Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <https://colleges.niche.com/images/standard/26394/?v=f3b45f5>.

Frat Parties: Will You Go?

BY MADDY NYBLADE

Dear Penn State University Women,

As we escape the clutches of our parents household rules and enter into the
freedom of college, we are finally liberated to make our own decisions about our life. We
are free to study, workout, eat, and sleep, as much (or as little) as we want. But we are
also free to socialize, party, and drink at our leisure. Over 75% of us, the current student
body at Penn State, will choose to engage in a social scene that involves drinking
(Student Drinking). This well loved (and sometimes hated) party culture of the Penn

State campus is largely dominated by fraternities. While from one angle these institutions
promote academic achievement, service and philanthropy, leadership, brother and
sisterhood, and social and alumni involvement according to the official PSU Greek Life
website, we all know they promote binge drinking and high-intensity partying that can
lead to other dangerous behaviors (The Office). This party culture has recently been
called into question with news of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternitys secret Facebook page.
It is time, women of Penn State, to rethink your decision to attend frat parties.
First and foremost: think of your personal safety. The frats themselves promote a
party culture based on binge drinking, which we know can lead to even more unsafe
behaviors, thanks to our high school health classes. But there is one not-so-talked about
consequence of this wild atmosphere: the frequent occurrence of fatal falls from the
balconies or large open windows of fraternity houses. While these events these
catastrophic falls are unpredictable events, they do indeed happen regularly every year
across the country according to an in-depth report conducted by Caitlin Flanagin for The
Atlantic. In 2012, a 19-year-old female fell 9 feet out of a window while attending a
social at Sigma Alpha Mu here at Penn State and suffered several lacerations to her body
(Horn). But some victims are not so lucky. In 2009 at the University of Idaho, 19-yearold Amanda Andaverde fell out of the third story open window of a fraternitys sleeping
porch leading to severe injuries including permanent brain damage. (Sleeping porches are
bunk bed filled rooms with large windows usually left open. These rooms are typically
found in old fraternity houses on the upper floors.) The powerful lawyers wrapped up in
the fraternity business were able to have the inevitable court case dismissed because the
house itself was not deemed in dangerous condition and anyone who walked into the

room could tell the window was open. Therefore no one or no institution had the duty to
protect her. It is evident from the numerous other cases surrounding fraternities that their
lawyers have every intention of turning the blame on the victim or even their own
fraternity members, rather than taking the blame themselves (Flanagan). So, it is
important to remember you are responsible for your own safety at these parties and any
court case you get involved in will likely be a long drawn-out battle. While these falls are
sporadic and may seem like they will never happen to you, it is important to be aware of
this dangerous possibly when attending a frat party, because the consequences of a severe
fall could end or seriously alter your life.
While you may have never considered the threat of fatal falls at frat parties, you
are likely aware of the threat of sexual assault. Im not sure how anyone could forget the
danger this poses to us, University Park women, because we are constantly alerted of any
incident with PSU Alerts. A 2013 Oklahoma University Journal of Student Affairs
Research and Practice article reports that men involved in fraternities are significantly
more likely to approve of rape and pressuring women into engaging in sexual behaviors
than other college men. By no means are all fraternity men approving of this behavior,
but there is still a significant increase in approval within this group of guys, which is
likely a result of the ultra-masculine fraternity culture (Bannon 75). We know this culture
exists here at Penn State in at least some of the fraternities from of their appalling actions
that have been brought to the public eye. For example, this fraternity culture is what
allowed the men of KDR to think it was okay to create a secret Facebook page and post
compromising pictures of women. With the well-known statistic that one in five women
are sexually assaulted (or experience attempted sexual assault) in college playing in the

back of our minds, why are we willingly put ourselves in these higher risk situations
(Kessler)? We are not at fault for sexual assaults because we attend parties, but we can
choose to decrease our own personal risk by being smart about the parties we do attend.
Not only can the ultra-masculine fraternity culture create and unsafe environment,
it also promotes a sexist party culture that we allow to continue simply by showing up to
the party. With roughly forty frat houses around campus open to have parties, and zero
sorority houses, an inequitable culture is created (Penn State). Instead of both all-male
houses and all-female houses hosting parties, women are expected to attend parties
controlled by these all-male organizations while the frat brothers can party on their home
turf. The frats maintain control over the alcohol, the partys atmosphere, and party layout,
while we, the women, are just guests at their mercy. This results in a male-dominated
party scene left unbalanced by the lack of similar parties hosted by sororities. This
disparity in gender power at parties helps promote a culture that is more accepting of
sexist behaviors that could potentially lead to rape or the creation of a Facebook page of
naked women. We have all been well educated on the risks of drinking and know the
dangers of sexual assault, so by simply attending the party, you, an educated female, are
deeming the ongoing behavior and culture acceptable. In fact, you are doing more than
that: your voluntary presence at a party sends the message that you not only accept, but
enjoy the ongoing behavior. If women simply stopped attending frat parties, this sexist
culture would be forced to come to an end. Your presence indicates that you are
comfortable with and even like what is going on, and therefor you allow the actions to
continue.

I understand that frats have been a part of Penn State culture almost since the
Universitys founding, but this does not mean that you must attend frat parties. Just by
walking down Frat Row, it is obvious that Penn State has one of the largest Greek
systems in the country with a total of 89 sororities and fraternities (PSU Greek Life).
Since their creation, Greek life has become a valued part of the Penn State community for
the creation of the IFC-Panhellenic Dance Marathon (simply known today by the name of
THON), their various other philanthropic programs, and of course their parties (Stout).
But just because they are engrained in our history as part of the Penn State traditions,
does not make them unquestionably wonderful institutions. There are lots of flaws with
the Greek Life culture and institutions surrounding them and that is why President Barron
has established a task force to further investigates them (Barron). But there are also
important benefits to having these organizations around too. You should feel no
obligation to participate in the fraternity party scene even though it is thought of as part
of the Penn State culture because in all honesty, there is so much more that Penn State has
to offer.
If you crunch the numbers, it is easy to see that the fraternities of Penn State only
count for a small portion of the student body. So, by not going to a fraternity party, what
are you even missing? At University Park Campus, there were 40,541 undergraduates
enrolled for the academic year of 2014-2015 (Admissions). In comparison, only 4,137
men take part in Greek life (Enrollment, College Profile). This is around 10% of the
entire student body! There are 21,892 men at University Park, so even if you choose not
to go to frat parties you are only missing out on 19% of them. Inversely, if you mostly
attend frat parties you only get to know 19% of the men on campus. There are over 1,000

clubs at Penn State, most of which have social gathering outside of meetings and club
events (Student Organizations). There are concerts and performances at the BJC and
Eisenhower Auditorium, and countless college sports to watch. So, why do we let the
fraternities dominate the social scene? This 10% of the student population does not need
to dominate the social scene at Penn State, and it definitely does not need to dominate
yours.
It is ultimately your decision whether or not you attend frat parties. You can
choose to engage in this party scene or explore the countless other social groups on
campus. College is the time to explore so you can discover who you want to be for the
rest of your life, so there is no need to limit yourself to this one social scene. Next time
you consider going to a frat party, be aware of the potential dangers that may await you
and the sexist party culture that you are promoting. But most importantly, think for
yourself. Make a decision based on your beliefs, whether they are for or against my
arguments here, and dont blindly follow the crowds of girls parading through downtown
on their way to Frat Row. I hope you make the best decision for yourself and always be
safe.

Sincerely,
A Fellow Female Undergraduate

Work Cited
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Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://admissions.psu.edu/apply/statistics/>.
Bannon, R., Matthew Brosi, and John Foubert. "Sorority Women's and Fraternity Men's
Rape Myth Acceptance and Bystander Intervention Attitudes." Journal of Student
Affairs Research and Practice 50 (2013): 72-87. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.academia.edu/3288958/Sorority_women_s_and_fraternity_men_s_ra
pe_myth_acceptance_and_bystander_intervention_attitudes>.
Barron, Eric J. "Penn State to examine fraternity/sorority life." Penn State News. N.p., 23
Mar. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
<http://news.psu.edu/story/349680/2015/03/23/administration/penn-stateexamine-fraternity-sorority-life>.
"College Profile: Penn State University Park." College Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg05_tmpl.jhtml?sch
oolId=59>.
"Enrollment by Gender Fall 2014 ." Penn State University Budget Office. N.p., n.d. Web.
9 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.budget.psu.edu/factbook/studentdynamic/gendersummarynewByAd
visor.aspx?yearcode=2014&FBPlusIndc=N>.
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2015. <http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/02/the-dark-power-offraternities/357580/>.

Garrity, Meghan, and Alan Blinder. "Penn State Fraternity's Secret Facebook Photos May
Lead to Criminal Charges." The New York Times 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/us/penn-state-fraternitys-secret-facebookphotos-may-lead-to-criminal-charges.html?_r=1>.
Horn, Brittany. "19-year-old woman falls out of Sigma Alpha Mu window." The Daily
Collegian 2 Dec. 2012 [State College, PA] . Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/article_5af7796d-9daf-51ec-ad4e7ca292007b33.html>.
Kessler, Glenn. "One in five women in college sexually assaulted: an update on this
statistic." The Washington Post 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/12/17/one-in-fivewomen-in-college-sexually-assaulted-an-update/>.
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"The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life." Fraternity and Sorority Life. N.p., n.d. Web.
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