Racist chants, fingers almost lost to frostbite and a Facebook page filled with graphic pictures of unconscious women and drug transactions.

Members of Greek life from many different fraternities and sororities have committed various forms of misconduct in the past couple of weeks.

Incidents include a video depicting members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the University of Oklahoma chanting racial profanities, a Pennsylvania State University fraternity that was suspended after members posted photos of passed out nude women and a Syracuse University fraternity being suspended after two members were arrested on hazing charges.

In an email that was sent to Syracuse University by Kerry Foxx, an associate director in the Office of Student Activities, on behalf of the Interfraternity Council, Foxx said the actions of SAE at the University of Oklahoma “by no means reflects what we stand for as members of the Syracuse IFC community, or as members of Greek Life in general.”

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs did not respond to requests for comment.

Deborah Pellow, undergraduate director and professor of anthropology, said she sees Greek life “as a source of a lot of trouble on campus.”

“The thing that’s depressing to me is that it’s the same old, same old,” Pellow said. “The problem is when people get drunk, and that’s where a lot of behavior happens.”

Pellow said the recent actions of some Greek organizations reflect “values of American society” that are only shown in Greek life because members “feel safe” when they are with people they feel they belong with.

The national organizations of Greek life have a hands-off policy, Pellow said, because they are not able to monitor the daily behaviors of any given chapter. Pellow said the misconduct by Greek organizations is not unusual, but she does find it “depressing.”

Christopher Miller, a visiting assistant professor of psychology, said there are many good reasons why the recent incidents that have occurred within fraternities and sororities around the country are “not all that surprising.”

“When you throw people together who are expecting a certain outcome, they tend to enact it. If a bunch of racist people form a club, they’re going to engage in that pattern of behavior,” Miller said. “When like-minded people come together, their actions are more extreme.”

From a psychological point of view, Miller said, hazing “makes sense.” He said having to work harder to achieve something makes people value that thing more. Many organizations want to be valued and hazing can help accomplish that, he said.

Cognitive dissonance occurs in students pledging to be in Greek life, Miller said. Cognitive dissonance is “the feeling of psychological discomfort produced by the combined presence of two thoughts that do not follow from one another,” according to PsychCentral.com. Pledges undergoing hazing must either choose to think they are idiots, or that the thing they are suffering for is really worth it, and most people choose the latter, Miller said.

The bystander effect is another psychological phenomenon that Miller said occurs amongst Greek members. Even if members may be questioning whether the actions by the Greek organizations are wrong or right, Miller said they are afraid to speak out.

“There’s a culture of silence sometimes,” Miller said. “Individuals that recognize that it’s not OK don’t speak up for fear that ‘I can’t be the one person that speaks up.’”

“The one thing I wish every college student would do would be to realize if they are uncomfortable with what is going on, then others probably are too,” Miller said. “They, like you, may be afraid to speak up. But once just one person speaks up, others feel able to.”

Published on March 23, 2015 at 10:05 pm

Contact Katelyn: kmfaubel@syr.edu