Let me start with a statement of fact: Frats have a reputation. Today, it’s almost a universally poor one, and culturally, we identify their stately houses more with Animal House than as symbols of high culture. Even the language we use to speak about them has changed, with their membership morphing from gentlemanly “fraternity men” to rowdy “frat boys.”
And within a culture of progressivism that necessarily views every change as part of a broader societal “advancement,” the decline and degradation of fraternity culture provides just one of the obvious rebuttals to the idea that the arc of mankind naturally bends toward betterment.
So what made fraternities — and greek life more broadly — so tremendously important and successful from the mid-to-late 19th century up until the onset of the Animal House culture of the 1970s and beyond?
In the latest episode of InsideAcademia.tv, host Andy Nash speaks with Ben Novak, a fraternity man, veteran-soldier, attorney, and trustee, on the history — the “glory days” — of the fraternity system.
Actually, being a member of a frat has its academic advantages. At many large universities (and doubtless some smaller colleges, as well) lazy professors recycle their exams. The frat boys (and sorority girls?) have copies of old exams, as well as the answers. These are available for study before the exams, to frat members.
Sample questions, as best as I can recall, from various exams. Each requires an essay response in no more than about 200 words. The portion of time to think about it might be 10 minutes, or less, on average. Various subjects:
1. Explain Einstein's theory of relativity.
2. What happens when a population experiences famine?
3. Compare and contrast Romantic-era literature with that of following literary eras.
I have no doubt that "discuss global warming" is on current lists.
Now, if one has access to a file where you can see which kind of response gets a high mark, and which does not, then all you have to do is memorize the good ones. Your responses will probably be evaluated by grad students who have been given exemplars of good and bad responses, for comparison. By golly, those exemplars are the very exam responses that you used as a study model!
Got that? Good! Now you can put on your toga and drink beer.
@Never_Outraged, I failed 4 students today for doing this. I'd keep an eye out for something called "turnitin," or realizing that professors actually remember the papers they've read.
@minormirror: I am curious to know why you would fail anyone for doing that, although I may be visualizing something other than what happened.
1. If a student knows which answers are "good," based on reading prior results, in what way is that cause for issuing a failing grade? How would it differ from prof-distributed study guides? I am not referring to students who perhaps have a stolen copy of the current exam.
2. What, you grade your own exams, and actually remember what you did last year? Evidently you are not busy churning out publications to make tenure. I was particularly referring to exams graded by graduate assistants (although in one case I know of, the grader was the prof's wife, who was trying to learn English better, and had been provided with model responses for that purpose).
3. Fun fact: I once taught a gen-ed science class which was small enough that I required a lengthy essay for the final. I told students that I would choose a topic from among a short list, which I provided. When I collected the exams, I put them in an envelope, then went home and wrote a sample response that could be used as model for an A grade, in case a student later complained (I should mention that I was visiting from out of state). One response was so similar to my model that I was astonished. No possibility of copying, since I'd never done that before. It turned out that the student was a professional linguist, taking my course only to chalk up the occasional credit for continuing ed. During the semester, she sat there and noted my spoken sentence lengths, use of active versus passive voice, conjunctions, clause structure, and thought organization. She also noted that my handouts were written the same way. So, she prepared for the final "the way the insructor would do it." She was right.
@never: I was referring to the almost as common process of frats (and sororities) keeping files of old papers that are turned in like clockwork every year. It's pretty serious plagiarism that has to be dealt with harshly.
Actually, being a member of a frat has its academic advantages. At many large universities (and doubtless some smaller colleges, as well) lazy professors recycle their exams. The frat boys (and sorority girls?) have copies of old exams, as well as the answers. These are available for study before the exams, to frat members.
Sample questions, as best as I can recall, from various exams. Each requires an essay response in no more than about 200 words. The portion of time to think about it might be 10 minutes, or less, on average. Various subjects:
1. Explain Einstein's theory of relativity.
2. What happens when a population experiences famine?
3. Compare and contrast Romantic-era literature with that of following literary eras.
I have no doubt that "discuss global warming" is on current lists.
Now, if one has access to a file where you can see which kind of response gets a high mark, and which does not, then all you have to do is memorize the good ones. Your responses will probably be evaluated by grad students who have been given exemplars of good and bad responses, for comparison. By golly, those exemplars are the very exam responses that you used as a study model!
Got that? Good! Now you can put on your toga and drink beer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@Never_Outraged, I failed 4 students today for doing this. I'd keep an eye out for something called "turnitin," or realizing that professors actually remember the papers they've read.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@minormirror: I am curious to know why you would fail anyone for doing that, although I may be visualizing something other than what happened.
1. If a student knows which answers are "good," based on reading prior results, in what way is that cause for issuing a failing grade? How would it differ from prof-distributed study guides? I am not referring to students who perhaps have a stolen copy of the current exam.
2. What, you grade your own exams, and actually remember what you did last year? Evidently you are not busy churning out publications to make tenure. I was particularly referring to exams graded by graduate assistants (although in one case I know of, the grader was the prof's wife, who was trying to learn English better, and had been provided with model responses for that purpose).
3. Fun fact: I once taught a gen-ed science class which was small enough that I required a lengthy essay for the final. I told students that I would choose a topic from among a short list, which I provided. When I collected the exams, I put them in an envelope, then went home and wrote a sample response that could be used as model for an A grade, in case a student later complained (I should mention that I was visiting from out of state). One response was so similar to my model that I was astonished. No possibility of copying, since I'd never done that before. It turned out that the student was a professional linguist, taking my course only to chalk up the occasional credit for continuing ed. During the semester, she sat there and noted my spoken sentence lengths, use of active versus passive voice, conjunctions, clause structure, and thought organization. She also noted that my handouts were written the same way. So, she prepared for the final "the way the insructor would do it." She was right.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@never: I was referring to the almost as common process of frats (and sororities) keeping files of old papers that are turned in like clockwork every year. It's pretty serious plagiarism that has to be dealt with harshly.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse