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.
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