How a group of women revealed hard truths in higher education

[ASTalumna06]

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/maria...cation-n108746

The article specifically mentions Greek life and sorority recruitment, and reminded me of the discussion that recently took place in the latest thread about 'Bama.

In 2004, a team of researchers moved into a “party dorm” at a mid-tier, public university for the purposes of studying sex on campus and the culture of hooking-up. But before long the lead researchers, Laura T. Hamilton and Elizabeth A. Armstrong, realized that they kept circling back to one key issue: how students’ social class was impacting their academic and social outcomes.

Their study evolved accordingly and they ended up tracking a group of female students for five to six years to determine what role class played in the women’s outcomes.

Their findings, gathered in the book, “Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality,” showed that less affluent women fared far less well, and their conclusions challenge deeply held assumptions about the priorities of state universities, the role of parents, and the perceived purpose of higher education.

According to researcher and co-author Hamilton, the root of the problem lies in state schools being structured to serve the needs of the affluent few: out-of-state students who contribute more to the school’s bottom line.