College is a time when young adults are given more freedom and more independence. In high school, one has some independence, however at the end of the day parents make the final decision. In college students have the option to explore, try new things, and make decisions on their own. College students are required to make difficult decisions every single day: “Should I go out to that party, or should I start my five-page paper that’s due tomorrow?”, or “Should I drink this alcohol even though it’s against the law?” With the freedom of college comes both positive and negative consequences. Greek organizations allow students to become better leaders and help the community. However, with Greek organizations comes more risk. Results show that Greek …show more content…
Psychological and physical harm are the most common characteristics of hazing. Seven out of ten students experienced being hazed at least once by a Greek organization. The most frequent reported hazing has included participating in drinking to the point of passing out, sleep deprivation, sexual acts, enduring harsh weather conditions, and being humiliated. At least one student has died every year since the year 1970 from a hazing incident. Despite the harmful effects of hazing, 95% of students have failed to report it to a campus official (Allen & Madden, 2008, p. 14-17).
Not only are Greek members more likely to drink, use drugs, and participate in cheating of some sort more than non-Greek members, by living in a Greek house, the chance of getting into fights, and using alcohol and marijuana increases. Peer pressure is likely to answer why this is true. “Evidence demonstrates that affiliation with risky peers increases risky behavior over time.” Association with friends who participate in in risky behavior is a strong predictor of health risk behaviors such as substance us and violent behavior (Collins & Liu, 2014,