Literature Review Blog #3
"True Gentleman: The Broken Pledge of America's Fraternities"
1. Visual.
2. Citation.
Hechinger, John. “Drinking Games.” True Gentleman: The Broken Pledge of America's Fraternities, Hachette Public Affairs, 2017, pp. 15–45.
3.Summary.
The article starts off with a review of Cornell's chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, often known as SAE. Life in the fraternity house is immediately presented with unhealthy drinking habits of the brothers, descriptions of the bar within the house, the brothers' excessive 'pre-gaming' practices, and past drunken and sometimes dangerous occurrences of members and visitors alike. The focus is specific on one particular brother- a young man named George Desdunes who sticks out among the other brothers for his hazardous drinking habits, even going as far as to have the nickname "Blackout George". The article then takes a step back and examines fraternity history. Right from the very start, even when fraternities were nothing more than literary and academic societies, they had ties with alcohol as meetings were first held in bars. Soon thereafter came the first social fraternity; it was the start of what would become current college drinking culture, setting the standards and ideals for years to come. Naturally during this time college administrators were not pleased with the rise of drinking within their institution, and after much resistance and delegating on behalf of the administration, fraternities started to move underground. The article then turns to focus on the era of President Reagan and the impact his forced change of the minimum drinking age had on fraternity culture. Having no other option, college students who were looking to drink turned to fraternities that were able to get away with throwing parties as they were technically separate from the universities that held them. It was then that Greek life fell under deeper scrutiny with the relationship that was often had with alcohol. Many studies and statistics were presented that showed just how much more engrained drinking was in Greek culture than non-Greek college students. In addition to that, over recent years death and injury caused by alcohol has skyrocketed, with SAE as one of the worst. The article ends describing the death of George Desdunes, after a night of drinking ended in more drinking with the initiation process for some of the younger members. By the time Desdunes was found the next morning, laying alone in the chapter house, he had a blood alcohol level of 0.4.
4. Author.
This article was written by John Hechinger, who is an experienced writer and journalist. He has a specific focus on both education and finance, making him credible to write on this subject. Hechinger has worked for several acclaimed institutions, such as Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal. In 2011 he was a finalist for the Pulitzer prize, and a two time winner of the George Polk Award. He is currently a senior editor a Bloomberg News.
5. Key Terms.
Pre-gaming: The action or practice of drinking alcohol before attending an event or social function.
Pledges: Provisional members of an organization seeking full acceptance.
Bender: A wild drinking spree.
Blackout: Used to describe when a person is so drunk that they wake up the next morning with temporary amnesia, with no recollection of what they did the night before.
Temperance Movement: Of the 19th and early 20th centuries, an organized effort to encourage moderation of the consumption of alcohol, or press for complete abstinence.
Frequent binge drinkers: Those who had binge drank at least three times in the previous two weeks.
Reverse Hazing: When the victim of an act of hazing is already a member of an organization, usually when younger members haze older members.
6. Quotes.
"Even if the guys wanted to be sober-and most don't-disentangling high times and high ideals would require a reimagining of one of America's oldest subcultures. Drinking is so deeply associated with fraternities that many can't conceive of chapter houses without alcohol" (Hechinger, 20).
"In 1825, students at Union College in Schenectady, New York, were tired of studying theology and the dusty Latin and Greek manuscripts of early nineteenth-century universities. They wanted to become movers and shakers, not preachers and monks. This feeling led some Phi Beta Kappans to band together to form what is considered the first "social fraternity", the Kappa Alpha Society (Hechinger, 21).
"College presidents imposed curfews and fought against gambling and liquor. Students even rioted. These conflicts with college administrators intensified fraternities' secrecy and they became places where men could indulge in their favorite vices" (Hechinger, 22).
"In the modern era, drinking fueled the reemergence of fraternities on college campuses after their decline in the counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s...President Reagan also inadvertently bolstered Greek life by backing a law that required states to raise the drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one to remain eligible for federal highway funding...With the status of private groups, fraternities seized the opportunity to fill the alcohol void" (Hechinger, 26).
7.Value.
This article is extremely important for my paper. The article covers the ways in which drinking is engrained not only in college culture, but in fraternity culture too. A deep insight to how direct the effect of alcohol is on students within the Greek life system is presented. It can be said that drinking habits of college students, with fraternity brothers in particular, are often hazardous to the health of those drinking and the ones around them. The article outlines cases in which alcohol has lead to injury and even often death. However, the most important thing I took from the paper was from the cause and effect relationship between those who are drinking and those who want to limit that drinking. Many of the tactics taken by administrators and parents to reduce alcohol consumption on college campuses are highlighted within this article, as well as the accompanying impact, and often consequences. A range of tactics are considered- from in loco parentis, to lowering the drinking age, to forcing fraternities to go alcohol free. The article considers the effect that this has on college students who are determined to drink. For example, the article presented a lowering of the drinking age. This forced universities to crack down on drinking within their campuses, making dorm drinking impossible for students. Students did not stop drinking. They merely took their drinking elsewhere. As a result, fraternity life boomed as underground parties gained popularity. This is just one of the examples that are laid out in this article. The article dissects the complex and dynamic relationships that I am looking to explore within my paper.
1. Visual.
2. Citation.
Hechinger, John. “Drinking Games.” True Gentleman: The Broken Pledge of America's Fraternities, Hachette Public Affairs, 2017, pp. 15–45.
3.Summary.
The article starts off with a review of Cornell's chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, often known as SAE. Life in the fraternity house is immediately presented with unhealthy drinking habits of the brothers, descriptions of the bar within the house, the brothers' excessive 'pre-gaming' practices, and past drunken and sometimes dangerous occurrences of members and visitors alike. The focus is specific on one particular brother- a young man named George Desdunes who sticks out among the other brothers for his hazardous drinking habits, even going as far as to have the nickname "Blackout George". The article then takes a step back and examines fraternity history. Right from the very start, even when fraternities were nothing more than literary and academic societies, they had ties with alcohol as meetings were first held in bars. Soon thereafter came the first social fraternity; it was the start of what would become current college drinking culture, setting the standards and ideals for years to come. Naturally during this time college administrators were not pleased with the rise of drinking within their institution, and after much resistance and delegating on behalf of the administration, fraternities started to move underground. The article then turns to focus on the era of President Reagan and the impact his forced change of the minimum drinking age had on fraternity culture. Having no other option, college students who were looking to drink turned to fraternities that were able to get away with throwing parties as they were technically separate from the universities that held them. It was then that Greek life fell under deeper scrutiny with the relationship that was often had with alcohol. Many studies and statistics were presented that showed just how much more engrained drinking was in Greek culture than non-Greek college students. In addition to that, over recent years death and injury caused by alcohol has skyrocketed, with SAE as one of the worst. The article ends describing the death of George Desdunes, after a night of drinking ended in more drinking with the initiation process for some of the younger members. By the time Desdunes was found the next morning, laying alone in the chapter house, he had a blood alcohol level of 0.4.
4. Author.
This article was written by John Hechinger, who is an experienced writer and journalist. He has a specific focus on both education and finance, making him credible to write on this subject. Hechinger has worked for several acclaimed institutions, such as Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal. In 2011 he was a finalist for the Pulitzer prize, and a two time winner of the George Polk Award. He is currently a senior editor a Bloomberg News.
5. Key Terms.
Pre-gaming: The action or practice of drinking alcohol before attending an event or social function.
Pledges: Provisional members of an organization seeking full acceptance.
Bender: A wild drinking spree.
Blackout: Used to describe when a person is so drunk that they wake up the next morning with temporary amnesia, with no recollection of what they did the night before.
Temperance Movement: Of the 19th and early 20th centuries, an organized effort to encourage moderation of the consumption of alcohol, or press for complete abstinence.
Frequent binge drinkers: Those who had binge drank at least three times in the previous two weeks.
Reverse Hazing: When the victim of an act of hazing is already a member of an organization, usually when younger members haze older members.
6. Quotes.
"Even if the guys wanted to be sober-and most don't-disentangling high times and high ideals would require a reimagining of one of America's oldest subcultures. Drinking is so deeply associated with fraternities that many can't conceive of chapter houses without alcohol" (Hechinger, 20).
"In 1825, students at Union College in Schenectady, New York, were tired of studying theology and the dusty Latin and Greek manuscripts of early nineteenth-century universities. They wanted to become movers and shakers, not preachers and monks. This feeling led some Phi Beta Kappans to band together to form what is considered the first "social fraternity", the Kappa Alpha Society (Hechinger, 21).
"College presidents imposed curfews and fought against gambling and liquor. Students even rioted. These conflicts with college administrators intensified fraternities' secrecy and they became places where men could indulge in their favorite vices" (Hechinger, 22).
"In the modern era, drinking fueled the reemergence of fraternities on college campuses after their decline in the counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s...President Reagan also inadvertently bolstered Greek life by backing a law that required states to raise the drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one to remain eligible for federal highway funding...With the status of private groups, fraternities seized the opportunity to fill the alcohol void" (Hechinger, 26).
7.Value.
This article is extremely important for my paper. The article covers the ways in which drinking is engrained not only in college culture, but in fraternity culture too. A deep insight to how direct the effect of alcohol is on students within the Greek life system is presented. It can be said that drinking habits of college students, with fraternity brothers in particular, are often hazardous to the health of those drinking and the ones around them. The article outlines cases in which alcohol has lead to injury and even often death. However, the most important thing I took from the paper was from the cause and effect relationship between those who are drinking and those who want to limit that drinking. Many of the tactics taken by administrators and parents to reduce alcohol consumption on college campuses are highlighted within this article, as well as the accompanying impact, and often consequences. A range of tactics are considered- from in loco parentis, to lowering the drinking age, to forcing fraternities to go alcohol free. The article considers the effect that this has on college students who are determined to drink. For example, the article presented a lowering of the drinking age. This forced universities to crack down on drinking within their campuses, making dorm drinking impossible for students. Students did not stop drinking. They merely took their drinking elsewhere. As a result, fraternity life boomed as underground parties gained popularity. This is just one of the examples that are laid out in this article. The article dissects the complex and dynamic relationships that I am looking to explore within my paper.
Comments
Post a Comment