Of students arrested in '06, 1-in-3 were Greek members
By Rebecca K. Quigley |
rebecca.quigley@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 10:55 PM on Saturday, February 24, 2007
One in three University of Georgia students that UGA and Athens-Clarke County police arrested in 2006 was a member of a fraternity or sorority, according to records the Athens Banner-Herald obtained through an open records request.
Greeks as a whole got caught breaking the law slightly more often than the overall student body, but twice as many fraternity members were arrested as sorority members, according to UGA police and UGA Greek Life Office records.
Fraternities with the most arrests were Pi Kappa Phi with 17, Theta Chi with 12 and Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma and Lambda Chi Alpha, each with 11 arrests.
Fewer sorority members were arrested, though Kappa Kappa Gamma topped the list with nine, followed by Delta Zeta with eight.
"I think it goes without saying that social organizations create more opportunities for students to become involved in activities that could result in some kind of adverse reaction," said Rodney Bennett, UGA vice president for student affairs.
"I'm not surprised that one in three arrests have been a person affiliated with a Greek organization," Bennett said.
Student affairs leaders should use the numbers as an opportunity to find out why that ratio is so high and how to make improvements, he said.
But because many fraternity and sorority members get good grades, administrators and Greek life leaders face a challenge getting those students to change their social habits to match their academic habits, Bennett said.
"Their social expectations are out of line with where they are academically," he said.
Fraternities and sororities have higher grade point averages than the general student body, according to UGA records.
So the argument that may work with other students - that alcohol problems will affect their grades - won't fly with many Greek organization members, Bennett said.
"You've got to think, 'OK, how am I going to handle that,' " he said. "It's a tough nut to crack."
GREEK ARRESTS
One in three University of Georgia students that UGA and Athens-Clarke County police arrested in 2006 was a member of a fraternity or sorority. Greeks got caught breaking the law at a higher rate than the student body as a whole, and twice the number of fraternity members as sorority members were arrested.
ARRESTS UNDERGRADS PERCENT
651 students 25,437 2.6
219 Greek members 5,416 4.0
454 male students 10,876 4.2
147 fraternity members 2,065 7.1
197 female students 14,248 1.4
72 sorority members 3,351 2.1
2006 ARRESTS BY FRATERNITY
Pi Kappa Phi: 17
Theta Chi: 12
Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Chi Alpha: 11 each
Chi Phi, Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon: 9 each
Beta Theta Pi: 7
Sigma Chi, Sigma Pi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Kappa Lambda, Pi Kappa Alpha: 5 each
Sigma Nu, Phi Gamma Delta: 4 each
Alpha Tau Omega, Delta Sigma Phi: 3 each
Alpha Epsilon Pi: 2
Phi Delta Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Delta Chi, Chi Psi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Phi Alpha: 1 each
2006 ARRESTS BY SORORITY
Kappa Kappa Gamma: 9
Delta Zeta: 8
Kappa Alpha Theta: 6
Delta Delta Delta, Alpha Omicron Pi, Zeta Tau Alpha, Phi Mu, Kappa Delta: 5 each
Alpha Gamma Delta, Chi Omega , Sigma Delta Tau: 4 each
Gamma Phi Beta, Sigma Kappa: 3 each
Delta Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, Alpha Chi Omega: 2 each
Sources: UGA police reports, Greek Life Office membership lists from 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years
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