a lot about them. Although Pie and Sibonia are both slaves, each has a different mentality and responsibility which automatically makes their own idea of freedom different from every other character in the book Good Lord Bird. They do both have their own kind of freedom but Sibonia, although not exactly shown as the brightest but has the wisdom most would like.

            Within Chapter eleven of Good Lord Bird, Onion makes his way to a whore house along with Bob, Chase, and Randy. Onion meets Pie there after Chase states what he was going to be doing. “Take this little lady across the road to the Pikesville Hotel, where Miss Abby is no doubt holding my room for me on the Hot Floor (McBride 142).” There Onion demonstrates to the readers his insight on what is to come within the house once the boys make their way in. Inside the “high-class hotel,” the “Hot Floor” shows the women who are being looked. When Pie is first seen by Onion, he sees right away that she is light skinned. Onion states that her skin is brown as “a deer’s hide, with high cheekbones and big brown dewy eyes as big as silver dollars (McBride 145).” Automatically, Onion is infatuated with Pie. The reader receives an insight on how Pie is obviously better dressed than all the rest, giving an insight sort of how she is seen and the position she holds.

Once she realizes that Onion is indeed a male and not a female as thought to be, she then shows how she has the power to get Onion thrown out of the house and how she can move those within the house around, due to the way she is seen by the house owner, Miss Abbey. The house owner uses Pie’s mulatto skin as an advantage to the duties of the house.  Pie shows the power she has with her clients by them being done what she wants to do, which is less than others. Regardless of the client wants, she finds her way to please them without forcing herself to do things she has no intentions of willingly act upon. Either way, she ends with what she wants. Not entirely free because still a slave, she has the upper hand within the “high-class hotel.” Being within the whore house and although some what of power is given to her for being a mulatto, she is still being a slave, being bought and paid for her, as her way of life.

            In the chapter after, James McBride introduces Sibonia as first walks to the back, into the pens, to see if Bob is available and his whereabouts. Onion walks in to see Negros in the back and he then sees Sibonia, whom caught him by surprise. Sibonia easily would be someone whom would startle anyone by the way she is dressed and would have someone be somewhat cautious around her. “The heavyset, settle-aged colored woman setting on a wooden box, cackling and babbling (McBride 147).” Onion then speaks of Sibonia without knowing her name, which portrays her as someone who may be seen as a joke. Sibonia proceeds to see who Onion actually is and then throws mud balls at him. Another lady proceeds to come out and stop her and Onion then sees the way Sibonia speaks to the other woman, Libby, and states that she sees how troubled Onion really is.  Once Libby leaves, Onion and Sibonia are alone and he sees the change in the way she is acting and how different it is. “There is power in that face,” (McBride 164) Onion states as she continues to make mud balls but does not continue to throw them but place them over one another into a pile. The way she carries herself is different and he sees it now. Sibonia then tells Onion the truth about how Bob is no longer there and he was “bounded out” (McBride 165). Although Sibonia in the beginning shows herself as to being unaware of what is going on around her, she knows exactly all that is happening, knowing everyone will eventually be sold. Her appearance throughout the book gives other characters the impression that she is stupid as well yet she knows her way around. She threatens Onion and states that she somehow finds the truth to everything when she says to Onion at the end of Chapter twelve stating that he isn’t to “stretch your mouth to nobody about this, especially Pie. If you do, I’ll know about it, and you’ll wake up with a heap of knives poking out that pretty neck of yours” (McBride 164).  Showing the capability of Sibonia and the wisdom she withholds.

            Within both chapters you see the difference between the mental knowledge of Pie and Sibonia. Sibonia’s fearlessness that Pie lacks gives her an advantage in surviving as a slave. Although questioning it more than once, Sibonia demonstrates how smart she is by not giving names to Judge Fuggett as well. McBride discreetly shows the differences between both characters page after page as he differentiates the way they each act and most importantly show their ability to act on surviving within their lives.

            Although Sibonia is in a place with everyone around and being seen the way she was when Onion first walked into the pen, readers would think she was not aware of her surroundings but once she begins to speak of the things going on around her, you get to hear what her inputs are of situations around her. McBride shows that Pie thinks highly of herself as well because of the way Miss Abbey sees her but even Sibonia sees the way it’s all going to end. The wisdom Sibonia’s wisdom comes straight from her experiences in her life.  The way of life that Pie lives throughout the book shows how she has not been face to face with the same difficulties in which the normal dark skin person would, whether it be in the “high class hotel” or it be on the streets along with the slaves and the lives they lived. Sibonia in reality has the wisdom Pie wishes to have and will not attain due to the circumstances they’ve lived in and the difference of intensity the situations they went through in their lives.  

Works Cited

            McBride, James. The Good Lord Bird. New York: Penguin Group, 2013. Print.