Quote:
Originally posted by James
When it comes to drinking does Greek Life, as a sample, reflect the tendencies of mainstream college students...
...Do greeks drink so much more than mainstream college students that they constitute a social fringe?
...Because if Greeks are representive samples of college students, then there is no genuine problem . . . just a series of PC labels.
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James does rock.
But I think there are a couple of flaws in the argument.
First, I would argue that Greeks aren't considered to "reflect" the tendencies of mainstream college students, but rather be the leaders and inventers of those tendencies.
Second, if you believe the various studies, no matter what the methodology, they seem to agree that Greeks drink more as a group than other students.
Third, Greeks allegedly hold themselves (ourselves) to higher standards than the "pack." In other words, I argue in the first comment, we don't "reflect" tendencies, we "project" them on other students.
(With thanks to the late Lee Levenger, former FCC Commissioner's "Reflective/Projective" Theory -- shortly before he called television a "vast wasteland." Simply put, people see us do something, think it's the "cool" thing and project themselves into that coolness by copying the behavior.)
Finally, I think it's important to restate what others have said. Nobody I see here is suggesting alcohol abstinance -- just get it out of the chapter houses and put less public emphasis on it as a reason for being.
Arguing that something is PC has become a handy tool. What we have to realize is that sometimes PC is also reality.
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