Gina Simpkins Contributor

Fraternities seem to be corrupt in the same way that the police force is. People are finally understanding on a wider scale than ever before that the police force is corrupt due to internal silence and the reluctance of other cops to rat on their colleagues. It seems that issues that have run deep within the police force for decades are finally coming into the public eye — but this is hardly the tip of the iceberg when it comes to filthily corrupted institutions that engage in misconduct and crime under the noses of the public and the law. The news of the Cornell rape case has been on my mind recently, and I know for certain that this is not a “one-off” event within fraternities across North America. This is not a matter of “boys will be boys;” this is an example of an institution running exactly how it’s meant to and never being held accountable for their crimes. Here, I will explore the shocking number of similarities between police culture and “frat bro” culture to show that corruption within these systems is exactly the point. The purpose is to give more power to the already powerful, and to make sure no one finds out.

Extensive research has been done about what “police culture” entails. Holly Campeau, in a criminology journal from 2015, describes police culture as “conservative, mission oriented, isolated, masculine, pessimistic, and suspicious.”. Interestingly, Robert Rhoads, in a 1995 journal article about fraternity culture, describes frat culture as valuing “masculinity and superior power.” Clearly there is a formula that gives power to these secretive institutions — you must be masculine (in the cases of police and fraternities, meaning exerting power over others), you must be quiet, and you must be complacent. You must be one with everyone else. These power structures thrive off homogeneity, wherein it becomes easier to identify and point to an “other” to berate and exhibit power over.

In the case of fraternities, these “others” tend to be women, and in the case of the police, they tend to be suspected criminals. However, in both cases, these “others” can also be members of the fraternity or police force that go against this culture of sameness and silence.

The “blue wall of silence” exemplifies this well. This is the name given to the major facet of police culture in which everyone stays silent — nobody goes against the status quo, and nobody betrays each other. This “blue wall” puts loyalty above everything else. In order to succeed in the police force, you must be loyal to your fellow officers. If someone does something immoral or illegal, you must not tell a soul. This “blue wall” runs so deep that, according to Eric Arnold’s findings in a 2025 criminology journal, talking to the media about the wrongdoings of your fellow officers is a worse offense than committing misconduct to begin with. Similarly, Patricia Martin, in a 2016 journal article about rape culture in university fraternities, found that loyalty to their fellow brothers is the main reason that nobody speaks up when one of them does something illegal or immoral. I propose that within fraternities, there is therefore something of a “Greek wall of silence” that functions in the exact same way as the police force.

These “walls of silence” are not impenetrable, however. Occasionally, and usually due to testimonies from people outside of the organizations, words of misconduct and crime within the police force or fraternities slip out. Unfortunately for the general public, but luckily for the brothers and cops, nothing typically comes of this. Arnold notes that in the Chicago police force, of 30,000 reported cases of police misconduct, 98% of the time the accused officer got off scot-free. Martin notes that in cases involving crimes committed by a frat brother, the police are more likely to give less harsh punishments, if any at all, to brothers that are considered to have a good future, be charitable, or who do well in their academic work. Not only this, but members of the legal system (including police officers) who have some sort of connection to the fraternity of the accused brother are known to impose much less harsh sanctions.

Fraternity hazing plays a part in all of this as well. Hazing is nothing if not a disturbing way to see which men will submit to the rules of the fraternity — submissive men who are willing to conform to whatever they’re told within the fraternity are the ideal brothers. These systems of corruption can only exist and thrive when members are confident that everyone is on the same page. In the case of both fraternities and the police force, fear of being “othered” by the crowd for speaking out keeps everyone complacent. These “walls of silence” only help the small few that carry out crime and misconduct, but when everyone remains silent, the whole system becomes corrupt. These institutions run on fear. No, rather, they thrive on fear.

Rampant police misconduct is not a standalone issue. The police force is not the only corrupt institution. As I have shown above, corruption within the police force is just an example of how a power structure that runs on fear, threats, and submission can be adopted by any institution and exploited for the gain and protection of the members. Fraternity culture shows this well. It is no wonder that William Bryan, in a 1987 study, found that 70% of gang rapes on campuses occur at frat parties, and yet these fraternities have not been shut down. I implore you, reader, to look for patterns such as these in institutions everywhere. You must realize and call out how people belonging to certain institutions and in-groups are able to get away with horrible things without consequences, because I guarantee you, the power structures within are operating exactly how they are supposed to — keeping the in-crowd safe, protected, and out of legal trouble.