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University of Massachusetts Amherst
SARIS - Student Affairs Research, Information and Systems
Perceptions of Fraternities and Sororities Survey (S98-F)
Executive Summary: Almost 50% of the
students surveyed believe that the Greek Area has a somewhat positive influence
on the UMass community. More than 60% of the respondents think that fraternity
members are more likely than other male undergraduates to view women primarily
as sexual objects. In addition, almost 70% of the students believe that
women are more likely to be sexually assaulted at fraternity parties than at
other UMass parties. Almost 45% of the men surveyed believe that
hazing is a problem in the fraternity system at UMass while more than 55% of
the women believe that hazing is a problem in the sorority system. Finally,
more than two-thirds of the men "agree strongly" or" agree somewhat" that fraternities
perform important community service, while almost three-quarters of the women
"agree strongly" or "agree somewhat" that sororities perform important community
service.
On Tuesday, March 31, Project Pulse conducted a telephone survey for the Greek Affairs Office, in order to assess students’ perceptions of social fraternities and sororities at UMass. Pulse interviewers attempted to contact 901 undergraduate students who were randomly selected by computer from the University’s database. Of these, 544 were successfully contacted and 413 (75.9%) agreed to be interviewed. See Table 1 for the final disposition of the sample and Table 2 for a demographic summary of the respondents. The response rate for the survey was 45.8%.
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Table 1: Final Disposition
of the Sample
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|||
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|
N
|
% of Total
|
% of Contacted
|
| Response rate (In & cooperated) |
413
|
45.8
|
75.9
|
| In, declined interview |
131
|
14.5
|
24.1
|
| Not in |
357
|
39.6
|
|
| Totals |
*901
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
| * Excludes 37 sampled students with unobtainable phone numbers. | |||
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Table 2: Demographic
Summary of the Respondents
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|
|
|
%
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| Female |
46.7
|
| Male |
53.3
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| First-year |
35.7
|
| Sophomore |
22.6
|
| Junior |
20.4
|
| Senior |
21.4
|
|
Average age = 20.2 years
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|
First, respondents were asked if they had ever been members of a social fraternity
or sorority at UMass. The nine students who indicated that they currently belong
to a fraternity or sorority were asked no further questions. Non-members were
asked if they had ever participated in “Rush,” when fraternities and
sororities at UMass try to recruit new members. Seven percent (n=28) indicated
that they had indeed participated in “Rush.”
Students were asked how many of their friends belong to social fraternities
or sororities. Nearly three-fifths (58.6%, n=235) reported having at least a
few friends who belong to the Greek Area (see Figure 1). Next, students were
asked two questions about their general perceptions of the Greek Area at UMass.
More than two-fifths (45.3%, n=163) reported dissatisfaction with the “overall
physical appearance of the fraternities and sororities located on North Pleasant
Street — also called ‘fraternity row.’ ” Students were evenly
split in their assessment of the “type of influence” the Greek Area
as a whole has on the UMass community: one-half of the students (51%, n=184)
said they perceive the influence to be very or somewhat positive, while the
other half (49%, n=178) perceive the influence to be very or somewhat negative.
Figure 1. Number of friends in a social fraternity or sorority
Next, males were read a series of four statements expressing opinions of fraternities at UMass, and were asked to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement; a parallel set of items pertaining to sororities was administered to female respondents. These items pertained to consumption of alcohol, hazing, community service, and partying in general. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate male and female responses to these items.
Figure 2. Male students’ opinions about fraternities at UMass
Figure 3. Female students’ opinions about sororities at UMass
For the men’s results, several significant differences were observed by
class rank. For instance, 13.9% of first-year men vs. 47.5% of senior men disagreed
strongly that “fraternities encourage responsible consumption of alcoholic
beverages (c² = 22.44, p = .0076). Also,
18.9% of first-year men vs. 6.3% of senior men agreed strongly that fraternities
perform important community service (c² = 20.95,
p=.0129).
Males and females were asked five items pertaining to their perceptions of fraternity and sorority members in relation to UMass undergraduates in general. For example, when males were asked if they think the academic performance of fraternity members is the better, the same, or worse, than that of other male undergraduates at UMass, more than two-thirds (69.8%, n=125) said “the same.” When this same question was asked of females with regard to sorority members, slightly more than three-quarters (77.4%, n=113) said “the same.” Responses to all five items are presented in Figures 4 and 5.
Figure 5a. Males’ opinions about fraternity members
in relation to
other male and female undergradutes
Likelihood that they are interested in knowing people from different racial
& ethnic backgrounds
Figure 5b. Females’
opinions about sorority members in relation to other male and female undergradutes
Likelihood that they are interested in knowing people from different racial
& ethnic backgrounds
Figure 5c. Males’ opinions
about fraternity members in
relation to other male and female undergradutes
Likelihood that they are to be racist
Figure 5d. Females’
opinions about sorority members in relation to other male and female undergradutes
Likelihood that they are to be racist
Figure 5e. Males’ opinions
about fraternity members in
relation to other male and female undergradutes
Likelihood that they are to be accepting of gays, lesbians, and bi-sexuals
Figure 5f. Females’
opinions about sorority members in relation to other male and female undergradutes
Likelihood that they are to be accepting of gays, lesbians, and bi-sexuals
Figure 5g. Males’ opinions
about fraternity members in
relation to other male and female undergradutes
Likelihood that they are to be from wealthy families
Figure 5h. Females’
opinions about sororities in relation to other male and female undergradutes
Likelihood that they are to be from wealthy families
A set of three “perception” questions pertaining to fraternities only was asked of both women and men alike. All respondents were asked, “Do you think that fraternity members are more likely, as likely, or less likely than other male undergraduates to view women primarily as sexual objects?” Overall, nearly two-thirds (63.4%, n=237) of the respondents said “more likely.” On the second question, slightly more than two-thirds (68.6%, n=258) of the respondents said they think that women are “more likely” to be assaulted at fraternity parties than at other parties at UMass, while 27.7% (n=104) said “as likely.” More men than women said that they think women are “less likely” to be assaulted at fraternity parties (6.6% of men vs. .6% of women, c² = 11.37, p = .0034). Finally, one-half (50.0%, n=186) of the students surveyed said they think fraternity members are “more likely” than other male undergraduates to be sexist, while 46.8% (n=174) said they are “as likely” to be sexist.
Finally students were given a list of seven reasons they might have for choosing not to become a member of a fraternity or sorority. They were asked to indicate how important each reason was to them for not joining the Greek Area. The most important reason was that students did not want to be involved in hazing, with 57.5% (n=225) saying this reason was either very or somewhat important. Other important reasons were that students thought that fraternities and sororities were elitist organizations (57.1%), students thought that belonging to a fraternity or sorority would interfere with their academic goals (55.6%), and students thought that fraternities and sororities promoted sexist attitudes (53.0%). Figure 6 presents all of the responses for this section.
Figure 6. Reasons students choose not to join fraternities and sororities
Several significant differences between male and female respondents were observed.
For instance, 42.7% (n=79) of the women compared to 27.5% (n=57) of the men
said that not wanting to be involved in hazing was “very important”
reason for not joining a fraternity or sorority (c²
= 12.18, p=.0068). Also, 30.0% (n=54) of the women and 18.4% (n=38) of
the men said that fraternities and sororities promoting sexist attitudes was
a “very important" reason for not joining a fraternity or sorority
(c² = 9.19, p=.0268). Also, 34.4% (n=63)
of the women and 15.9% (n=33) of the men said that fraternities and sororities
being elitist organizations was a “very important" reason for not
joining a fraternity or sorority (c² = 32.93,
p=.0000).
At the end of the survey, the students were asked if they had any suggestions for improving the Greek Area at UMass. Over one-third (n=157) of students offered suggestions. The most common response, offered by 83 students, was to “clean up” the Greek Area or to improve the physical appearance of the houses. Responses included yard work, painting or renovating the houses, and removing furniture from the lawns. Eleven students suggested doing more community service or being more involved in the community. There also were some suggestions about increasing the diversity within the Greek Area and having fewer parties.
