To get good grades, most students are either self-motivated—”Hey, I paid for it.”—or, by the most positive motivation, parental pressured—”Hey, we paid for it.”

The consequences for academic amnesia could be at best another chance and at worst financial aid suspension or academic dismissal from the university.

On Greek Row, fraternity and sorority members face penalties from their brothers or sisters as well.

All houses have different grade point average standards to be met before any punishment is given. Likewise, all houses have certain motivational techniques and instructional aids designed to avoid any fraternal problems.

Acceptance into a house is dependent upon book-bashing, as well. Eric Wright, scholarship chairman at the Sigma Nu fraternity, said in order for pledges to be activated their first pledge semester’s GPA must be 2.3 or above.

Once accepted, a member must be consistent. To assure this, various rewards are used. Karl Krutch, scholarship chair at the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, said every “Skull” who gets a 2.5 or above gets $50 from room and board money. One hundred dollars is given to the member with the most improved cumulative GPA and to the pledge with the highest GPA.

Krutch’s chapter, which had the second to the lowest fraternity GPA in the fall of 1987, has expanded its study table hours from two and a half hours to 10 hours a week to go along with its award system. Pledges are required to study for five of those hours and pledges that fall below a 2.0 will have their social activities limited.

In the spring of 1989, the “Skulls” were tenth out of 17 fraternities.

If a member wants to enter the “political” arena, the person must study a little harder. Wright said at Sigma Nu an officer must have at least a GPA of 2.5 or 2.75 for executive officers.

Wright said although there exists in-house competition between freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors at Sigma Nu, the upperclassmen usually win. Grade point average competition between fraternities is not as intense as athletic competition, he said.

“People just don’t talk about grades as much as sports,” he said.

Monica Morgan, PanHellenic Council vice president for membership development, said sororities have incentive programs every three weeks. The Greek houses participate in motivational and time management talks, which Morgan said she would like to see become joint events among two or three chapters.

The PHC cumulative GPA last spring was .05 above the mark for all women on campus and .10 above that of the all-campus figure.