Literature Review #3

DeSantis, Alan D. Inside Greek U: Fraternities, Sororities, and the Pursuit of of Pleasure, Power, and Prestige. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. 

I have just requested to have this book delivered to the Alexander Library from another campus and I am eager to read it.  The author, Alan D. DeSantis, was in a fraternity himself and investigates many subjects regarding membership, specifically gender roles and how joining Greek life alters members' post-collegiate plans.  DeSantis did a lot of investigation that included interviews, focus groups, gathering of statistics, and recalling his own personal experiences.  

As mentioned, DeSantis is a fraternity man himself so he can share his own collegiate experiences.  He is also a professor at the University of Kentucky, so he is exposed to the modern-day fraternity habits as well.  He performed extensive research (enough to write an entire book!) and is knowledgeable about this topic. 

Since I have not received the book yet, I have not been able to browse the chapters; however, in the title, the word "prestige" stands out to me.  My own personal definition of prestige would be finding success in a career and earning a large sum of money.  Finding promotions and making a large income could also be included in achieving a prestigious lifestyle.  

“…while Greeks constitute an average of only 8.5 percent of American college students, they produce from among their ranks a staggering number of American leaders.” (7) This quote could be beneficial to my argument because it shows the existing proof that Greek alum hold leadership roles in the American society.  

“Of the over twelve hundred students I teach each year in my Introduction to Communication Theory course, a mass lecture, it is the sorority women who are always the most active and interesting participants in class” (106).  This quote could also benefit my argument because it shows the strong academic drive that sorority women possess.  Considering they all share this trait, it can be said that their organizations are the ones that influenced them to want to excel in the academic front.
I think this book will definitely help me write my paper because it gives multiple perspectives on many different topics.  Therefore, I can broaden my arguments and bring up many subjects that are relevant to my paper.  It is also reliable, so I know I will make the best argument I can because the writing is so strong.  

Research Blogs #4 and #5

Alexis Moran

201- College!

Prof. Michael Goeller

March 6, 2014

Starting a Career: Greek vs Non-Greek

The topic for my final paper has come a long way for me since the beginning of this semester.  From the start, Greek life has always been my top interest because it is something extremely unique just to college.  Finding an academic and analytic subject within the topic was a challenge.  After looking through a few scholarly research archives, I’ve formulated a thesis that I will be able to investigate in multiple ways.  Greek life impacts many collegians lives in more ways than one.  One specific way is through preparing members for the future.  Their preparations include striving for academic excellence, creating strong career networks, and implementing time management.  I am going to research the differences between building a career as a Greek life alum with building a career as a graduate uninvolved in Greek life.  I will enter the discussion describing some of the experiences others have reported while being involved in Greek life in college.  As I continue on, I will look at the foundations that fraternities and sororities set for their members academically throughout their college years that could give them an advantage or disadvantage post-graduation.  Then I would like to research the successes or misfortunes that both Greeks and non-Greeks have experienced on their job hunts and seek out some possible evidence as to why or why not which group receives the results they wind up with.  

My main research question is: How do fraternities and sororities prepare their members for future careers in ways that differ from collegians uninvolved in Greek life?  This question is sufficient because it compares two different groups, those involved in Greek life and those who chose to not be involved.  Because it is two clear groups, there will be differences that are easy to discriminate from each other, making each argument stronger on both sides. It is important in a research paper to argue both sides and here there is no grey area where people do not fit into either category.  It is clear cut: a Greek college graduate or a non-Greek college graduate.   I think this research question is manageable because it is specific.  Finding articles, books, and other sources will be easier because I can eliminate less specific sources that will be irrelevant to my topic.  I also like this topic because I can perform in-person interviews with alumni or collegiate seniors applying for jobs.  They will be a reliable source because I can choose which questions I can ask to my subjects and I can work with the answers I receive.  

To analyze case studies and facts, I will mostly compare and contrast the results I find from my sources in order to verify the difference between truth and opinion.  I will also be able to categorize the relevancy of my sources by organizing my quotes into lists and seeing which source I gathered the most information from.  This source will probably be my primary driving force that will support my overall argument- once I finish my research.  

My plan of action is to look in education archives first.  I have a tendency to be hyper-organized so I would love to be able to research supporting arguments in the order that I will write them in the paper.  If I look in education based searches,  I’ll be able to find research in regards to academics during college.  There could be possible articles on Greeks excelling in specific majors or schools.  I might also look for minimum GPA requirements for Greek life at  certain universities and compare it to the average GPA of the entire university.   I was also considering looking in a business source for post-college research.  I would look for possible statistics or articles about personal endeavors of graduates who have been accepted to or denied of jobs and the reasoning that goes along with it.  Statistics could include percentages of Greeks vs non-Greeks hired at specific companies.  I also want to make sure that taking Greek life into consideration is the only difference between candidates.  However, it could be interesting to consider that a student did better academically in college because of the ideals introduced to him or her in his or her organization.  I just want to investigate how much Greek life can affect a member academically and professionally.   I could then analyze a specific company and look for qualitative reasonings behind the quantitative results.  As I continue on my research, I’m sure I’ll develop new plans of action that will help me strengthen my argument and complete my paper.  

Working Bibliography:

"Greek Life at Southern Miss: Good Grades, Giving, Growth." Daily Times Leader: n. pag. Global NewsBank. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=AWNB&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%20146F69E4E3CC2B58%20)&p_docid=146F69E4E3CC2B58&p_theme=aggdocs&p_queryname=146F69E4E3CC2B58&f_penurl=yes&p_nbid=L4BL4BBHMTM5Mzg4OTIyMi40NzMzMDg6MTo5OkVCU0NPODE1Mg&&p_multi=DTLB>.

Grubb, Farley. "Does Going Greek Impair Undergraduate Academic Success?" The American Journal of

   Economics and Sociology: n. pag. Print.

Klopfer, Lisa. "Inside Greek U: Fraternities, Sororities, and the Pursuit of Pleasure, Power, and

   Prestige." Library Journal: n. pag. Print.

Robbins, Alexandra. Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities. New York: Hyperion, 2004. Print.

Warren, Lorraine, and Robert Smith. "Fraternity, Legitimacy and (His)Story: The Collective

   Presentation of Entrepreneur Stories as Excess." Tamara Journal: n. pag. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=966f1530-6d31-4354-9120-bb277eb0777a%40sessionmgr4003&hid=T4202

Literature Review #2

"Greek Life at Southern Miss: Good Grades, Giving, Growth." Daily Times Leader: n. pag. Global NewsBank. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/ 

     InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=AWNB&p_text_direct-0=document_ 

     id=(%20146F69E4E3CC2B58%20)&p_docid=146F69E4E3CC2B58&p_theme=aggdocs&p_queryname=146F69E4E3CC2B58&f_o 

     penurl=yes&p_nbid=L4BL4BBHMTM5Mzg4OTIyMi40NzMzMDg6MTo5OkVCU0NPODE1Mg&&p_multi=DTLB>.

This article is mainly describing the nature of the University of Southern Mississippi's Greek Life and discussing some of the academic goals they have set and accomplishments they have made.  They bring up strong statistics about all of the organizations as a whole and discuss beneficial programs that they offer to help the students keep their grades as impressive as they are.  

The Daily Times Leader is a local newspaper that serves the areas around the University of Southern Mississippi.  Although there is no specific author credited on the article, the newspaper itself is reliable because it is close to the campus, so traveling there for research and interviews is accessible.  

The key phrase in this article is "overall culture of achievement".  This is the plan that Southern Miss Greek Life has implemented in order to maximize the academic success of its members, in addition to other values such as service and retention.  

"'We're focused on success in three areas - academics, community service and retention, as well as growth,' Schutts said." This could help my argument because strong academic emphasis results in a more successful future when seeking employment.  

"'We're elated that our fraternities and sororities are thriving in unprecedented fashion,' said Southern Miss Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Joe Paul. 'Every positive indicator of a healthy Greek system is up -grades, recruiting, retention and philanthropy. A healthy Greek system helps retain students who will most likely continue to be engaged in their communities and with the university for a lifetime.'" This is beneficial to my argument because the advisor has seen their successes himself and describes ways that it could benefit them in the future.  

"The lessons he's learned are ones he and his fraternity brothers will carry with them in life and work, Nelson said. 'We have tremendous autonomy to run our organizations, so we learn how to manage finances, work together and with other Greeks on campus to achieve goals that benefit not only our fraternity, but the university and others who need our help. Those kinds of experiences prepare you for life after graduation.'" This quote is basically arguing my thesis for me.  Nelson, who was the President of the Interfraternity Council at Southern Miss, explains that he experienced obligations that prepared him for post-college life.  

This article is important to my argument because it has statistics, direct quotes, and information about the success of Southern Miss Greeks in academic areas and others.  It explains that they have been prepared for professional life by their duties and responsibilities as members of Greek organizations.  

Literature Review #1

Robbins, Alexandra. Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities. New York: Hyperion, 2004. Print.

This book is about the story of a researcher who went under cover for a year as she lived with sorority girls.  She reveals loads of things that occurred behind their closed doors and what she learned from the young women.  Although there are many surprising reveals, there are also some interesting discoveries she made regarding sisterhood and the ideals that the women hold themselves up to.  

The author, Alexandra Robbins, is obviously knowledgeable about the topic because this is an account of her own first-hand experience while living in the house.  At the beginning of the book, she does admit that she had her own preconceived notions about sororities, but her perspective is completely changed after experiencing a year living in the house.  

An important key term throughout this book is "socialized".  This is important because it is quite ambiguous and many writers could have a load of different definitions for it.  In Robbins's case, she considers the sorority girls to have been socialized before they joined their chapters which is why they wound up being "picked" from the large pool of girls who entered recruitment.  Robbins then goes on to say that the girls "socialized" within their chapters and have grown to be who they are as college students.  

"Between meetings and activities, fund-raising and date-finding, sorority membership can be as much of a commitment as a part-time job" (Robbins 94).  This quote could be important to support my analysis because it shows that sororities prepare people for real-life careers because of the demand for time-management.  

"But there is, of course, the question of whether the girls create the sorority or the sorority creates the girls" (Robbins 118).  This could be an interesting topic to bring up in my paper because it could indicate independence or a lack thereof.  This independence comes from well-rounded individuals who have a better chance at a steady future. 

"Some sororities still use secret passwords" (Robbins 286).  This is another interesting point to bring up in regards to the topic of exclusivity that comes with joining an organization.  The exclusivity continues after college and into the professional world when sorority sisters or fraternity brothers meet and are perhaps colleagues.  This could benefit someone in finding a job because they share rituals and values that another colleague has.  

This book will be an important part of my research because it exclusively talks about the life of multiple sorority ladies.  Although there are some aspects of Greek life that are mentioned which are irrelevant to my topic, it covers many bases that I would like to mention within my final paper.  

Privatization

I've decided that my topic is going to be to analyze the business networking that comes as a result of graduating from a Greek organization.  This relates to privatization because of the exclusivity that results from it.  People who are only alumni of their respective organizations can add them to their resumes and make social connections that could result in a possibly job.

Scouting the Territory

I realized that I need to be more specific with my topic.  My original idea was using the theme of sororities, but as the Vice President: Membership of my own chapter, I sell Greek Life everyday.  I need to hone in on one specific benefit of joining a sorority.  The socio-economic benefits of life as both a collegiate Greek and an alum Greek have recently appealed to me. Some perks while still in college include minimum GPA requirements and study hours that promote academic success.  I would also like to research a percentage of how many Greeks in the U.S. graduate with honors.  Some perks post-graduation include life-long networking that could lead to career opportunities.

I Googled topics such as: "greek life and academics", "greek life networking advantages" and "sorority benefits"

Some links I found with quick facts:

https://cws.auburn.edu/studentaffairs/greekLife/ConMan_Uploads/files/Advantages%20of%20Greek%20Life%20on%20College%20Campuses.pdf

http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/campuslife/examining-the-benefits-of-greek-life

http://dailybruin.com/2011/09/13/_greek_life_benefits_students_through_its_networking_opportunities_friendships_/

Some links I found of articles that I would like to further research:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-campus/201109/how-fraternities-and-sororities-impact-students-or-do-they (this link also referenced the book that was loaned to me : Pledged by Alexandra Robbins)

http://dailybruin.com/2011/09/13/_greek_life_benefits_students_through_its_networking_opportunities_friendships_/

http://www.levo.com/articles/skills/sorority-networking-lessons

A book found on Google Books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=vLN2SJe965oC&pg=PA45&dq=sorority+life&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sd4DU6aFNKyU1AGyloHIDg&ved=0CCgQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=sorority%20life&f=false

After researching only for a short time, I've come to decide that networking will probably be the main argument for my thesis.  Some supporting arguments will include building leadership skills, promoting academic excellence, and improving communication skills.

Obviously, Greek life is a highly controversial topic that is written about quite often.  From what I have seen, Greeks write about the benefits and non-Greeks write about the deficits.  This is not necessarily always true, but it has been the majority.  I'm going to stick with my kind and bring light to joining a sorority.  I think I will find success because it is a topic I am extremely passionate about.

Final Essay Topic

I would like to make my final essay about the importance of Greek life.  I have experienced the social and academic benefits of being involved in my sorority and would like to share my personal experience and research about other people's experiences.  Greek life offers a variety of opportunities in philanthropy, networking, leadership, and socializing.  Greek life is something I hold very dear to my heart so I would be able to give my undivided attention to all that I research on this topic!