Running head: COMPARING GREEK CULTURE AND CSF CULTURE

ComparingGreekCultureandCSFCulture
WilliamAddisonCoffey
UniversityofKentucky

COMPARING GREEK CULTURE AND CSF CULTURE

Abstract
HofstedestheoryofculturaldimensioncanverifythebeliefthattheGreekCultureand
theCSFcommunityarevastlydifferent.GreekcultureandCSFculturecanbecomparedby
usingHofstedesCulturalDimensionsthroughexaminingindividualism/collectivism,power
distance,anduncertaintyavoidanceinordertoshowthemanysimilaritiesanddifferences
betweenthetwocultures.Thoughthesetwogroupssharesomeofthesamemembers,Hofstedes
theory,whenlookedatindepthcanexploitmanyoftheirdifferences.

COMPARING GREEK CULTURE AND CSF CULTURE

TheGreekcultureandtheChristianStudentFellowshipculturearetwodistinctly
differentcommunities.Althoughtheysharethesamegeneralconceptstheiridealsarethoroughly
contrasting.GreekcultureandCSFculturecanbecomparedbyusingHofstedesCultural
Dimensionsthroughexaminingindividualism/collectivism,powerdistance,anduncertainty
avoidanceinordertoshowthemanysimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthetwocultures.
Hofstedestheoryofculturaldimensionssupportsthestatement;theGreekcommunityisvastly
dissimilarfromChristianStudentFellowship.
Greeklifeisbyfarthelargestorganizationsoncampus.TheUniversityofKentucky
offers49fraternitiesandsororitiestohelpstudentsgetinvolved.ThisincludestheInterfraternity
Council,NationalPanHellenicCouncil,PanhellenicCouncilandtheUnitedGreekCoalition.
EachGreekorganizationhasachosenphilanthropythattheysupportandhelpfundraise.
ChristianStudentFellowship,CSF,isthemostpopularnonGreekorganizationon
campus.CSFhasover400studentvolunteersandholdsmorethan150eventseachschoolyear.
CurrentorpaststudentsareallowedtobecomemembersofCSF.ThemainpurposeofCSFisto
offeraplaceofworshipandcreateasafeenvironmentwherestudentscanmeetandinteractwith
eachother.
Collectivistculturesvaluethegroup,collaboration,sharedinterests,andthepublicgood
(Sprague,Stuart,&Bodary,2015).Greekculturesembodytheideaofacollectivistculture.
ManymembersoftheGreekculturerevolvearoundtheideaofconstantlyneedingtobeina
groupofpeoplefromtheirorganization,whichinhibitstheirabilitytobeindependentpeople.

COMPARING GREEK CULTURE AND CSF CULTURE

Conversely,theCSFcultureisstillacollectivistculturebutinadifferentway.Peoplethatarea
partofCSFstillenjoybeingingroupsbuttheydonotfeelasdependentonthegrouplikeGreek
culture.
GreekcultureisacultureunlikeanyotherintheAmericansociety.TheGreeksplacean
emphasisontheaspectoftheorganizationfromthebeginning.Whilemembersaregoing
throughrecruitmenttheygettoseefirsthandthecollectivistcultureatwork.Onceinitiated
manyGreekgroups,fraternitiesespecially,tryandremovenewmembersfromtheirprevious
friendsandlifestyle.Greekmemberscannormallybeseentravelingtogetherwearingtheir
letters.Wheneverdecisionsaremadeinthegroup,theyaremadebywhatwillbenefitthegroup
mostnotwhatwillbenefitanyoneindividual.SomeexamplesofthingsGreekspartakeinto
strengthenthegroupare:uncontrolleddrinking,hazing,deaths,sexualassaults,racistthemed
parties,elitism,discriminationandcourtbattles(LongWeaver,2015).Thisshowsthatthe
Greeksvaluecooperationandmaintainingharmonyaspartoftheircollectivistculture.Many
considertheGreekcultureincomparabletoanyotherculture.
ChristianStudentFellowship(CSF)isthemostpopularstudentorganizationoncampus.
TheyhavemanydifferentopportunitiesforstudentstoconnectwithGod,manyofwhichare
studentledgroups.CSFplacesanemphasisonbeingapartofagroupthatconnectswithGod.
TheemphasisofthegroupshownbyCSFdiffersfromtheemphasisofthegroupputonbythe
Greekcommunity.TheGreekcommunityusesthegrouptodeterpeoplefromprevious
friendshipsandrelationships,CSFusesthegroupforenhanceonesinnergood.Itisalmostasif
CSFusesacollectivistapproachtohelpimproveonesindividualisticview.OftenCSFmembers
willbecomecloseandvaluetheircollectivistculture.TheyvaluetheLexingtoncommunity,

COMPARING GREEK CULTURE AND CSF CULTURE

collaboratingingroupsandsharedinterestsofreligiousbeliefs.Theydonotletthegroupruin
previousfriendshipsandrelationships,ifanythingitimprovestheirpreviousfriendshipsbecause
theycanusetheirnewfoundknowledgeofGodtoenhancethesefriendships.CSFisknownto
haveapositiveeffectoneveryonewhoutilizeswhattheyhavetooffer.
Ontheelementoflowpowerdistanceversushighpowerdistance,Greekcultureandthe
CSFculturevarygreatly.ThehighpowerdistanceinGreekculturecreatesmanyofthe
stereotypesrelatedtotheculture.Highpowerdistanceculturesviewunequaldistributionof
powerbetweenhighandlowpowerholdersasacceptable.(Sprague,Stuart,&Bodary,2015)In
lowpowerdistanceculturesthememberspreferthepowertobemoreequallydistributed.They
understandthattherearesomememberswithmorepowerthanothersbutthepeoplewithmore
powerdonotabuseit(Sprague,Stuart,&Bodary,2015).Greekcultureexemplifiesthehigh
powerdistancemethod.Newmembersareforcedtodomanyhorriblethingsbythehigherup
fromaveryearlystageandtheyacceptitanddoitsotheycanbeapartofthegroup.However,
CSFdemonstratesthelowpowerdistancemethod.Theyhaveapproximately400+student
leaders,theseleaderswillnotbefoundabusingtheirpower.Alloftheseleaderstreatthe
membersonanequalplayingfield.Theideaofpowerdistanceleadstomanyofthenegative
stereotypesofGreekcultureandthepositivestereotypesofCSF.
ThepowerdistanceinGreekcultureissomethingmanycannotfathom.Therearea
groupofleaderswhotypicallyareknownforabusingtheirpowertowardsnewmembers.The
highpowerdistanceleadstohazing,suicide,anddisassociationfromtheGreekgroup.Physical
hazingisjustonewayGreekgroupsexhibittheirhighpowerdistance.Themostcommonform
ofphysicalhazingiswhenpledgesarerequiredtodrinkshotsofalcoholinrapidsuccession

COMPARING GREEK CULTURE AND CSF CULTURE

(Sweet,2001).Thisisaprimeexampleofthoseinpowerabusingtheirpowertowardspledges.
Thepledgeswilldowhattheirhigherupswantthemtodoinordertofeelaccepted.Many
pledgesareokaywiththehazingbecausetheyfeelacommitmenttoinitiationandan
obligationtotheorganization(Drout&Corsoro,2003).Also,thehighpowerdistancethat
membersallowleadstothenegativestereotypesofGreeklife.Ifastoryismadepublicofatype
ofhazingthatisgoingonandpeoplerealizethatGreekmembersareokaywiththis,itisgoingto
createanegativeperceptionaboutthesegroupsasawhole.AstudyconductedbyBrettWells
andDanielP.Cortsshowedthatmanystudentshavenegative,ratherthanneutral,attitudes
towardsGreekgroups(Wells&Corts,2008).Highpowerdistancecanleadtoanunsafe
environmentforeveryoneinvolved.
BothGreekcultureandCSFarehighuncertaintyavoidancegroups.CSFtendstobea
groupthatismuchlesshighuncertaintyavoidancebutisnotlowuncertaintyavoidance.High
uncertaintyavoidanceiswhenagrouphasaneedtocontrolpeople,events,andrelationshipsand
theyhavealowtoleranceforuncertainty(Sprague,Stuart,&Bodary,2015).Lowuncertainty
avoidanceiswhenagroupislessdriventocontrolpeople,events,andrelationshipsandthey
haveatoleranceforuncertainty(Sprague,Stuart,&Bodary,2015).Theyalsosuggestmembers
becreativeandtakerisks.ThehighpowerdistanceofGreekcultureforeshadowstheirhigh
uncertaintyavoidance.LeadersoftheGreekculturehavenotoleranceforuncertaintyandthey
alwaysfeeltheymustcontroltheirmembers,eventsandtheirmembersrelationships.CSFisa
littlehigheruncertaintyavoidancethanlowuncertaintyavoidance.Theydonotfeeltheneedto
controltheirmembersandrelationships,buttheydoliketohavecontrolovertheeventsthey

COMPARING GREEK CULTURE AND CSF CULTURE

host.Inthereligiousenvironment,theyholdeventsthatarewelcomingtouncertainpeople,and
theyalsowantmemberstobecreativeandtakeriskswhileexploringtheirfaith.
OnthecampusoftheUniversityofKentuckyitishardto findagroupthatseeksmore
controloftheirmembersthantheGreeks.TobecomeapledgeofaGreekgrouponemustfirst
gothrougharigorousselectionprocessknownasrecruitment.Iftheyseetheslightestflawin
someoneortheslightestbitofuncertaintytheywillcutaperspectivepledge.Thisprocessof
recruitmentsetsthemuptohaveahighuncertaintyavoidance.Certainmembersareattractedby
thisawarenessofbeingwantedandcontrolled(Fouts,2010).Theywanttocontrolalloftheir
membersandtheyimplementthisfromtheverybeginning.Assoonasasomeonebecomesa
pledgetheybeginbyhazingyoutomakeyoumorelikethegroup.Actives intend to use mental
stimulation to break pledges down and separate them from their past life. Actives want to see
pledges at their lowest point because this is helpful in bringing them together as a unified group
(Sweet,2001). Thehighpowerdistancepavesthewaytotheirhighuncertaintyavoidance.
ThewayCSFinviteseveryoneandisveryopentonewmembersissomethingthatis
hardtofindonsuchalargecampus.Theyallowstudentstocomeandtrytofindorcontinue
theirreligiousfaith.Theenvironmenttheycreateisntoneoflowuncertaintyavoidancebutitis
veryclose.Theywanttheirmemberstobecreativeintheirfaith.Theyalsodonotfeeltheneed
tocontrolmembers,theydowanttheirmemberstoformarelationshipwithChristbutitisnota
relationshipCSFforcesonanyone.Membersarewelcometocomewhenever,hangoutand
worshipinatimethatworksforthem.Byallowingmemberstodoallofthisontheirownterms
theyarecreatinganenvironmentthatmakesworshipingfunandenjoyableforcollegestudents.
Theymakeitknownthatmemberscancomewhenevertheypleasesothatthemembersdonot

COMPARING GREEK CULTURE AND CSF CULTURE

feelcontrolledbyCSF.CSFholdsmanyeventsthroughouttheschoolyear.Itisduringthese
eventsthatCSFexercisestheirpowertocontrol.Theycontroltheeventtomakeitsafeand
enjoyableforeveryone.Lowpowerdistancemakesiteasytoseehowclosetolowuncertainty
avoidanceCSFoperates.
Hostedestheoryofculturaldimensionssetsupabasisforcomparison.Whenusedto
comparetheGreekcultureandtheCSFcommunity,onerealizeshowvastlydifferentthesetwo
culturesare.Thoughthesetwoculturessharemanyofthesamemembers,theyarestructured
verydifferently.
Refrences
Drout,C.E.,&Corsoro,C.L.(2003).Attitudestowardfraternityhazingamong
fraternitymembers,sororitymembers,andnonGreekstudents.SocialBehavior&Personality:
AnInternationalJournal,31(6),535544.doi:10.2224/sbp.2003.31.6.535
LONGWEAVER,S.(2015).PolicingtheGreeks.ChronicleofHigherEducation,4648.
Mcmurtrie,B.(2015).TheFraternityProblem.ChronicleofHigherEducation,61(42),A16
A21.
Wells,B.,&Corts,D.P.(2008).Measuringattitudestowardssororityandfraternitymembers:
Indicationofimplicit,ingroupfavoritism.CollegeStudentJournal,42(3),842846.
Sweet,S.(2001).CollegeandSociety:Anintroductiontothesociologicalimagination.
NeedhamHeights,MA:AllynandBacon.
Sprague,J.,Stuart,D.,&Bodary,D.(2015).Thespeakershandbook,communicate,and
harbraceessentials(1sted.).Boston,MA:CengageLearning.

COMPARING GREEK CULTURE AND CSF CULTURE