Jeremy Whitaker ENGL 1102-022 10/9/13 Media Viewpoint on the Fraternity Lifestyle: Annotated Bibliography Since the early

1800s fraternities have been recognized on college campuses for their great companionship and brotherhood. These same fraternities have developed in many ways since then, turning into wild, raging, alcoholic college kids, as some would classify them as. But is this what really goes on inside the walls of each and every fraternity in America? Or are there still some good, distinguished fraternities still out there that help the community and their brotherhood out? The stereotypes of fraternities have gone downhill in the past decade, due to the media, word of mouth, and even stupidity among some brothers. Some college students may not want to join for these same reasons, and for fear of their lives that the media puts into their heads. But this is not what every fraternity is like, and this is not how I am going to let my fraternity, Kappa Sigma, get put to shame.

Bacon, Robert, . N.p.. Web. 8 Oct 2013. <http://totalfratmove.com/some-thoughts-on-boozehazing-per-the-uncc-pike-accusations/>.

On college campuses, fraternities can be divided into four different groups depending on their purpose; social, service, professional, and honorary. The website most fraternity members know and love, Total Frat Move, or TFM.com, is known worldwide for its demonstration of a typical fraternity member, and what they do in their everyday lives. Although it is known for its frat topics, it only shows one of these types of fraternities shown above, the social group. It has sections of quotes, daily news, pictures, videos, and many more sections to show what its

audience wants to see. This website is known for its witty, comical features of being in a fraternity, and sometimes shows peoples opinions in an over-exaggerated manner of how to deal with problems that arise in a fraternity. To demonstrate the actions that Total Frat Move shows to its audience, there are thousands of ways to do so. These quotes, I will grant that I think something like making a pledge take a shot of some filthy rail whiskey without a chaser is funny (Bacon), and If you want to get your pledges drunk, give them a stripper, take away said stripper, and commence Mind-Fuck-Apalooza, have at em. (Bacon) are in an article about a hazing incident at UNC Charlotte with a Pi Kappa Alpha pledge member in critical condition with a BAC of a .42 after a pledge retreat. In this one example, they take a very serious, life threatening matter, and making fun of the pledge for getting that intoxicated. Many pictures on the website are of people doing stupid things, hurting themselves, and drinking profusely. This source shows explicit examples of thousands of incidents that happen in fraternities in America, and takes it to a whole new level by not only saying its right to haze a pledge, but by showing how they would do it. Total Frat Move is a very credible source because it is a #1 college comedy website on the internet, has a New York Times best selling book on the subject, and it also has a movie that is currently in production. There are many true stories that arise on this website, and many credible authors that have written columns about what Total Frat Move has to offer. The bias that arises in a source like this is the amount of opinions that are in the source, and the amount of different kinds of people that read, and understand the different columns. Some people may find these things funny, while others think that it is crude, and inappropriate.

Issacs, Mark. Personal Interview. 03 Oct 2013.

During the 1970s, joining a fraternity was a very big deal, with the amount of hazing, and other activities that were present. Mark Issacs, an alumni of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, Kappa Omega chapter at UNC Charlotte, pledged Kappa Sigma Fall 1976, and has many stories to tell from his experience of being in a top tier fraternity in the 1970s. He went on to be a Grand Master of Ceremonies in the Kappa Omega Chapter, meaning that he knew the ins and outs of what went on each day in the fraternity. This title meant that he was an expert in the guidelines, and rules that the secretive side of the fraternity held. He had many titles during his experience at UNC Charlotte, and he had the typical fraternity life during the times he was in college. During this interview I found many things that I did not know about my own fraternity, and how many things have changed since then. I asked Mark Issacs, How have the hazing activities changed from your experience, to the activities that happen today? His response, The hazing was very hard in my days, with very little guidelines set by the school. I knew people that were stripped naked, and placed 20 miles from campus and had to find a way back in a few hours. Then there were times where I was in a dark room all night, and told to fill a whole gallon jug with dip spit by morning. Its not like that today. There are too many guidelines set, and too many kids that dont have any sense, or responsibility to take account for their damn actions, thats why you hear about it in the news nowadays (Issacs). Another question I asked Mark, What is the best thing about joining a fraternity, and what did you get out of it? He told me Its not the drinking, its not the partying. All of those memories will fade, but the brotherhood that you have for a lifetime, and the memories that you have with one another is what told me to be a Kappa Sig, and was the best decision I ever made (Issacs). I asked many more questions to Mark Issacs, and what I distinguished from those questions is that fraternities can be either a

party fraternity, or a fraternity with a lifelong bond between a group of people, who will take care of one another. TFM cannot, and will not show the brotherhood that brothers have for one another like Mark Issacs, and his alumni brothers have. This source is one of my favorite sources, and is a very reliable source because it is a great first hand experience from the life of a member of a large fraternity from many years ago. The experiences that he had were unlike anything that fraternities do today, they were very explicit, but that didnt change his mindset on the brotherhood that he will have forever. He never had the problem of the media interfering with telling him what his fraternity experience should be like. This source, Brother Mark Issacs, shows the difference between a fraternity and a TFM Frat. He was a very respected member of the fraternity during the late 1970s and he still speaks publically on the matter.

Simmons, Matty., Landis, John. National Lampoon's Animal House. 30th anniversary ed. Universal City, CA: Universal Studios Home Entertainment, 2008. DVD. To visualize the stereotype that fraternities exploit, the 1978 American comedy movie National Lampoons Animal House exemplifies another stereotype that fraternities gain every day. The movie is about two college freshmen that seek to join a fraternity, and after being kicked out of one house, they go to Delta Tau Chis house and are unwillingly admitted. This fraternity is under probation, and they seek many ways to get on good standings with the school, while the dean of students is doing everything to prevent this from happening. This movie shows the absurd, and comical views of a college experience, and contains attributes that show what certain people think of how a fraternity works.

During this movie many obscene things happen, such as a forcing a pledge to take a horse into the deans office and killing him. Also the deans wife comes to a Delta party and ends up drinking and having sex with one of the members of the fraternity. In the movie, Dean Wormer asks Greg Marmaland What is the worst fraternity on campus?, Greg responds, Well that would be hard to say, sir. Theyre each outstanding in their own way and Dean Wormer replies Cut the horseshit, son. Ive got their disciplinary files right here. Who dropped a whole truckload of fizzies into the varsity swim meet? Who delivered the medical school cadavers to the alumni dinner? Every Halloween, the trees are filled with underwear. Every spring the toilets explode (Simmons). The movie also shows how the Deltas grade point average is very low, showing that all fraternities have a low grade point average, and only party. At the end of the movie the Deltas raise Hell at the homecoming parade, and the whole thing is chaos. This movie shows the visual perspective of what the audience seems to think a fraternity is like. If some people do not know what a fraternity is like, it is one of the easiest sources to show the actions that happens, therefore it gives a biased view towards how people react to the movie. National Lampoons Animal House is a credible source because it has awards such as the Peoples Choice Award in 1979 in the category of Favorite-Non Musical Motion Picture, as well as the National Film Registry Award in 2001. It has a Box office of almost 142 million dollars, and many notable actors such as John Belushi and Tim Matheson. It is about a misfit group of fraternity brothers who challenge the dean of their college, and has many vulgar and troublesome views that America has towards a fraternity.

Levine, Matt. "Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life." Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life. N.p., 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. <http://www.fsl.umn.edu/> On every college campus that promotes Greek Life, there is an Office for Fraternity and Sorority Relations. Many have guidelines, and rules that are clearly stated, and if these rules are broken then the fraternity could be in a lot of trouble with the school. This source, from the University of Minnesota Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life, shows a list of greek stereotypes, and why they are not true on a college campus. The regulations of most schools Greek Life make sure that if a guideline is broken, there will be consequences for those actions. Of the hundreds of stereotypes that are associated with a fraternity, such as partying, sex, certain wardrobes, and certain personalities, and more there are a few listed in the University of Minnesotas guidelines. One stereotype they believe to be important is, Fraternities and sororities do not promote moral growth, and their response is National chapters firmly hold their members to high behavioral standards and questionable delinquency or discrepancies are taken very serious and never tolerated (Levine). This means that if someone screws up in a chapter, that person is subjected to review of the fraternity and liable to be kicked out of the fraternity immediately. Another stereotype, Hazing is a common practice in the U of M Greek community is responded by The University of Minnesota has a zero tolerance regarding hazing Hazing is against the law in Minnesota We bring awareness and education about hazing to fraternity and sorority members, as well as the entire campus (Levine). This rule is very typical among college campuses, and regards to these rules very strictly. There are many more stereotypes that are blatantly cleared up on the page, and clear up any questions that someone may have about the rules of a fraternity. This source presents the point of view from the

authorities, and how they handle situations when fraternity members attain to their stereotypical actions. This source is from the University of Minnesota, and is clearly stated in many Universities around America as well. The Parent Information section of the website is a credible source for any parent that is worried about their child joining a fraternity, and the actions that come with hazing, and any other activity. This site comes straight from the guidelines that a fraternity goes by each and every day. It shows that although a stereotypical student may do whatever they want, there will be consequences. It proves a lot of stereotypes wrong, and that fraternities do a lot of good for the community, instead of messing it up. A brother of a fraternity is not a member for a week, or a college term, but for life. It is one of the greatest choices one could ever have. Today the media is destroying that opportunity for people because of what they are putting in television, the web, and even newspapers. It is scaring people away from a great chance in life, and it is not getting any better. Websites such as Total Frat Move are belittling the brotherhood. Movies such as National Lampoons Animal House are sending a bias message to its viewers. Then we have people such as Mark Issacs, and Universities such as University of Minnesota who have to apologize to future Greek Life members for what they think a fraternity truly is, and show them that its not what the media makes it out to be. The choice of many teenagers growing up wanting to be apart of a Greek Life community is at stake, and its all because of what is in todays media.