Proud To Be Greek!!!!!!!
 

Just an FYI.. i'm not sure of where i read this, but did you know that 80% of the people listed in the Who's Who book (actually a reference book available in the library listing every person who "starts a ripple") are members of greek orginazations?? wooooooooooooooord... you can throw that back in the face of anyone who talks smack about fraternities and sororities..

Yep and it includes Pres., check sites to see some of the Important people in Film Media, Polotics, Military and many more areas. Can go to greekpages.com and look a lot of things up for each Org.

The highest GPA's and Contributors to College Foundations.

Greeks are Bad, lets kick Greeks off Campus!


What a shame this is the mentality of so many people!
:(

Oh yes, am I proud to be a Greek, You Damn Bettcha, all the way.:cool:

It's a real shame that there are still people out there that badmouth Greeks. I don't know if it is the media or natural close-mindedness that is to blame in this phenomenom (please tell me if spelled it wrong). Judging from the percentage of Who's Who that are members of GLOs and the other accomplishments, these badmouthers should think twice before speaking ill about us. As my signature indicates, I am proud to be a sister of Epsilon Sigma Phi! I AM ALSO PROUD TO BE GREEK!!! We all should be proud to be Greek!

http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/cool.gif http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/bounce.gif http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmili.../pinkieone.gif http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/pyth.gif http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/monalisa.gif

Call me skeptical, but I wouldn't "throw this back in the face"of anyone unless I knew for sure that I could back up the claim with hard facts. This sounds like another Greek urban legend to me, especially since Who's Who comes in over 15 "editions" (Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the South, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, etc.) and is constantly updated.

Greeks have plenty to be proud of without resorting to claims that will be hard if not impossible to back up. On the other hand, trying to defend the Greek system with claims that can be easily knocked down hardly helps anyone's credibility.

My $0.02.

Please allow me to clarify and add on.....

71% in Who's Who in America are greek

85% of Fortune 500 executives are greek

80% of US Presidents since 1900 are greek

-HELL YES I'M PROUD TO BE GREEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

aren't you?:D

No offense intended, sigmadahlin', but what are your sources? Can you back these claims up?

You can be proud to be greek whether or not there are 71% or 85% or 20% in Who's Who or Congress or the White House or the Supreme Court. :D Each individual member should live a life that reflects positively on his or her GLO. :)

very well said Cream!!:) :)

i'm in who's who among american high school students (two years in a row) along with national honor roll, junior leadership alcorn, american red cross volunteer, and tons of other stuff

I was in Who's Who in HS also. :)

Thank you, Princess Heather. :)

Looks a bona fide statistic to me ;-)
 

Many of the past US Presidents were members of Greek Letter Organisations (thus, Greek). In addition to being members of social fraternities (i.e. members of The North-American Interfraternity Conference), some were members of other Greek Letter Organisations such as Alpha Phi Omega, a service GLO or other GLOs such as Phi Alpha Delta, a professional GLO (both groups are members of The Professional Fraternity Association). This would form the basis of the statement 80% of US Presidents since 1900 are greek.

Sources:[list=1][*] Center for the Study of the College Fraternity, Bloomington, IN.: "The North-American Interfraternity Conference has compiled a list of U.S. Presidents [who were/are members of a Greek Letter Organisation]".[*] The entries which read Phi Alpha Delta and Alpha Phi Omega can both be separately verified at the PAD and APO websites, respectively.[/list=1] President & Fraternity (figures in brackets are years in office of US Presidency)

• Rutherford Birchard Hayes - Delta Kappa Epsilon (1877-1881)
• James Abram Garfield - Delta Upsilon (1881)
• Chester Alan Arthur - Psi Upsilon (1881-1885)
• Benjamin Harrison - Phi Delta Theta (1889-1893)
• William McKinley - Sigma Alpha Epsilon (1897-1901)
• Theodore Roosevelt - Delta Kappa Epsilon/Alpha Delta Phi (1901-1909)
• William Howard Taft - Psi Upsilon & Phi Alpha Delta (1909-1913)
• Woodrow Wilson - Phi Kappa Psi & Phi Alpha Delta (1913-1921)
• Warren Gamaliel Harding - Phi Alpha Delta (1921-1923)
• Calvin Coolidge - Phi Gamma Delta (1923-1929)
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Alpha Delta Phi (1933-1945)
• Harry S. Truman - Lambda Chi Alpha & Phi Alpha Delta (1945-1953)
• Dwight David Eisenhower - Tau Epsilon Phi (1953-1961)
• John Fitzgerald Kennedy - Phi Kappa Theta (1961-1963)
• Gerald Rudolph Ford - Delta Kappa Epsilon (1974-1977)
• James Earl Carter Jr. - Phi Alpha Delta (1977-1981)
• Ronald Wilson Reagan Tau Kappa Epsilon (1981-1989)
• George Herbert Walker Bush - Delta Kappa Epsilon (1989-1993)
• William Jefferson Clinton - Alpha Phi Omega & Phi Alpha Delta (1993-2001)
• George Walker Bush - Delta Kappa Epsilon (2001- )

In total there were 19 Presidents (greek or not) from the year 1900 to date. Since 1900, there've only been three US Presidents which aren't on that list (Herbert Clark Hoover 1929-1933, Lyndon Baines Johnson 1963-1969 and Richard Milhous Nixon 1969-1974). Since those three were not Greek (that I have ascertained), that leaves sixteen who were, which means sigmadahlin''s comment "80% of US Presidents since 1900 are greek" is correct, with verifiable sources. The specific figure being 83% (17.4% of US Presidents non-Greek since 1900 rounded to nearest whole number).

:) :p !

That should be the point of all of this - well said

Re: Looks a bona fide statistic to me ;-)
 

Thanks, decadence, but if you look back at my post, you'll see that I only asked for sources on the two other claims -- that 71% in Who's Who in America are Greek and that 85% of Fortune 500 executives are Greek. I did not ask for confirmation on the "80% of Presidents" claim because that one is much easier to check out, as you have demonstrated. (And this claim is much more accurate than the all too commonly heard claim that "all but two presidents since 1825 have been Greek.")

Cream, you are exactly right!! I don't think any of us need to rely on possibly-inflated claims that may only undercut our credibility. I'd much rather spend my energy being a good adverstisement for Greek life myself.

MysticCat81 I agree with you
 

I was speaking generally ;). In my defence, it was about 3am and while it took some time to verify the Presidential statistics, to verify say the 85% of Fortune 500 executives being Greek item, would - in the absence of any published studies citing it (I could not find any) - require me to a) decide myself what constitutes an 'executive' e.g board member, b) find out the 500 companies listed, c) find out their executives and research any greek affiliation for them before finally calculating the percentage which turned out to be Greek! I decided to go and sleep instead :p
Originally posted by MysticCat81: I did not ask for confirmation on the "80% of Presidents" claim because that one is much easier to check out, as you have demonstrated.
Cough :D Well... I wouldn't say it was easy!
Originally posted by MysticCat81: (And this claim is much more accurate than the all too commonly heard claim that "all but two presidents since 1825 have been Greek.")
:) Yup, I found out last night how accurate that one was! :D

This thread got me thinking
 

Ther're a lot of other very very common statistics used to promote Greek Life, I think it would be a fantastic resource for the future and provide powerful advocacy tools if we could verify sources for each of them (where verifiable). Anyone agree?

Have the "who's who" books changed much since the 80s? Because back then, all you had to do to get your name listed in there was to cough up the $95 for the book.

It was a clever business model, actually. Prey on people's inherent vanity and get them to spend $95 just to see their name in print. Then sell all the contact info to mass marketers. This was pre-internet obviously, so it was kind of the spam of the 80s.

I laugh when I'm reading a resume and I see "listed in who's who". I'm thinking... "sucker".

But maybe my info is out of date.

wptw

I don't think it is. Only now, instead of buying the book, you can just "subscribe" to the Who's Who website.

Re: This thread got me thinking
 

Yes and no. The statistics may be powerful in some instances, but not nearly as powerful, I think, as the local experience with Greek life. I mean, how many people do you know who said "I wanted to be Greek because 80+% of US Presidents since 1900 and 85% of Fortune 500 executives are Greek"? No, you hear "I wanted joined because this was a great group of guys/girls who seemed to be doing great things and having fun in the process." The statistics may be more useful in changing public perception, but seeing as many of the people who think Greek life is all about elitism may be the same people most likely to dislike politicians, corporate executive-types and the like, I'm not even sure of that.

And as for the statistics themselves, the problem is that the numbers can be so slippery and can take on a life of their own. Take, for example, the claim that 85% of Fortune 500 executives are Greek. As of what date? Yesterday? Last month? Last year? Ten years ago? Executives come and go with some frequency. And who qualifies as "executives"? CEOs? CFOs? Assistant Vice-Presidents? And do we count Ken Lay? (See distrust of corporate executive-types above.)

See, even if the statistic is correct when first published, it will soon be out of date. Nevertheless, it will continue to circulate, probably being misquoted in the process. Bottom line: if the statistic comes from a group like the NIC, the NPC, the NPHC or the Center for the Study of the College Fraternity, I would be more inclined to trust it, especially if there is background information to prove veracity and timing (such as "As of date, 65% ....", or "these statistics were taken from..."). Otherwise, I'll stay skeptical.

when i got my letter (both years) it said that i was NOMINATED. i never sent in a dime. i didnt even order the book. and i got a certificate in the mail after i sent in my bio.

-actually...i never really thought about who's who...i had too much other stuff to do...joining was the last thing on my mind and i really didnt know much about it other than like EVERYBODY in the hall of fame was in who's who.

The HS version of Who's Who really doesn't mean too much (not putting you down! i swear! just learned from experience). A HS teacher or counselor is responsible for the nominating, I think they pretty much take the top 20% or so of the class.

When I was in it all four years of high school, your listing was free, but you had to pay like $10 to get your picture and like $35 to buy the book. Pretty much a money making scheme trying to take advantage of kids padding their resume. There are SO many groups out there that do this. I guess it's an honor to be dumb enough to fork over money to join 100 of these :o) I joined a few, then I learned better, and only joined orgs that actually did something.

I'm pretty sure the Americans version is a little different... wouldn't surprise me if they charged a fee just for the listing. As for the selection criteria, I have no clue. But I think they're a little bit more prestigous - I walked past a set of them in the law library just yesterday.

Also, when you try to do statistics as to who is "greek"- what constitutes greek? Just NPC, NIC, NPHC type groups? I noticed in the listing with the President's and their orgs, Phi Alpha Delta is mentioned for several of them, and you'll see that for many lawyers and judges as well. However, as a Phi Alpha Delta, I do not consider Phi Alpha Delta to be anything like a "traditionally" greek group. It's mainly a professional org, with some social aspect. If I was just a Phi Alpha Delta, I would not consider myself greek.

Also, just cause I was in Phi Eta Sigma as a freshman (along with about 500 other freshman on my campus) -would that make you greek?

Nominated, eh? Yes, I think all the letters I got back when I was in school said the same thing. But I don't...

Oh wait a minute... hang on, I just received a very important letter in the mail. Apparently, I may have already won $10,000,000.

I'll have to get back to you.

wptw

yeah. it really doesnt mean anything it just looks good on resumes and applications. just like national honor roll...i'm in that and it means absolutely nothing. neither of the two really do me any good other than looking good on my resume.

Ooohhh!!!!!!!!! Better be making a hefty donation to GC! ;)

Damn, I would have so much money if I accepted every offer that I was "nominated" or "chosen" for... but you know, there was just too much money, i wouldn't know what to do with it all.

/hijack, just being goofy today

Ouch :-(
 

Sorry Danielle I don't understand :( :confused: As far as I thought someone who was Greek was a member of a Greek Letter Organisation and that was the definition. The GreekChat bulletin board has had debate before over the merits of service, and professional (etc) versus social Greek Letter Orgs and posters seemed to reach a consensus that if non-social fraternities/sororities seemed "better" to someone it was a reflection of how active that group was on campus in general campus life, greek activities, philanthropy etc and the more a (for example) professional GLO did the more validity it naturally carried as a Greek group. It saddens me that someone questions whether they are "more Greek" :( than the next person simply because their Greek Letter org is a member of say the NPC or NIC rather than the NPHC or Professional Fraternity Organisation or whatever? That's because I created the list based on the The North-American Interfraternity Conference list (which only included their members) extending it to - correctly so far as I thought - include Presidents who were members of other fraternities which didn't happen to be members of NIC, such as APO or PAD.

Yes but when you look at Greek Life pages on college websites or fraternity webpages, you often see advice for parents, citing statistics such as these, serving as a reminder that there's more than one party to convince? Plus, there are a few more greek stats which we all see a LOT, than the three or so posted so far (I'll place them in another post), some of these may appeal to or draw one member, some other facts may draw another some may not be of interest, it's simply a matter of trying to cater for different audiences? Yes I agree, but this was my point. If we COULD with those widely used greek statistics know where they came from e.g. an academic study or an official body and when they came from then it would be a better idea to use them, than if we didn't know any of that info? This is what I was trying to do and why I went through checking information on 43 Presidents?

These are some of those Greek Statistics
 

Agree 100%. At least with the over 80% of US Presidents since 1900 being greek example, we know have a 100% verified situation, based on information from official bodies. Only a few more to verify :p

Without further ado...

Greek Statistics

• 71% of those listed in "Who's Who in America" belong to a fraternity.
• Of the nation's 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity men.
• 85% of the Fortune 500 executives belong to a fraternity.
• 40 of 47 U.S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were fraternity men.
• 76% of all Congressmen and Senators belong to a fraternity.
• Every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825 have been members of a fraternity.
• 80% of US Presidents since 1900 are greek verified
• 63% of the U.S. President's Cabinet members since 1900 have been Greek.
• A National Conference report shows a majority of the 600 NIC fraternity chapters are above the All-Men's scholastic average.
• A U.S. Government study shows that over 70% of all those who join a fraternity/sorority graduate, while under 50% of all non-fraternity/sorority persons graduate. (also vaguely recall it mentioned this was a Univ. of Missouri study; unable to verify so far)
• Less than 2% of an average college student's expenses go toward fraternity/sorority dues.
• Over 85% of the student leaders on some 730 campuses are involved in the Greek community.
• Over $7 million is raised every year by Greeks nationally.
• 850,000 hours are volunteered by Greeks annually.
• There are 123 fraternities and sororities with 9 million members total.
• There are 750,000 undergraduate members in 12,000 chapters on more than 800 campuses in USA and Canada
• The Greek system is the largest network of volunteers in the US, with members donating over 10 million hours of volunteer service each year
• The Greek system is the largest not-for-profit student landlord in the US, with over $3 billion in assets and more than 250,000 students living in Greek housing in more than 8,000 facilities

P.S (according to someone on GreekChat) Apparently Lyndon B. Johnson was in a local that later joined PiKA, although he was never initiated into PiKA and is not recognized by PiKA as a brother.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is an AEPhi. I don't know about Sandra Day O'Connor. At least 50% of female Supreme Court Justices are sorority women. :)

What , women on the Supremeist of Courts?

Damn, give them the right to vote and look what happens!:(

Drive cars, have cell phones and go shopping!:eek:

"cream", will you be my legal eagle if I need, only Law I new was college and COPS Shop!!!!!:)

Re: These are some of those Greek Statistics
 

Funny... I heard the local later became a Sigma Nu chapter.

Possibly, KTSnake; I was only quoting directly what someone else on GC had said in a previous post.

Re: These are some of those Greek Statistics
 

Debunked as Greek Urban Legend by the Center for the Study of the College Fraternity. Their list, which you posted in this thread, shows that R.B. Hayes, who became president in 1877 and was a Deke, was the first "Greek" president, at least if considering an NIC group.

Simple logic backs this up. Yes, Kappa Alpha Society was the first social fraternity and was founded in 1825, but for a while fraternities were relatively few in number and were limited to relatively few campuses. (Professional, service, and other "specialized" GLOs did not come until later.) Add in the constitutional requirement that a president must be 35 years old, and it would appear to be at least 1848 or so before any man who went Greek in college would even be eligible to be president, much less be elected.

Quote:

Over 85% of the student leaders on some 730 campuses are involved in the Greek community.

Good luck verifying this. This semester? Last semester? Ten years ago? And why "some 730 campuses"? There are lots more college/university campuses than that. Do they mean the campuses that allow Greek life? Then say so.

Quote:

There are 123 fraternities and sororities with 9 million members total.

See, now here is an example of a statistic that looks straightfoward, but is actually misleading and inaccurate. Just take a look at ariesrising's pages or GreekPages.com, and you can easily find more than 123 fraternities and sororities.

Do they mean 123 NIC, NPC and NPHC groups? Then say so. Do they mean national, social GLO's? Then say so. Are they including professional GLOs? Service GLOs? Multi-cultural GLOs? Latino/a GLOs? Local GLOs? Better make it clear.

But it probably won't get made clear. And yet someone will pick up this "fact" and run with it, placing it in rush info and posting it on the web, and we'll still be seeing it 15 years from now, when even if it once was accurate it won't be any more. This is why I am so leery of these Greek "statistics."

MysticCat81's responses precluded by ">>".

One thing I'll mention before I respond to the rest of your points re the various examples of those widely quoted Greek statistics I posted in this thread. I'm aware some/most of them may be urban legends with no basis in fact just so you know and haven't deluded myself they're all true! Hopefully via this thread though we'll be able to establish which if any are true (backed up by verifiable proof).

>> Debunked as Greek Urban Legend by the Center for the Study
>> of the College Fraternity. Their list, which you posted in this
>> thread, shows that R.B. Hayes, who became president in
>> 1877 and was a Deke, was the first "Greek" president,
I quickly found out that this seemed untrue, also. The Center covered themselves, kinda, by saying it "probably" wasn't true of course :). As an aside, when the statistic is generally quoted, it's used in various ways e.g. every president BORN since 1825 is one alternate example, or rather than use the word "greek" they state every president has been a "fraternity man" - which then includes freemasonry (avoiding the Greek argument).
On your next paragraph you explain perfectly why the 'born since' example is equally invalid :).

>> at least if considering an NIC group.
Don't get me started on that again :p

>> Good luck verifying this.
Thanks :p

>> This semester? Last semester? Ten years ago? And
>> why "some 730 campuses"? There are lots more
>> college/university campuses than that. Do they mean the
>> campuses that allow Greek life?
If we assume/pretend for one moment this was a valid statistic, then looking at it the way it's phrased it seems to indicate info. is from some type of research, presumably a scholarly study (doctoral thesis etc) which surveyed a finite number of campuses e.g 1000 and 730
~Off topic for one sec: Out of interest how many accredited campuses are there and who are they accredited by? (Just wondered).~

>> Then say so.
Me?? :(

>> There are 123 fraternities and sororities with 9 million
>> members total. See, now here is an example of a statistic that
>> looks straightfoward, but is actually misleading and
>> inaccurate. Just take a look at ariesrising's pages or
>> GreekPages.com, and you can easily find more than 123
>> fraternities and sororities.
>> ...it probably won't get made clear. And yet someone will pick
>> up this "fact" and run with it, placing it in rush info and
>> posting it on the web, and we'll still be seeing it 15 years from
>> now, when even if it once was accurate it won't be any more.
Exactly, I actually agree with most of what you've said, MysticCat81, despite the devils advocate-esque nature of my response. But that's why I think it is important to ewxamine the "statistics" to examine which is true and which is false. If there are positive statistics we can use in rush info and on websites, great but until we reach a point where we know and can prove and explain those stratistics before using the we run the risk of not knowing what we are talking about (when using them).

Interesting...
 

Well, the only thing that i have figured out is statistics are every where and can be put up for everything! and anything!;)

The Fraternal world is always in a state of flux. Things change daily and do.

Chapters come and go, sometimes Organizations Merge! I am not sure if PSE and PSK were the last?

There a may be more in the Future, one never knows:confused:

More probable origins of statistics identified
 

48% of all US presidents have been Greek verified
Simply refer to list of Greek Presidents since 1900, bear in mind there were 18 before Rutherford Birchard Hayes and none were Greek then after 1900 as mentioned before three were not Greek. The total amount out of the 43 Presidents not being Greek equalling 21. Thus 49% of all US presidents have been Greek (statistic said 48% as NIC only considered their member fraternities).

123 Fraternities and Sororities source identified
Breakdown: (these are clearly international fraternities and sororities – social, single sex)
66 NIC Men's Fraternities (NorthAmerican Interfraternity Conference)
26 NPC Women's Fraternities (National Panhellenic Conference)
9 NPHC Groups (National Pan-Hellenic Council)
22 NALFO Group (National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations)

9 Million Members Total
750,000 Undergraduate Members
12000 Chapters
Located on 800 campuses in USA and Canada

Souce "NPC/NIC Research Initiative 2000-2001".
Performed by Center for Advanced Social Research – University of Missouri Columbia.
"Representative sample of more than 2,300 students on a representative sample of U.S campuses."
Figures are from the data available to the Center for Advanced Social Research via the governing bodies.

As an FYI, Professional Fraternities not included in that figure of 123 Fraternities and Sororities have the governing body the "Professional Fraternity Association" "To be eligible for membership, a fraternity must be national or international in character and shall charter its institutional chapters only at appropriately accredited colleges, universities, or professional schools. The fraternity shall be identified by, or related to a field of study or common interest." There are 34 member fraternities under the PFA. (123+34=157).

"Most Successful Leadership Development Program for College Students" source identified
Probable origin 82% of females and 68% of males reported they joined Greek orgs for leadership training. Aforementioned 2001 study.

OKAY AND ALL OF THE POINTS ARE??

Now that we have settled NADA!

ANY AND ALL FIGURES CAN BEED SCEEWED!!


For every person who writes about the Know ALL TELL ALL, % are ambigiously BORING!!!!:D

OH WELL:TTFN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:) I didn't say they were especially interesting. Not at all. But any positive info is good if I know it's correct. I just don't want to use statistics that might be wrong. And some others don't either.

edited to add: erm what I meant was now I *know* all but 2/3 Presidents since 1825 weren't greek for example I won't use that info. in ignorance again. A lot of GLOs use these statistics as selling points without knowing the veracity of them. Now for the ones GC'ers have proven/debunked on this thread if they're asked "Prove it!" they can.

Another Statistic examined (long)
 

It wasn't exactly a US Government study... Though there was one in the past...

The NPC/NIC Research Initiative study has been conducted regularly since 1996. The 1998 study found (reported by Esther Thorson, director for the CASR) that since nearly 25 percent of the university's undergraduates are members of a fraternity or sorority, they expected that if Greeks were equally likely as non-Greek students to drop out then they would observe 25 percent of dropouts to have been in a fraternity or sorority. But their findings showed that only 18 percent of the dropouts identified themselves as having been members of a fraternity or sorority. "This would mean about a 28 percent higher retention rate than expected by chance," Dr. Thorson said in a news release. http://cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/nique/is...mpuslife4.html
It would appear this is the origin of the statistic.
Among the study's findings are that alumni of fraternities or sororities appear to be more likely to donate money to their alma maters than do other graduates, as well as feeling better about the social aspects of their undergraduate experience.
"The research findings show that young men and women who take an active part in a men's or women's fraternity or sorority are more likely to stay in college and to support their alma maters as alumni," said NPC Chairman Lissa Bradford and NIC President Idris R. Traylor in a news release.

Further sources related to student retention ( http://www.gammasigmaalpha.org/ ):
• Group living (residence halls and Greek houses) has a positive influence on retention and graduation (Carney, 1980)
• Fraternity residents are less likely to drop out (Eckland, 1964)
• More Greek transfer students graduate than non-members (Gibson, 1995)
• Greeks have higher graduation rates than non-Greeks (Iffert, 1958)
• Greek persistence and graduation rates were higher (Scott, 1965)

Carney, M. (1980). Persistence and graduation rates of Greek, independent, commuter and residence hall students: A nine semester study. Office of Student Affairs Research, 1979-1980 Report No. 45. Norman: University of Oklahoma. 3 pp. Abstract -- The results of this study support the positive socialization function that on-campus living offers students, particularly those with Greek affiliation. The fact that Greek students have lower academic ability as measured by standardized entrance tests, than residence hall non-Greek students, but yet have higher retention and graduation rates further supports the value of group living. {Single Institution study prior to 1990} [Abstract from Center for the Study of the College Fraternity, Annotated Bibliography, Research Studies and Articles 1980-1985]

Eckland, Bruce K. (1964). A source of error in college attrition studies. Sociology of Education, 38(1), 60-72.
Abstract -- Questionnaires returned by 1,180 former University of Illinois students were utilized to study predictors of college graduation. Academic careers of students over a ten-year period were examined. The general finding was that factors associated with a student’s early attrition from college have little connection with his or her later academic career. Students who resided in a fraternity were much less likely than others to dropout of the university, however dropouts who did not reside in a fraternity were more likely to return to college and graduate. [KRH]

Gibson, I. Jr. (1995). The relationship between graduation and selected variables among community college transfer students at Mississippi State University. Doctoral dissertation, Mississippi State University. Dissertation Abstracts International, 56 (6), 2089.
Abstract -- The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship existed between graduation and selected variables among community college students who transferred to Mississippi State University (MSU) during the fall semester of 1989. The selected variables were American College Test (ACT) score, chronological age, grade point average (GPA) prior to transferring, ethnicity (white or nonwhite), gender, credit hours transferred, Greek membership and living in a residence hall after transferring. Tinto's theory of persistence was selected as the theoretical perspective for understanding issues of students persisting to graduation in this study. A random sample of 200 subjects was selected from a population of 712 community college students who transferred to MSU. Data were collected from university records. Conclusions included: (1) The majority of the students who transferred to MSU from community colleges during the fall of 1989 graduated. The profile of community college students who persisted to graduation based on total numbers was: (a) ACT scores of 18 or higher, (b) approximately 20 years of age, (c) 60 or more credit hours earned prior to transferring to MSU, (d) white, (e) male, (f) not a member of a Greek organization, and (g) did not live in a residence hall. (2) Proportionately, more transfer students who were members of Greek organizations than non-Greek graduated. (3) Credit hours, GPA, and chronological age were the only variables that had a statistically significant correlation with persisting to graduation. [Author/KRH]

Iffert, Robert E. (1958). Retention and withdrawal of college students. Department of Health Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, Bulletin series, No. 1. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Abstract -- Investigated the extent and character of retention, transfer, and withdrawal of 8,000 undergraduate students from a representative group of post-secondary institutions. The study covered 147 institutions of higher education in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Members of social fraternities who graduated had slightly, but not significantly, lower grades than non-fraternity male graduates. Members of social sororities had significantly higher grades than non-sorority women graduates. Students who were members or pledges of fraternities or sororities had better persistence records and graduation rates in the institutions of first registration than did nonmembers. Similarly, institutions having local or national social fraternities and sororities also had lower withdrawal rates than institutions without Greek letter organizations. [Author/KRH]

Scott, W. A. (1965). Values and organizations: A study of fraternities and sororities. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Abstract -- Studied ten fraternities and sororities at the University of Colorado over a one-year period to investigate how personal values enter into organizational processes. A couple of findings associated with actual academic achievement and student attrition are scattered throughout this well-indexed volume. The limited findings included: (1) persistence and graduation rates are higher among fraternity and sorority members than among non-members; and (2) when academic aptitude scores are equated with first semester grades, Greeks may show a decrease in academic performance relative to independents in their subsequent school years. Other findings concentrate on the values of students and groups of students including academic achievement and intellectualism as values of Greek organizations. 290 pages, 64 references. [KRH]
Abstract -- The results of this study support the positive socialization function that on-campus living offers students, particularly those with Greek affiliation. The fact that Greek students have lower academic ability as measured by standardized entrance tests, than residence hall non-Greek students, but yet have higher retention and graduation rates further supports the value of group living. {Single Institution study prior to 1990} [Abstract from Center for the Study of the College Fraternity, Annotated Bibliography, Research Studies and Articles 1980-1985]

More utterly scintillating fact checking
 

:rolleyes: :).
Re Greeks being achieving more academically.

Greek women were more likely to achieve high grades than non-Greek women... (Iffert, 1958)
http://www.gammasigmaalpha.org/summa...us_studies.htm

Iffert, Robert E. (1958). Retention and withdrawal of college students. Department of Health Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, Bulletin series, No. 1. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Abstract -- Investigated the extent and character of retention, transfer, and withdrawal of 8,000 undergraduate students from a representative group of post-secondary institutions. The study covered 147 institutions of higher education in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Members of social fraternities who graduated had slightly, but not significantly, lower grades than non-fraternity male graduates. Members of social sororities had significantly higher grades than non-sorority women graduates. Students who were members or pledges of fraternities or sororities had better persistence records and graduation rates in the institutions of first registration than did nonmembers. Similarly, institutions having local or national social fraternities and sororities also had lower withdrawal rates than institutions without Greek letter organizations. [Author/KRH]

Re Greeks being more involved and active on campus.

http://www.gammasigmaalpha.org/summa..._influence.htm
Greek residents were more likely to be involved than people who lived in single-sex residence halls, home, or off campus (Marji, 1994) Greek residents were found to be far more involved in campus activities than non-Greeks (Marji, 1994)
Intra-group relations, spirit and enthusiasm, and loyalty to own group had a positive impact on achievement (McQuilkin, 1970)

Marji, M. S. (1994). The interrelationship between key demographic variables, involvement in extracurricular activities, development of interpersonal values and academic achievement. Doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland College Park, 1993. Dissertation Abstracts Internationa1. 55, 1398.
Abstract -- The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between a number of key demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, racial and ethnic background, class standing, marital status, student status, and place of residence), involvement in extracurricular activities (e.g., social fraternity/sorority, intramural sports team, performing group, academic honors), interpersonal values (i.e., support, conformity, recognition, independence, benevolence, leadership), and academic achievement (GPA). The data for this study were collected from 149 undergraduate students randomly selected from seven Core fundamental Studies courses offered at The University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) during Spring semester, 1993. The t-Test and Analysis of Variance resulted in significant differences (alpha .05) between student groups with respect to their intensity of involvement in extracurricular activities. Students living in a coed-college hall or in a fraternity/sorority house were significantly more involved than those who live with parent(s), with spouse, in a single-sex hall or in an apartment/trailer. Intensity of involvement in extracurricular activities was positively related to benevolence, leadership and academic achievement, and inversely, but moderately related to independence. Independence was found to be significantly, inversely related to academic achievement. Student status contributed significantly, inversely to academic achievement. Intensity of involvement contributed significantly, but indirectly to academic achievement via support, recognition, benevolence and leadership. Student status, support, conformity, recognition, independence, benevolence, and leadership were all found to be significant, direct, inverse contributors to academic achievement. Results of the study supported the relationships between age and involvement in extracurricular activities, age and academic achievement, and place of residence and involvement in extracurricular activities. [Author/ shortened by KRH]]

McQuilkin Pau1 R. (1970). Differential effects of group factors on fraternity pledge class allocation of time and academic achievement. Ann Arbor , Michigan, University Microfilms Inc. Doctoral dissertation, Iowa State University, 1969. Abstracted in Dissertation Abstracts International, 30(11), p. 4732-A.
Abstract – A study of first quarter freshmen fraternity pledges at Iowa State University examined selected characteristics of pledges including differential affects of group environments on academic achievement. Data came from questionnaires administered to the pledges at the beginning and end of a ten-week period, and a self-reporting time allocation form kept by the pledges during the ten weeks. Pledges joined fraternities based on a perception of organizational strength and esprit de corps of the chapter and the chapter’s apparent concern for academic environment. Findings of the study include how the fraternity experience affected the pledge classes’ grades. The author found that study time was not significantly related to academic achievement. The best predictor’s of grade point average were items concerned with intra-group relations, spirit and enthusiasm, loyalty of members to each other, music and singing, and pledge/actives relationships. The differential effects of academic achievement among fraternity pledge groups was best explained by differences in peer group relationships and attitudes that exist within fraternity chapters. The differential effects of academic achievement among different fraternity groups resulted from differences in esprit de corps and organizational strength of the chapters. [KRH]

No, no, no, no. Sorry if I wasn't clear. I mean that whoever first "announces" a statistic should be specific about it. The more general is it, the less reliable it may be, or at least may appear to be.

No problem here with your quest to separate the wheat from the chaff.