Since the University of Mich-
igan welcomed its students
back to campus for the 2020
fall semester, many students
have felt torn between risk-
ing exposure to COVID-19
and
remaining
isolated.
Even when people make the
choice to stay in, some still
risk exposure if those they
live with attend large indoor
gatherings with no masks or
distancing. The COVID-19
pandemic has complicated
social pressures from friends,
tensions with roommates
and the natural desire to so-
cialize. Amid these compli-
cations, Fraternity & Sorority
Life’s life’s tight-knit, socially
competitive community in-
tensifies
groupthink
and
places undue social pressure
on members.
In order to better understand
the experience and decision-
making of FSL members, I
interviewed three members
whose approaches to social-
ization vary greatly: one so-
rority member, whom I will
call Rachel, who is not going
to fraternity parties; one so-
rority member, whom I will
call Julia, who is going to
parties at different fraterni-
ties; and one fraternity mem-
ber, whom I will call Zach,
who is attending his own fra-
ternity’s parties.
All three FSL members told
me that one of the greatest
factors driving their social
decisions is a fear of missing
out. They said fellow mem-
bers often talk about the par-
ties and social events they
attend, and not attending
parties can make members
feel they are missing out on
important chapter bonding.
“It seems like everyone I live
with has accepted that get-
ting COVID-19 is inevitable
and are just partying while
they can,” Rachel said. “Ev-
eryone I talk to says that
since other people in the
house are, there is no point
in not going. It’s hard be-
cause I feel like everyone is
getting closer and making
these memories together, but
I have to remind myself that
close, real friendships are
rarely formed at parties.”
The members I inter-
viewed seem to count
the risk of catching CO-
VID-19 as analogous to
other risks that young
people take, like drinking
or smoking. However, the
disease’s high transmis-
sion rate means that if one
person in a living com-
munity adopts the risk,
they raise the risk factor
for their entire commu-
nity. Members of FSL
who entered the school
year planning on social
distancing said they now
feel burdened by the risk
of COVID-19 exposure
but without the upside
of getting to socialize.
However,
this
creates
a
dangerous
feedback
loop wherein people put
themselves at risk based
on the notion that they
are missing out. They go
out, making more people
feel like the odd one out
for not doing so, and then
they contribute to the cul-
ture of partying with little
regard for the greater im-
plications on the Univer-
sity community.
Julia, who regularly at-
tends indoor parties at
fraternities, explains that
while she does not be-
lieve fraternities are safe
to visit, her “frat guy
friends are getting tested
regularly and being super
open and honest, so I feel
safe in those specific situ-
ations.”
Fraternity party attendees
may feel relatively uncon-
cerned about transmitting
COVID-19, as testing and
symptom checking pro-
vide a sense of security.
However, there is still
high inaccuracy in test-
ing, especially the rapid
testing that many in FSL
are opting to take, and the
average incubation period
for an infected person
with COVID-19 is 4-5
days. This means that an
infected individual could
test negative, continue
to socialize with multi-
ple circles of friends and
spread the disease.
Infected individuals are
most contagious in the 24-
48 hour period before they
start showing symptoms.
This means that frequent
testing
and
symptom-
checking are not effective
measures for preventing
an outbreak in indoor set-
tings. According to those
interviewed, many frater-
nities are currently hold-
ing under-the-radar mix-
ers with multiple different
sororities weekly. It only
takes one person at one
party to spark the spread
of COVID-19 into mul-
tiple houses in just one
week.
Elle Jimenez, President of
the University of Michi-
gan’s Panhellenic Asso-
ciation, commented that
“The
Panhellenic
and
IFC Executive boards …
decided together that it
would be in the best in-
terest of our immediate
Panhellenic and IFC com-
munities, as well as the
University of Michigan
community, and the sur-
rounding community of
Ann Arbor to keep our so-
cial moratorium in place
from March 11, 2020,”
and that “The Panhellenic
Association at the Univer-
sity of Michigan actively
discourages
attending
gatherings that violate the
current Washtenaw Coun-
ty
Health
Department
public health order.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Opinion
Thursday, August 5, 2021 — 23
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The normalization
of frat parties in
Fraternity &
Sorority life
LIZZY PEPPERCORN
Daily Opinion Writer