When people think about college, things like partying and Greek life are the factors constantly associated with college. These same factors are also costing the lives of innocent people.

Recently, a Lehigh University sorority was shut down until 2020 for what was described a “raunchy scavenger hunt.”

The scavenger hunt encouraged students to do very inappropriate and illegal tasks to earn points and then become a member.

Another incident in particular happened at Penn State University last year in which a student was found dead at a fraternity party. The student drank an excessive amount of alcohol and as he was lying on the floor at a fraternity party, students expressed concern over his wellbeing.

Despite concerns, members of the fraternity hosting the party did not seem as worried and allowed the deceased body to just lay there.

The fraternity has since been banned by the university.

According to ABC News, Pennsylvania prosecutors this past Thursday dropped all assault charges against members of the now-closed Penn State fraternity in the hazing death of a pledge, sparing defendants the most serious allegations any had faced.

Although The Beacon does not agree with this decision, there are still members of the former fraternity that could face charges leaving them in prison for many years.

Attending a school that does not have Greek life, Wilkes University students do not know what it is like having to deal with fraternities and sororities on a daily basis.

But from visiting friends at universities that do have Greek life, the party culture is extremely different.

One member of The Beacon has attended parties hosted by fraternity and sororities, and it did not seem safe. The experiences seemed unsafe because when going to Greek life parties at other schools, each fraternity and sorority encountered seemed to have different rules before even entering the party.

Then upon entering the party, it seems like it is easy to take advantage of people because there is an excessive amount of alcohol and drugs readily available.

Although fraternities and sororities exist to allow students to have connections for things like jobs once they graduate, The Beacon feels like going to a school without Greek life makes the campus safer.

This is not taking shots at students involved in Greek life and is not an attempt to attack the concept of Greek life.

Here at Wilkes University, there are fraternities, but they are professional fraternities, and are not the “typical” fraternities that throw wild parties every weekend that would endanger the wellbeing of students here on campus.

There many reasons why not having these fraternities has been beneficial to the institution and for other academic institutions that also do not have Greek life.

One simple reason is that without Greek life, it decreases the chances of students having alcohol or drug related incidents that could endanger their health.

Schools that do not have Greek life definitely still have parties, but since fraternities and sororities are not hosting these parties, alcohol and drugs are not as readily available. This means that since fraternities and sororities generate so much money through things like “dues,” they are able to get excess amounts of alcohol and drugs available for students without charging them.

For schools without Greek life, house parties are thrown by students who live off-campus. Since these house parties thrown have to be funded by students without any Greek life association, they do not have nearly the same amount of money that fratenities and sororities do, which means they personally have to come out of pocket to provide alcohol for students.

As a result, far less alcohol is provided, limiting the chances of alcohol related issues.

Another factor that makes not having Greek life safer is hazing.

Having to complete feats in order to have the opportunity to join a fraternity or sorority is something that has been going on for many years. These particular feats vary depending on the fraternity or sorority, but the common denominator is that some of these feats can put students in danger since most of these feats involve things like  physical abuse, alcohol, drugs and sex.

In all, schools that do not have a strong Greek life presence are much safer than schools that do.

With that being said, should other academic institutions look into disallowing Greek life? Or do more incidents involving fatalities have to happen in order for it to happen?