US college greek life reader

1Е.С. Луткова 

 

 

 

 

US 

COLLEGE 

GREEK LIFE 

READER 

Учебное пособие по чтению 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Москва  

БИБЛИО-ГЛОБУС 

2019  
 
 
 

2УДК 811.111-26 
ББК 81.2-923 
Л86 
Рецензенты: 

Колесникова Е.А. – кандидат педагогических наук, доцент, академический 
руководитель бакалаврской программы «Иностранные языки и межкультурная 
коммуникация», Департамент иностранных языков, НИУ «Высшая школа экономики». 
Столярова И.Н. – кандидат педагогических наук, доцент, доцент кафедры 
английской филологии, Бурятский государственный университет. 
Л86 

 

Луткова Е.С. 
US college greek life reader: учебное пособие / Е.С. Луткова. – М.: БИБЛИО-
ГЛОБУС, 2019.  – 136 с. 

ISBN: 978-5-907063-53-2 
DOI: 10.18334/9785907063532 

Учебное пособие предназначено для развития умений и стратегий чтения, аудирования 
и говорения при чтении текстов жанра Creative Non-fiction, представляющих 
собой истории из жизни реальных людей, студентов Американских университетов, 
а также просмотре видео-кастов (vodcasts), которые в красках описывают такое культурное 
явление как система и функционирование греческих сообществ на Американском 
кампусе (US College Greek life).  Задания пособия направлены на чтение текстов 
с разной степенью понимания содержания текстов (общее, избирательное, детальное), 
пополнение словарного запаса (Language Development), развитие умений говорения 
при пересказе краткого содержания текста (Summarizing), развитие лингвокультуроло-
гической компетенции обучающихся при изучении национально-маркированных единиц (
Understanding Cultural Lacunas), обсуждении культурологической информации, 
присущей как родной, так и изучаемой культурам (Cultural perspective, Leads to Cross-
cultural Discussion), а также разработке лингвокультурологического поля для систематизации 
культурологических знаний обучающихся (Cultural Web). 
Пособие включает дополнительный материал для изучения (Supplementary Mate-
rials) и лингвокультурологический глоссарий, содержащий ключевую культурологическую 
информацию про студенческие греческие сообщества на территории Американских 
университетов. 
Пособие адресуется учащимся старших классов гуманитарного профиля (лингвистического), 
лицеев и гимназий, а также студентам языковых вузов. 
 
ISBN: 978-5-907063-53-2 

 

© Луткова Е.С., 2019 
© Оформление, дизайн обложки  
ООО Издательский дом «БИБЛИО-ГЛОБУС», 2019 

3CONTENTS 

Introduction 
VIDEO 1: The Basics of Going Greek: Greek Life surviving college.................5 
Part 1 
The Stages of Going Greek: Rush, Pledging Process, Initiation 
TEXT 1: Recruitment VS Rush (Robert J. Kerr )............................................ ..11 
TEXT 2: Pass It On (Author Unknown) ............................................................19 
TEXT 3, 4: Decision of a Lifetime (Ellen Dunseth) /The Bond 
of Brotherhood (Gary D. Ballinger) ................................................................ ..27 
Part 2 
Hazing as a Negative Aspect of Сollege Greek Life 
TEXT 5: The Dead-Day Party at Sweet Auburn (Hank Nuwer)........................37 
VIDEO 2: Rites of Passage (A Thin Line: Wrongs of Passage)...................... ..47 
Part 3 
US College Greek Values 
Friendship/Support 
TEXT 6: Classmates, Friends, Sisters (Kristen K. Brumbergs).........................52 
Philantrophy: Fundraising 
TEXT 7: You Are In It For Life (Chris Juhl) ....................................................64 
Leadership 
TEXT 8: Look Within (Marguaret Murer) ........................................................74 
Commitment 
TEXT 9: Fraternity: A Decision and Commitment (Paul M. Buckley)........... ..88 
Supplementary Materials....................................................................................96 
US College Greek Glossary............................................................................. 116 
 

 
 

4Reading Study Guide 

The manual is designed to develop reading skills and strategies, listening 
and speaking while reading Creative Non-fiction texts, which are true stories 
of the lives of real people, students of American universities, and while watch-
ing vodcasts, which describe such a cultural phenomenon as the system and 
functioning of student Greek communities at American universities (US Col-
lege Greek life). The tasks of the manual are aimed at reading texts with vary-
ing degrees of understanding of the content (general, selective, detailed), 
at language development, development of speaking skills when text summariz-
ing (Summarizing), development of linguistic and cultural competence of stu-
dents during understanding cultural lacunas, discussing cultural information 
inherent in both native and studied cultures (Cultural perspective, Leads 
to Cross-cultural Discussion), and at development of a linguocultural field 
for the systematization of students' cultural knowledge (Cultural Web). 
The manual includes Supplementary Materials for study and a linguocul-
tural glossary containing key cultural information about student Greek com-
munities at American universities.  
The manual is addressed to senior students of the humanitarian profile 
(linguistic), lyceums and gymnasiums, and to students of language 
universities. 

 
 
 

5INTRODUCTION 

The Basics of Going greek 

 

VIDEO 1: GREEK LIFE: SURVIVING COLLEGE 

«College has given me the confidence I need to fail»,  

Jarod Kintz 

PRE-WATCHING TALK 
Read the title of the video and comment on it. Does it give any hints 
about the main idea? 
The man on the video is Harlan Cohen. He is famous for his bestseller 
The Naked Roommate and his speeches on how to fit in college life. Check 
the information on the Internet and say what his book is about? 
 
INTERACTIVE WATCHING 
Watch the first part of the video and say what Harlan is describing? 
Can you call his speech a piece of advice? Why is it important 
for freshmen (first year students in America) to watch this video? 
While watching you will come across a number of culturally marked 
words: fraternity, sorority, rushing, pledging and hazing. General information 
on these words is given on the video.  For more information about these 
phenomena be sure to consult the Glossary and the Internet resources. 
 
WHILE-WATCHING ACTIVITIES 
UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL AND SPECIFIC INFORMATION 
Decide if these statements are true (T) or false (F) 

1.Fraternities and sororities are college student organizations. ______ 
2.Their main prerogative is to make a student’s college life more 
amusing. ______ 
3.Joining a fraternity or a sorority starts with rush. ______ 

64.First year is the best time for pledging a sorority. ______ 
5.Fraternity or sorority hazing is very harmful and often causes 
physical and emotional damage to a person. ______ 

Choose the correct option 

1.Fraternities and sororities are called Greek organizations 
because… 
a.they were founded in Greece 
b.only greek students can be members there 
c.their names are made of greek letters 
d.they have greek paraphernalia 
2.Fraternities and sororities are primarily aimed at … 
a.hanging out and partying with brothers or sisters 
b.social interaction 
c.making fun of rival fraternities and sororities on campus 
d.leardership, academic achievement, community involvement 
3.Rush is the time to… 
a.decide if it is the right sorority or fraternity for you 
b.have some free food during an outing 
c.enjoy different activities 
d.do a lot of talking 
4.Hazing in Greek letter organizations is dangerous because… 
a.it causes physical damage 
b.it can break people emotionally 
c.it can end in someone’s death 
d.all the above mentioned 

Watch Harlan’s speech again and be ready to fill in the gaps with 
the words from the video. Then study the script in the supplementary 
materials at pages 96-100 and check yourself. 

1.Fraternity is really an organization that prides itself on ______, 
______, and on service to the ______. 

72.There are many fraternities out there and typically they are called 
______because the fraternities each have ______. 
3.Sororities are organizations that are geared towards ________, 
towards giving __________, towards __________, and it's the ________ 
on campus who are often involved with __________. 
4.There's ________ rush which is a very ________ process, 
at some universities there's a whole schedule. 
5.And, when you get to the sorority, the sisters will _________, or 
______ or they'll __________. They'll __________ you. They'll 
_______________________ and – I say compelling, some are more 
compelling than others – but they'll try and get to know you. 
6.In the broadest definition, hazing would be __________ 
someone to ________ or __________ _______. 
7.Hazing is something that the Greek community ________ 
______, but it still happens. People __________it as being a ________ 
and that everyone needs to go through it. 

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 
Provide English equivalents to the following words and phrases 
from the video. 
1. наблюдать за греческим сообществом 
2. строго регламентированный процесс 
3. вытаскивать из ямы 
4. лишение человека полноценного сна 
5. употреблять алкоголь 
6. оправдывать 
7. слишком остро реагировать 
8. иметь в себе силу 
Paraphrase the underlined parts of the following sentences 

1.I've hung out at sorority houses but this was a while ago, so don't 
think I'm creepy. 

2.Sororities tend to be a little more rigid when it comes to a formal 

rush. 

83.If someone is contemplating rushing, or if you're little bit 

hesitant, at least rush. 
4.Now if you are getting hazed, or if you know of someone who's 
getting hazed – it's a really difficult thing because you don't want to ruin 
somebody's experience, but at the same time you need to balance out with 
protecting someone. 
 

UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURAL LACUNAS 
Match the columns to define the cultural lacunas on the left after 
you have done some search on the Internet 

1.fraternity 
a)committing acts against an indi-
vidual or forcing and individual 
to commit an act in order for the in-
dividual to be initiated into an organ-
ization 

 
2.sorority 
b)a process also known as a new 
member education when members 
learn about a sorority or fraternity 
history and go through some rituals 

 
3.rushing period 
c)a 
Greek-letter 
organization 
for women 

4.hazing 
d)a series of social events and gath-
erings that allow potential and active 
fraternity or sorority members to get 
to know each other 

 

5.pledging 
e)a Greek-letter organization for men 

 

9ENHANCING COMPREHENSION 
Comment on the statements from the video: 

-…You can’t worry about who likes you. I know that might not 
help the hurt, but instead focus on the people that do care about you. 
-…Sometimes it is hard for people to move past a stereotype. 
-The heat was dampening our spirits and the chapter was slipping 
into a pit of frustration. 
-This was about some members feeling the need to reject 
someone because so many other people had rejected them. 

Explain: 
– what opinion does the author have of Greek organizations 
– why is it not the best time to start a pledge process in the first year 
– why does Harlan say that it is really difficult to speak up for your 
friends being hazed 
– what advantages and disadvantages are there to joining a Greek 
organization according to the video 
 
CULTURE PERSPECTIVE 

1.Check the Internet and try to give some general facts about 
the historical background of Greek letter organizations. Think if it was ever 
possible to form such groups in Russia at that time? Is it possible to do it now? 
2.With the help of the video describe hazing as a social problem 
in America. Can you compare it to military hazing in our country? Try 
to comment on the origin of this dangerous issue. 
3.What are the three main policy pillars of a greek-letter 
organization? Is it possible to develop such traits while in college in our 
country? How can we do it? 

 
SUMMARIZING 
Give a short summary of Harlan’s talk as if you were a sister or 
a brother of a fraternity. You are giving a speech at the orientation class. 

10Speak about the Greek community on your campus. As an expert explain 
all the pros and cons of being a member of a Greek-letter organization. 
 
LEADS TO CROSS-CULTURAL DISCUSSION 

1.If you had this chance would you join a sorority or a fraternity? 
What do you think it would give you? 
2.What trap is there to being a part of a Greek community? How 
can you comment on Harlan’s phrase «you can lose yourself a little». 
What should we do to avoid losing ourselves in life? How can we get 
more confident? 
3.You have been in your university for a while already. What 
advice on managing your student life given in the video would you stick 
to in your first year? What would you advise the present freshmen? 
4.People subjected to constant abuse at home or at school, 
at college or at work rarely dare to speak up. Why do you think it 
happens? Is it possible to protect these people? How? What they should 
do to protect themselves? 

 
CULTURAL WEB 
Having watched and discussed the video, you can start filling in the cultural 
web with the new culturally marked words regarding college greek life. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

11PART 1 
 
The Stages of Going Greek: Rush, Pledging Process, Initiation 
 
TEXT 1: RECRUITMENT VS RUSH (by Robert J. Kerr) 
 
«Why be moody, when you can shake your booty», 
Author unknown 
 
PRE-READING TALK 
Do you agree that connections can help you become successful 
in life? Why/Why not? Do connections play an important role in Russian 
relationship in general? Do you think the same happens in America? 
Read the extract from a students’ chat (https://talk.collegeconfidential. 
com/college-admissions/53113-how-much-do-connections-help.html) and find 
out the answer. 

How much do connections help? 
comparanza1212 
I'm not talking just being a legacy ... how much of an effect does 

knowing someone in the admissions office, or knowing someone well 
on the board of trustees at a school, have on your admissions? 

Post edited by comparanza1212 on May 2005 
Replies to: How much do connections help? 

KupMup 
Technically, it shouldn't affect/increase your chances of admission. But 
depending on who you know, it could make a difference. Knowing someone 
well on the board of trustees may not be enough. Make sure to let the board 
member know your applying so they can follow up on your application. 
Basically, if your connections aren't obvious, make sure your admission officer 
finds out.