You knew this question would be asked eventually, didn’t you?

Jake New writes at Inside Higher Ed.

Banning Frats?

This month was not kind to the already-embattled image of the American college fraternity.

Wesleyan University announced that its fraternities would have to go coeducational amid a push from students and faculty members who say that fraternities encourage sexism and mistreatment of women. Clemson University suspended all fraternity activity following a member’s fatal plunge from a bridge. The Texas Tech University chapter of Phi Delta Theta was suspended after displaying a banner that read “No Means Yes, Yes Means Anal.”

And with research and college health experts noting that incidents of sexual assault and high-risk drinking are particularly prevalent among fraternity and sorority members than other students on campus, a question inevitably arises: Why don’t colleges just do away with Greek life completely?

“That creates two more questions,” said Elizabeth Armstrong, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Michigan. “The first question is, is that actually realistic? Can that actually be done? The second, what are the potential consequences, both intended and unintended? Some campuses have actually made the move, but they are small liberal arts colleges on the East coast. It’s difficult to see Ohio State or Mississippi making a move like that. These are really powerful organizations there.”

Banning fraternities — with their deep pockets and even deeper roots — from large state universities would be a difficult (if not impossible) endeavor. The same can be said for Ivy League institutions like Dartmouth College, where more than two-thirds of eligible students belong to a fraternity or sorority. That hasn’t stopped students, faculty, and even college presidents from suggesting it. At Dartmouth last month, hundreds of students said they would like to see the college’s Greek system “abolished.”

But some say that abolishing fraternities and sororities would not help curb instances of sexual assault and heavy drinking — and could actually exacerbate them.