Greek Life Member Survey

Survey Questions

Where do you go to school?
What sorority/frat are you in and for how long?
How much are your dues?
What is the commitment level?
Have you ever experienced instances of discrimination?
How diverse is your sorority?
Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Does the institution of Greek life align with your personal moral beliefs? If not, how do you justify staying in it?
How has your sorority changed and adapted due to coronavirus and BLM?
Have you ever considered dropping your sorority? Why?
What percent of people participate in Greek life?
Was there a specific instance in which you did not agree with the response of your sorority? Describe the situation.
Do you have many friends inside/outside greek life?
What is your favorite part of greek life? What is your least favorite?

Survey Conditions

We conducted a survey through a google form in order to allow people with experience in greek life to anonymously share their opinions on greek life as a whole. We advertised the google form along with the purpose of the survey on our social media accounts so that people who were in Greek life and were interested could opt-in to take it. We wanted their opinions to be based on their experience in their own organization and what they have witnessed in other greek organizations. Aside from descriptive questions that asked about the details of their organization, we wanted to include hard-hitting questions to find out more about the greek life culture. Apart from keeping the survey answers anonymous, many other considerations were taken into account when creating this google form to make the survey as effective as possible.

Our group member, Erin, designed the order of the questions to start with the basic details about the organization that participants were a part of and eased into deeper questions about their experience. This progression was designed to put the participant at ease. It was also intended to get the participants thinking about their organization in more depth after answering each question so that their responses later came easier to them. The flow and order of the types of questions ultimately helped us to get the participants more familiar with the information we were interested in and then build their comfortability gradually throughout the survey so that we could obtain more thoughtful and in-depth answers.

Another important aspect of our survey was the style of language we used. It was important that we phrased questions in a way that would avoid bias. We were strategic with our language and cognizant of our own biases, in order to obtain the most honest responses about people’s experiences. For example, one of our questions was: do you consider yourself a feminist? If phrased differently the answers could be different. By including the phrase “do you consider,” we were able to get responses that were based on the individuals’ definition of feminism and not on some other definition. With other questions, we also tried to use language and phrasing to avoid influencing the answers. We avoided words like “hate” and “dislike” and instead opted for phrases like “did not agree.” This helped participants reveal their true feelings and allow for more accurate responses.

An additional aspect of our survey that helped reduce bias was the format of the questions. Many questions were in a multiple-choice format where there were options other than yes or no. We did this so that respondents could choose the most accurate answer that corresponded to their personal feelings if they did not feel like a yes or no fit their answer. We also made sure to make questions optional in case participants felt uncomfortable disclosing certain information. We wanted to make sure that they felt comfortable and that there was no implied pressure to respond to certain questions in the survey.

Based on how our survey was formatted and the responses we received, we think it’s important to note certain patterns that we noticed. With the combination of our survey being anonymous while also having the option to opt out of certain questions, the lack of responses to certain questions seems to imply fear or potential negative consequences or backlash from the participant’s peers or their organizations if they are to be tied to the publication of any negative criticisms of their organization or Greek Life as a whole. The most significant lack of responses came from the multiple choice questions asking for an organization name and whether the participant is still in the organization. I found the drop in participation in these results to be more significant than some of the other areas that were missing participation because these were multiple choice questions and not long answer questions. I think it is fair to assume that, when questions are left optional and they require typing out thoughtful answers, participants may leave the question blank because they just don't feel like answering, but this was a simple multiple choice question regarding their current status. There were a handful of other questions that also had a drop in participation where most of the questions received 100% participation. These question were for their organization name, current status with organization, and discrimination within the organization. I think the lack of response for some of these questions can show the nature of the relationship that some people have with their Greek organization. There is a fear and discouragement of negative criticism of Greek Life from students that is enforced by the leaders of their organization. This has led to anonymous accounts posting information about what goes on behind the scenes with their organization, such as how Greek Life handled the COVID-19 pandemic or the BLM protests, as well as leading many students to anonymously publish the flaws they’ve seen in their organization and why they have left, most notably demonstrated by the Abolish Greek Life at UGA Instagram account.

Survey Results

The survey asks 15 questions in order to get a better look at the Greek Life experience of students at UGA and other schools. We received 35 total responses to this survey. The questions were:

Where do you go to school? (short answer)
What sorority/fraternity are you in? (short answer)
Are you still currently a part of the organization? (multiple choice: yes or no)
How long have you been a part of the organization? (short answer)
What is the expectation of commitment? (short answer)
What is your favorite part of your sorority/fraternity? (long answer)
What is your least favorite part of your sorority/fraternity? (long answer)
How has your organization adapted to the coronavirus? (long answer)
How has your organization adapted to the Black Lives Matter movement? (long answer)
Was there any time that you disagreed with the response of your sorority? (multiple choice: yes, no or maybe)
How diverse would you consider your organization to be? (long answer)
How many of your friends are outside of Greek life? (short answer)
Would you consider yourself a feminist? (multiple choice: yes, no or maybe)
Have you ever experienced an instance of discrimination? Either to yourself or another person? (multiple choice: yes, no, maybe or prefer not to answer)
Have you ever considered dropping your sorority/ fraternity? (multiple choice: yes, no, prefer not to answer or already dropped)

For question 1, we received 30 responses of UGA, 1 from the University of Alabama, 1 from Georgia College, 1 from Georgia Southern, 1 from the University of Florida and 1 from the University of Tennessee. For question 2, we received 16 reponses of Delta Phi Epsilon, 3 Alpha Delta Gamma, 3 Sigma Kappa, 3 Delta Zeta, 2 Gamma Phi Beta, 2 Delta Gamma, 1 Zeta Tau Alpha, 1 Alpha Phi, 1 Alpha Chi Omega and 1 Alpha Omicron Pi.

For question 3, 16 answered yes, they were still a part of the organization, 8 answered no, and 11 left this question blank. For question 4, most answered around 2-3 years, and there were a few responses at 1 year or 4 years. For question 5, the responses mentioned completing service hours to be able to go to events and live in the house and attending chapter meetings. Based on the survey, the expectation of commitment seems to be the most intense at UGA.

Questions 6 and 7 show what the responders liked and disliked about their organizations. Most responses showed that the people taking the survey appreciated the community and friendship aspect of their organizations, they enjoyed supporting the philanthropies, and they liked the parties. On the other hand, the responses for what they didn’t like about their organizations were more diverse. Many said they didn’t like the dues, but others mentioned more complex issues surrounding the organizations. A couple said they didn’t like that the organization was rooted in systematic oppression, one said she didn’t like decisions being made without the members’ input, and one said she didn’t like the policing of girls’ social media and behavior. Another response pointed out the exclusion and elitism in the sororities and fraternities.

The next two questions, 8 and 9, ask how the organization has adapted to the recent pandemic and the BLM movement. In regards to COVID-19, some said that their organization reduced their dues, implemented virtual recruitment and chapter meetings, no visitors in the house and smaller events. However, some of the responders were very candid in saying their organization had adapted “not at all” or mentioned that there were “unofficial date nights” where they were just not allowed to wear their letters. As for the BLM movement, members said their organization participated in fundraising, posted statements on social media and created diversity and inclusion committees. One interesting response from this question said that the posts on social media were simply “vague statements” that seemed like a formality.

Question 10 was interesting, with 60% saying there had been an instance where they disagreed with their organization, 20% said no and 20% said maybe. Question 11 also gave insight into members’ thoughts on their organization and its diversity. Nine responders said their organization was barely diverse or not at all. Some said their organization was striving to be more diverse with each pledge class. One of the more complex answers stated their organization is “very diverse compared to other uga sororities but not nearly diverse enough otherwise. it’s easy to be diverse when cast upon a background of white skinny blond girls that is the majority of panhellenic but if you look at us compared to the world around us we have a very very long way to go in terms of diversity.” Question 12 gave us a deeper understanding of the relationship between those in Greek life with those not in Greek life. Most responders said over half of their friends were not in Greek life, but some said only a few of their friends were not in their sorority.

Question 13 served to look into the responders connection to feminism, with 77.1% saying they would consider themselves a feminist, 14.3% saying maybe and 8.6% saying they would not consider themselves a feminist. As for Question 14, 45.5% said they had experienced an instance of discrimination within their organization, while 36.4% said no, 12.1% said maybe and 6.1% preferred not to answer. Finally, question 15 showed where the responders are at now with their organization, with 42.9% saying they have considered dropping, 40% saying they have not considered dropping and 17.1% having already dropped.

Interviews from Students in Greek Life at Other Campuses

In order to fully comprehend the extent of Greek Life beyond UGA’s campus, interviews were conducted between the authors and students attending other colleges and universities. This expansion allowed for a deeper comparison and concrete evidence regarding how UGA’s Greek Life is unique. Our information has been gathered to include students attending northern schools, where there is a weaker emphasis on Greek Life, as well as old southern colleges where Greek Life is a highly regarded method of student involvement. Individuals who participated in the interviews attended Kutztown University, Penn State University Park, UNC Chapel Hill, Washington & Lee, and Bloomsburg University. Students were asked the following set of questions, with the option to omit any personal information that they felt uncomfortable sharing:

Where do you go to school?
What sorority/frat are you in and for how long?

How much are your dues?
What is the commitment level?
Have you ever experienced instances of discrimination?
How diverse is your sorority?
Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Does the institution of Greek life align with your personal moral beliefs? If not, how do you justify staying in it?
How has your sorority changed and adapted due to coronavirus and BLM?
Have you ever considered dropping your sorority? Why?
What percent of people participate in Greek life?
Was there a specific instance in which you did not agree with the response of your sorority? Describe the situation.
Do you have many friends inside/outside greek life?
What is your favorite part of greek life? What is your least favorite?

To highlight a junior attending Kutztown University, Maggie explained her experience in Delta Phi Epsilon. Paying $375 per semester, she explained her commitment level as having chapter meetings once a week, biweekly mandatory events, and philanthropy events for cystic fibrosis. Although never personally experiencing discrmination, Langan pointed out that only 2 people out of her 53 member chapter were women of color. “Being in a sorority you have to keep this image up, so everything I do is monitored,” she sighed. “So if there’s a bad picture of me, I’ll get in trouble. If I'm too outspoken whenever homophobes come on campus, I can’t be too outspoken about that because you're always wearing your letters, which does not align with my morals.” Langan expressed disappointment regarding the response of her sorority’s Standards Board, pointing out hypocrisy and insincerity, as “they're just trying to uphold a non genuine image.”

At Bloomsburg University, “Kendyl” provided an alternate perspective, explaining that her sorority is not particularly diverse since not many people of color choose to participate in the Panhellenic system. She has never experienced discrimination and feels that Greek Life does a nice job of matching personalities and aligns with her moral values. Bridget Treanor at Chapel Hill expands on this philosophy and adds that dropping her sorority would not be productive. She elaborates, “I don’t think individual sororities/frats deciding to disband does anything to combat the stereotypical “Greek Life” culture because there are always going to be people who want to join a sorority/frat, and then they’re left with the less inclusive/open-minded/“good” organizations to choose from. I think the best thing for me was to choose a sorority that seemed inherently good and to be combatting that “culture” of Greek life so that a new type of culture can take its place.” Overall, it seems that there is an overwhelming attitude that those in Greek Life understand its notorious reputation, but feel they do not contribute to it. There’s a sense of, “Oh, well, my sorority is very good about ‘X’.” Whether that be true or neglectful, it is an important pattern to observe.

Future - Homepage

Arianna Mbunwe Interview