1 minute read
VALUE OF FRATERNITY
Fraternities provide a unique and important opportunity for collegiate men. As someone reading this magainze, you likely agree - and so does a lot of great research that has been done.
Over the years there have been numerous studies and they keep returning to the same conclusions: members of fraternities have greater mental well being and tend to have greater gains in learning and are more satisfied with their collegiate experience than thair non-greek counterparts.
The North American Interfraternity Conference says of some of the recent research, “Dr. Gary R. Pike of Indiana University finds that fraternity and sorority membership is associated with significantly higher levels of engagement on a number of measures including high impact practices, collaborative learning, student-faculty interactions, perception of a supportive campus environment and discussions with diverse others.” (Research reaffirms fraternities’ positive impact for first-year students)
Fraternities are a flourishing part of the community on hundreds of campuses across the United States and stress the importance of civic engagement and academic excellence.
For first-year college students, fraternities provide friendship, a sense of community, and higher levels of academic and social involvement. On many campuses, the average GPA for fraternity men is above the all-men’s average.
Fraternities continue to lead in efforts to protect students by enforcing stricter health and safety guidelines than applied to non-fraternity students.
As a member of the NIC, Acacia Fraternity is committed to leadership in these areas.
• Membership in a fraternity or sorority is associated with greater involvement in curricular and co-curricular activities, promotes student learning and development, and promotes satisfaction with the college experiences.
As college students deal with more anxiety, depression and feelings of social isolation, a new report from the Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found fraternity-affiliated students report higher levels of positive mental health along with lower rates of depression and anxiety.
Fraternity members are significantly more engaged than non-members; reported greater gains in learning; and are more satisfied with their college experiences.
The largest positive effects were generally found for first-year students, arguing against deferring recruitment until the second semester or second year.
