Greek Life is one of the most popular ways to get involved on a college campus. But is it worth the worst that can happen–hazing that goes too far?

 

“If a ride at Disney World killed someone, they would shut that ride down,” says “SNAPPED” podcast creator and University of Maryland alum, Lucy Taylor.
“SNAPPED,” or “SNAP,” is an acronym that Taylor’s former sorority at UMD, Alpha Phi, used to use in order to alert members that a social media post they made must be taken down. It stands for, “so not Alpha Phi.”
Lucy Taylor is a successful business woman, an activist, and is passionate about spreading awareness about the harmful activities that go on throughout Greek Life culture. She uses her podcast as a platform to share the sometimes negative experiences as a member of her former sorority. She covers what it was like to go through the recruitment process and even the validation it gave her as a young woman. Her experience eventually went south and Taylor wound up dropping her sorority by her sophomore year at the University of Maryland.

Taylor’s podcast has recently gained attention due to the recent temporary suspension of the entire Greek Life system at the University of Maryland. This was due to an overwhelming number of hazing reports throughout multiple chapters at the University. Events in the past include outcomes as serious as a death of a student.

Taylor goes on to talk about the sorority and fraternity cultures of binge drinking, hookup culture, and even rape culture being overlooked. Her goal is to spread awareness to these problems, making it known that Greek Life across America is “putting students in danger.”

The University of Maryland is not the only University to have problems regarding hazing. At Indiana University in Bloomington, 18 Greek Life organizations were suspended in the past two years. This included three fraternities, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Delta Upsilon, and Tau Epsilon Phi, which were put on cease and desist this academic year.

There are 66 Greek organizations on Bloomington’s campus. Critics say not only is hazing a recurring issue at IU, but the university is also known for having an intense sorority rush process. There are 22 sorority chapters at IU, which may have you assume that there should be a place for everyone. But each sorority only takes an average of 65 girls per pledge class, and nearly 2,400 girls went through the recruitment process in 2024. These numbers that fewer than half of the girls who registered to rush end up with a bid. The other half do not.

College sororities look for a myriad of things when recruiting girls to become new members. This includes academic standing and GPA, high school and college involvement, ability to carry conversation, and adhering to an overall “fit” for the specific sorority. Indiana University student, Maddie Herrera, claims that when a sorority drops you, “it does feel personal.” Young women’s heads fill with thoughts questioning if whether they’re even good enough to go through the rest of the rush process. For some, it works out well, and they end up with friends who will last a lifetime. But for many, they leave recruitment heartbroken, and feeling unwanted.

YouTuber and influencer, Tamara Avinami documented her rush process at IU through a YouTube video, with the intent of ending it with a bid in her hands. Unfortunately, things did not go her way, and she ended up dropping recruitment as a whole. She says, “This obviously was a difficult decision, but it just felt right.” It was later noted that the YouTuber was not being dropped for who she was, but for allegations claiming that her channel may become a “problem.” She believes the concern was that if Avinami continues to film and vlog her everyday life, she may catch things on camera such as, underage drinking, or inappropriate activity.

The Greek Life systems are still around on U.S. college campuses, and the University of Maryland decided to lift their temporary suspension on the organizations. Although it was not permanently removed, Lucy Taylor says that other universities could use Maryland as an “example,” to perhaps put a Greek Life suspension in place as well, if hazing gets out of hand. Fortunately, it’s not too late to try and amend the system, to make it safer and more fair for students across the nation.