Clarybel Peguero, Assistant Dean of Duke Fraternity and Sorority Life. Peguero expressed that because fraternities and sororities have a large presence on Duke’s campus (40% of the student population belongs to fraternities and sororities), many Duke students feel obligated to join these organizations. She stated that The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life recently conducted a survey which showed that 100 more men and 100 more women joined fraternities and sororities this year than last year, indicating that perhaps student interest in joining greek-organizations may be increasing. Pegero mentioned that Duke students seeking to join fraternities and sororities oftentimes experience stress from the group-selection process, as students may struggle with choosing between which organizations they think they should fit in and which organizations they may desire to be apart of.
In addition, Pegeuro stated that, members of fraternities and sororities also deal with the stress of fitting in. She discussed that although members of fraternities and sororities may feel a strong sense of belonging to their affiliated organizations; they sometimes are influenced by a group-think mentality and may be required to live up to certain expectations of the group. Even though Peguero acknowledged the tremendous benefits of joining greek-lettered organizations, she said that she does recognize that there are challenges like alcohol abuse and eating disorders.
