Quote:
Originally Posted by ASTalumna06
I think this has a huge impact on certain chapters (of both fraternities and sororities). I've seen it first-hand. Even if chapters have turned over and want to change for the better, there are enough alumni around who want to ensure things remain the same. And this doesn't only apply to hazing (see: 2013 University of Alabama sorority recruitment).
We're organizations built on ritual and tradition, but there are some alumni that convince collegiates that the binge drinking and hazing practices of the last couple decades are the traditions that shouldn't die.
And if collegiates are convinced that ending these practices will suddenly make them "uncool" or change their social status on campus, there are so many more chances nowadays for that to happen and for word to rapidly spread across campus. Social media and sites like Greekrank propel these chapters into the spotlight and can quickly alter their ranking in their campus social hierarchy.
Sadly, these rankings are generally determined by other collegiate Greek members who sometimes (frequently?) encourage poor behavior.
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I've even had to deal with those alums who are members of other chapters. I tell my actives that there are these alumni who will reach out to you on occasion, but they are members of xyz chapter and their values are different from ours.
I'm honestly very proud of the way our chapter and our alumni have handled negative outside influences. If something negative is happening, alumni communicate quickly and it's handled. We are all very anti-hazing, so we have never had the slightest problem. This is because we are a brand spanking new, less than 20 year old chapter which had the fortune of founders who bought into the no-hazing paradigm. Good luck to those chapters which have been hazing for 100+ years. I don't see that changing overnight.
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