Matthew
Marinelli
Research in the
Disciplines: College!
Professor
Michael Goeller
Research
Proposal
Title: College Fraternities: The Effect on College Life
Topic: My topic covers all the effects that joining a fraternity
may have on someone’s college experience. My topic involves the positive
effects that may arise from learning certain skills as well as other things
learned just by being in a fraternal environment. I will be discussing certain
skills such as relationship building, effective networking, and advancements in
education. There are many more positive outcomes that are results of joining a
social fraternity but these are two of the most prevalent ones.
Research Question: Does joining a fraternity foster the
possibility of enough positive outcomes that outweigh negative ones? How much
effect do these outcomes have on someone’s life and can it be directly
attributed to fraternal involvement?
Frame: One of the articles I have used was “The value of the Greek system: Should
fraternities and sororities have a place on campus” by Deanna M. Garrett. This
sparked interest for me because she gives both the positive and negative
outcomes of being in a college fraternity. The positive outcomes that she talks
about are those that I wanted to talk about from the start. These outcomes
include advanced networking and the ability to build relationships. The
negative outcomes that she addresses are some that are widely known of college
fraternities. These include binge drinking, rape culture, and other things of
that nature. This topic is relevant to me because I am in a social fraternity
and I see how all of these outcomes affect a college student. I have never
personally seen most of these negatives in my fraternity and I do believe that
if you do, you are in the wrong place and it is filled with the wrong people. I
am here to discuss how the positive outcomes are the most important ones to
research and pay attention to.
Research Plan: Throughout my research I have not found an abundance of
information but I want the information to come from people who have been in
fraternities that can speak from first-hand experience. I would love to
retrieve some information from Rutgers students that have done research and
written articles as well as interviews with current Rutgers students who are
involved in fraternities. There are articles and books that I plan on reading
to expand my perspective such as “Paying for the Party” by Elizabeth A.
Armstrong and Laura T. Hamilton. There are other articles that are more direct
to specific positive outcomes that I will be discussing such as “What Impact Do
Fraternities Have on Education?” by Chris Blake. This will let me dive into the
educational aspect of how a fraternity could help a college student.
Bibliography
Armstrong, Elizabeth A., and Laura
T. Hamilton. Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2013. Print.
Blake, Chris. “What impact do
fraternities have on education?” SeattlePI. Demand Media, 2016. Web.
Garrett, Deanna M.
"University of Vermont." The University of Vermont. The
University of Vermont, 29 July 2002. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
