The link between Greek membership and social conservatism

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

I would say that on a whole the NPC/IFC organizations still tend to be conservative. Certainly I've observed this in the south, but even in the midwest it's there. Why is that? Probably because GLOs were a place where people could be excluded. At first, you didn't have to let in the Catholics or the Jews. Then they slowly became okay, but you still didn't have to let in the African-Americans or Latino/as. Greek organizations have always been a little behind the civil rights movements (with the possible exception of women's suffrage) and more conservative people probably flocked to them as a place where their values were being "upheld" as the norm still.

For what it's worth, I think the chapters to whom religious, racial, and and ethnic exclusion are their primary motivations for "conservative" people to flock to them are pretty few and far between.

I agree that the ability to exclude may have kept the groups the same over time and didn't present many social challenges to the members internally, but I don't think it explains WHY anyone joins. It's effect is secondary to the other traditions and purposes of the groups.

[Kevin]

In my experience, on the whole, members of fraternities and sororities grew up in fairly well-off families. Such families tend to raise kids with conservative values.

[AlethiaSi]

My sorority, being local in NY, we had a variety of girls that were attracted to membership (in any greek org on campus) but primarily within our org, it was the girls, our laid back style, house, social and service functions and cheaper dues (... like 600 dollars cheaper) amongst many other reasons. Is it possible that the cheaper dues attracted liberal members? lol, i couldn't even begin to make assumptions about that, but I know it was a bonus for me.

Overall, we were primarily liberal, we had a few conservative members, but there is actually a rule in our consititution that forbade anyone from discussing politics or religion in the house (obvi we didn't always follow this, but the rule made sense and we tried to as best we could)

I think that everything that everyone has brought up are good ideas about why this is (more or less) true. I think that the throw back to older ideals and standards of behavior is responsible (amongst other things, but I'm making a generalization)
However, I'm not from the south, or the midwest (though my family is) and am very liberal (raised that way) so I can't speak of the traditions elsewhere.

p.s. very interesting topic Dionysus

[RU OX Alum]

a few guys were liberal and even fewer conserveatives, mostly centrists in my chapter, and....growing excedingly tired of the lib/con polity.

[Benzgirl]

I am from a very liberal area of the Midwest, and even though some of us are the wicked "L" word, we too have traditions and values. I reminds me of the Murphy Brown/Dan Quayle debate on family values.

There are areas of the midwest that is considered Conservative, but the residents are very poor and uneducated, just as other areas are wealthy and educated. And, the South is considered Conservative whether people are Greek or not. Just look at the Red/Green maps from the last presidential election. I agree with what is said about depending on the area of the country or the house.

One the reasons I joined a sorority was the opportunity for leadership, and last I checked there were both Conservative and Liberal parties in leadership roles of the government. Another reason I joined was the ability to be an individual part of the whole. Maybe it was just my sorority, but my sisters allowed me to be me, and they didn't just accept it, they embraced it. It was a wonderful experience.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by Little32

Right and I think for some just the notion of a sorority, with all that is implicit in that, seems conservative. Also, I am sure that Delta as an organization has certain expectations surrounding behaviors and activities where members are concerned that many do feel are conservative. It is a difficult conversation to have because the idea of conservatism is so broad--and I am willing to bet that we were not much of a consideration in much of the research anyway.

Originally Posted by skylark

I certainly haven't observed that NPC and IFC fraternities and sororities tend to attract more conservative people (my sorority had many liberal people, and this was in a very conservative red state). However, I do see that the fact that sororities and fraternities may attract people from higher income levels, which may make sense with the original poster's claims. One thing I would be curious about is whether there were "christian" sororities and fraternities included in the statistics. That would certainly make the statistics come out more conservative, I think. Also, are the Latino/Latina and African-American groups included? If not, this might make the statistics skewed, as well (since at least I've heard that NPC and IFC frats and sororities tend to be whiter than the average college population, unfortunately).

i havent made up my mind on the topic, but pretty much any statistical data on greeks is going to include (or exclude) the groups necessary to prove a point. then again, that's statistical research for you.

while i could turn a blind eye to such findings as it excludes anyone outside NPC/IFC/NIC, it makes sense. i would imagine any GLO outside such councils (though its obvi that NPHC has made its mark, enough that we SHOULD be included) would be excluded because they themselves WERE the excluded, and therefore being non-conservative. and if NPHC/NALFO were excluded in said study because were arent "traditional" enough to be considered, then religious/LGBT-based orgs SURELY wouldnt. i suppose we're to believe that if youre not part of the mainstream orgs (whether by choice or circumstance) , then you're probably not "conservative."

hmm,im gonna haveto comeback to this... dont know if im making much sense.

[Scandia]

Violetpretty- But stereotypes such as partying, drinking too much, not being financially responsible, and being wild in more than one aspect are applied, then this would probably lean more towards liberals. As I said before, my relatives are very conservative and very opposed to GLOs. Some due to this perceived behavior, some because they think "it's buying your friends", some because of actual bad experiences with them in practice.

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally Posted by Kevin

In my experience, on the whole, members of fraternities and sororities grew up in fairly well-off families. Such families tend to raise kids with conservative values.

You mean, families like the Hilton's? The Richies? (Sorry, I couldn't resist. )

I think it largely depends on region. I don't see many wealthy families in CA raising conservative kids.

[Dionysus]

Originally Posted by LatinaAlumna

You mean, families like the Hilton's? The Richies? (Sorry, I couldn't resist. )

I think it largely depends on region. I don't see many wealthy families in CA raising conservative kids.

Yeah, and I know many working class people who are quite conservative. I think wealthy families are more likely to be fiscally conservative, but I'm not sure about being more socially conservative.