Ethics in Pledged by Alexandra Robbins - Essay Example

354246 Ethics in Pledged by Alexandra Robbins Sororities and fraternities have made the news because of their harshness or "hazing" of new pledges. They have also made the news when something happens that includes a death or an overdose of drugs. This is what Robbins decided to research. In the beginning of the book, Robins lets the reader understand that she had to go undercover in order to get the information she needed for her research. The fact that she kept confidential the names of the girls and their schools was important to her research. The reader can get from the book that the sorority system is a closed system and very protected, especially in the South. The South has a reputation for being clannish and this may have been the reason that Robbins had to go undercover. The first ethical dilemma that the author encounters is when the advisor said that she should not be in the sorority house and referred her to the national office. Should she call them or not? She chose to call them but was told "all of the national sororities have decided on a blanket policy not to cooperate with any members of the media" (8). At this point, Robbins could have quite the research but she looked for another way to do it, hence the undercover operation. Her action within the context of the first sorority was a challenge because she was told that she would not have access at all. Instead of stopping the project, she found another way to do it. She does not reveal how this was accomplished but she did interviews and somehow was able to get on the inside of the sororities so she observed many things. Robbins saw these women use fake I.Ds to get into bars and drink until they were so drunk they could hardly stand up. She did not say anything. She was doing the research and she was protecting the girls by changing their names and changing the names of the sororities that they belonged to so that they would not be in danger of losing their status. She was adamant about protecting them because she wanted the information. It is not certain in the beginning why she is doing this because she does not want to reveal any information that may jeopardize the girls. The sororities were very important. Girls paid $650 as dues to the sororities in addition to their regular tuition. Some of the girls could not afford this money but they found ways to pay it because it was required. Robbins was in Texas and in that part of the South, the girls were expected to be a part of a sorority. Many were the second or third generation of sorority sisters. This was something that was handed down by generations of white women and it was important for girls to pledge to get into the sororities where their mothers were still involved. This did not always happen. The women are pushed to belong, to conform and to do whatever is necessary to be a part of their sororities. A major challenge was that these girls were expected to maintain a certain look that pulled them into using diet pills, becoming anorexic, and taking laxatives all to conform to a specific "image" that their sorority had created (28). Robbins made it clear that men and women had a certain role that they play in these Greek houses. Girls were supposed to be thin and attractive so they could "hook-up" with men. Men were supposed to have sex as often as they could. Some of the girls found out that no sex, meant no man. The author makes no comment about these situations though they are very difficult to read. The girls are subjected to demeaning actions by not only the men but by other sorority sisters that the think are just part of the normal experience of living in a sorority. The author was the observer. She was not there to report what they were doing or to call police attention to it. She may have had more problems if she had tried to do something because these "institutions" have been in place for hundreds of years. Robbins reported on these situations with most of them being unethical, but with Robbins only put the spotlight on them instead of calling the authorities or trying to help the girls. Many of the girls Robbins interviewed were under the age of 21 but they found ways to indulge in drinking and drugs. Those under 21 were to act the same as the older girls (117). According to Robbins these girls are supposed to join cliques and the university itself condones them. This sets up an ethical dilemma because some of the girls will be ignored in the sorority and be left outside the clique. Many are shunned because they do not conform to the situations and they can be treated terribly by other girls in the sorority. Robbins makes it very clear that these girls were shaped, molded and brainwashed to think that what was happening to them was right and helped them later in life. These women were often petty, and mean to each other but each one took whatever happened as just the way that sororities re supposed to act. These types of situations can lower a womans self-esteem and these situations did not prepare them for real life as they thought it would. Alcohol played a very big part in the sororities that she observed and everyone is expected to partake in most parties and other activities. Robbins found studies that said that students who did not drink in high school, drank if they lived in a sorority (137). Both fraternities and sororities condone the "hazardous use of alcohol and other irresponsible behaviors" (137) which to me is unethical for those houses. These are very dangerous situations when people have to be rushed to the hospital because of their alcohol consumption. She also observed what she called "ID Swapping" (138) where older girls let younger girls use their IDs, whether they were fake or not so that the younger girls could obtain alcohol. Robbins also watched as "The house dealer" provided all types of drugs for those in the sorority (139). This could have become a dangerous situation for Robbins as well as the girls. These girls blatantly broke laws on campus and it was as though they knew they would not get into trouble so it was "no big deal" for them to do anything they wanted. In other words, becoming a sorority sister had its advantages and one of them was to be above the law. Robbins did participate in deception when she felt she needed to do so. As an example, Robbins monitored the girls instant messages. She also attended a Greek conference where she did not identify herself as part of the media because she wanted to hear why they excluded the media in their dealings. What she found was a "mass cover-up" that she compared to university scandals. She witnessed several girls being drugged at parties and the response by their "sisters" was to drop them at a different sorority house so where the others would take the girls to the hospital. In another incident, one of the girls was physically abused by her boyfriend but the girl only saw that he was being "aggressive." This was something that she endured over time with this fellow. However, it could have become a rape and it definitely put the girl in danger. Had it not for other women being in the house at the time, she may never have gotten rid of the boyfriend. However, she did not want him barred from coming to the sorority house. It did not seem that Robbins was bothered by the ethical dilemmas at first but it seemed this was because she was attempting to be an observer and wanted to get the information she needed to make whatever point she was attempting to make. Robbins wanted to let the readers in on what happened in the sororities and wanted them to make their own decisions about what they saw through her eyes. She brought this phenomenon through a microscopic lens to the readers. This was not a high end research study though it was social research that was important to study. Throughout the book it was difficult to know what Robbins stance was because she wanted to show what she observed. She states that the book was "largely intended to spark discussion of womens treatment of women" (319). To this end, she gave a strong message throughout the book. Another point that she makes is that sororities have not changed since they began 40 years ago and they do not seem to be motivated to change now, or in the future. Robbins kept the privacy of the girls but she had to personally deal with the information she was given and with what she observed. Robbins looked at the traditionally white organizations because she wanted to understand them. She proclaims them as social groups where girls go to make friends and meet guys (323). Robbins also wrote the book to call attention to what is going on in these sororities and to ask for them to be changed. She has many ideas for what the National organizations could do in order to change the way that rushes are done and women are treated. I am not sure that the sacrifices she made to be on the inside of the sororities was worth it but she did what she needed to do in order to show that women are mistreated in these organizations. As she states, "sororities promote the organizations as groups that enrich life experiences and further the development of women, yet at the same time they enforce regressive standards and strip sisters of their sense of self-empowerment" (321). Robbins calls this "fake feminism" because on the surface, they look like they are moving women forward, but they are actually pulling them backward, according to Robbins. If others read this book, they would possibly be appalled about the situations that these women willing put themselves through in order to belong. People would also wonder how Robbins was able to endure what she did without calling the police or getting more involved emotionally with these women and what was going on. In terms of limits, I could not see any limits that social researchers should put on their research. The challenge is to bring the information to the public and there is no real way to say how they should do it. In Robbins case, she put herself in danger in some situations to get the information. She also found herself in situation where drugs were being dispersed and she could not say anything because she was getting this information. The bottom line is that research has parameters already and by its very nature it must develop in the way that an individual creates it. There are many boundaries that a researcher imposes on the situation in order to get what they need. Because of this, it would be difficult to restrict them in some way when they are looking at controversial topics. Social research must be done with the people and where they people live or it does not have as much value. Work Cited Robbins, Alexandra. Pledged: The secret life of sororities. NY: Hyperion, 2004. Read More