Frat Houses as Fronts: Unpacking the Dark Side of Greek Life The recent bust of a cocaine trafficking ring in State College, Pennsylvania, involving current and former Penn State students and fraternity brothers, has sparked outrage and concern about the darker aspects of campus life.
The allegations are egregious, but they come as no surprise to those familiar with the problematic culture of some fraternities. Frat houses have long served as fronts for illicit activities in American history.
During Prohibition, some fraternity houses doubled as speakeasies or hubs for bootlegging operations. In the 1960s and 70s, some fraternities were implicated in LSD trafficking and other counterculture movements.