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6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 An Honest Look at Greek Life in America Jan 08, 2008
By Thomas J. Smith
"Filmmaker"
I believe Dr. DeSantis has given us a behind the scenes look at Greek life not shown in the movies at a major University. It is a fascinating read and is certain to drop jaws and arch eyebrows. I believe however (as a former Greek myself at an elite fraternity, elite is a term used by DeSantis, not my ego) I feel that in some spots DeSantis only uses extreme ego driven characters as his test subjects, plus the positves are downplayed for the negatives. Other than that it is solid, excellent book. I highly recomend it for anybody who has walked by a Greek house on campus and wondered "What goes on in there?".
8 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Confirms stereo-typical views of Greek community Jul 07, 2008
By DACHokie
Having joined a fraternity in the 1980s and still living in the town where I graduated from college, I thought this book was going to be an interesting read.
Although Desantis did his homework and cites a great deal of supporting research, his final product does nothing more than underscore all the negative public perceptions about the Greek system ... that it IS as shallow as the majority of the "outsider" population perceives, with very, very few exceptions.
Am I surprised with the findings? Yes and no. Yes, I am surprised that the Greek system I embraced twenty years ago has become so superficial and by today's standards, unnecessary. But, no, I am not surprised that today's students exhibit such simple and selfish behavior, combined with a total lack of awareness to the world around them (regardless of the global reach of the internet) ... it is symbolic of the me-first attitude today's youth culture. There is little shock value in Desantis' work, but maybe it's because living in a college town has de-sensitized me to college students' in general or more likely, I've outgrown the idiotic behavior I exhibited myself so long ago.
I think the book would have been a better read had he used actual fraternities and schools (maybe a legal liability decision?). The "Greek U", "John from Alpha fraternity", "Susie from Theta sorority" was too generic an approach to the subject matter ... it was actually a turn-off for me for authenticity reasons; it reads like fiction. The comments/responses/behaviors weren't exclusively Greek-related ... any group of students could have provided the same material covered in this book. In other words, what differentiates the men from "Alpha fraternity" from a group of guys living on the same floor in a dorm or a group of varsity athletes.
This book had potential, but I found it disappointing in that it echoes all the same lame Greek stereotypes. It might have been better to look at how Greek organizations have grown/changed throughout the years to let the reader know that today's generation of Greeks are not symbolic of all Greeks, but more or less a snapshot of today's youth culture. Desantis' work appears to be no more that a conglomeration of Newsweek/Time/Rolling Stone articles on binge-drinking, eating disorders and date rape ... I really expected a lot more.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Important and fascinating book May 12, 2008
By S. E. Morgan
DeSantis has done an outstanding job of carefully researching many aspects of Greek culture and presenting the short- and long-term consequences of Greek socialization on young men and women. This book is extremely accessible to lay readers while still providing an extraordinarily insightful set of analyses that are of tremendous use to academic researchers in many disciplines. I would highly recommend this book to parents of university students (especially entering freshmen), young people considering pledging fraternties and sororities, university educators, administrators, and campus health professionals, as well as anyone curious about the phenomenon of Greek culture on college campuses. Because many academic researchers have not been a part of the Greek system and have no first-hand experience, this book can provide valuable insight into a population of considerable interest and provide a jumping-off point for further research. Frankly, it's such an interesting book that I was lending out my copy so often that I ended up buying a second copy.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Eye-Opening but Honest Apr 06, 2010
By Get Real
"SJK"
A very honest and objective review and analysis of the Greek system at a large university. It reminded me why I chose NOT to join a fraternity when I was a student, but confirms the many life-long bonds that are established among brothers and sisters that I observe even today. DeSantis used his long-time associations with the Greek system to gain access to information and to members, and was clever enough to conduct interviews in a manner that would maximize openness and honesty. Nevertheless, there were times I wish he had dug a deeper, using personal follow-up interviews to not only unravel sex roles/stereotypes, but the rationale and personal history the led students to certain decision and viewpoints. For example, how and why do individuals decide to go Greek, and how are those individuals different from those that reject the Greek system. Most differentiation is made after matriculation based on grades. Also, DeSantis does not often distinguish between trends that are specific to Greek organizations, and trends on college campuses themselves regarding drugs, sex, and drinking. As a result, it sometimes implies that certain activities occur among Greeks, but not the student population at large. For example, 75-80% (or more...."you'd be surprised at the real numbers")of girls in sororities may have anal sex, but is that any different among non-Greeks? And if a group of girls agrees that that's true, but no one admits to trying it, wouldn't you probe that a little more in personal interviews to validate the group comments??? All-in-all though, this is the best analysis I have read of the status of the Greek system in American colleges. It's explicit but honest. I have a high school junior who is now in the process of selecting potential colleges, and she has expressed an interest in learning about sororities (and college life in general). I gave her the book to give her a realistic picture of college life and what she might encounter. I would recommend this book to parents (former Greeks and non-Greeks) and to their sons and daughters who are about to take the plunge!
 Nothing unexpected. Aug 04, 2010
By Preppy Jock
I was hoping to read something that I don't know about fraternities, but I didn't find many things that are brand new.
One thing that stuck in my mind is when he told the story of some foreign non-white students tried to rush fraternities, they visited one fraternity when the author was also there. Because those students were not white, so those racist white fraternity members basically just ignored them. The author knew that it is a fact that those non-white students would also get the same treatment at other fraternities, so he didn't encourage them to visit other fraternities on campus.
I just don't think that it is right. Many fraternities are racist against non-white students. If only white students visit those fraternities, then they will always be white racists only. The author should encourage all kinds of students to visit those white fraternities, at least, those fraternities have to face the fact there are non-white students who also go to the same campus.
Just like they can only accept straight acting gay people into the system, those white greeks can also only accept blacks who think, talk like white. Now these days, those "elite" Greeks cannot openly declare that they don't like non-whites, they still openly discriminate against homosexuals, especially feminine male students and macho female students.
And the author seems to think that it is ok that those "elite" fraternities are mostly white only. Because those members tend to be white and rich, therefore, they are called "elite"? Well, I don't think so. Those white students are rich because their white parents are rich. Their parents are rich, because they get preferential treatment when it comes to jobs and salaries. There are many intelligent non-white citizens, they can't get rich because they are racially discriminated. Because of that, their children are also not rich, so those children can not join the "elite" fraternities and sororities.
And because they can't join those white only "elite" fraternities and sororities, therefore, they won't be able to meet potential mates for marriage in that system. Therefore, this racist system continues on.
Fortunately, as white students become less, many fraternities and sororities have no choice but to accept many non-white students. After all, the Greek headquarters are business, they are here to make money first. Sooner or later, those so-called white only elite fraternities and sororities will be history.
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