Now that I have found a topic that I am deeply interested, I have hit a bump in the road. I want to know and already have too much information, and now I have to figure out how to put it all together. My goal is shed light on to the question of why Greek life got kicked off campus at Santa Clara University. My thoughts are that students should know the history of this group to better understand how to interact with the Santa Clara community. If students know these things, then they will be able to realize how some of those problems impact campus today, which could lead to an easier (although probably still difficult) solution.
Santa Clara University: then and now
From here, I hope to explore national trends. Did many schools across the country disaffiliate with their respective Greek systems? Does Greek life align with Jesuit values? What percentage of Jesuit schools still affiliate with Greek life? My questions are boundless, which has me wondering where I am supposed to go from here.
I could take more of a local focus. If I choose this route, most of my research will be focused on the archives and I will focus more on informing the student body on what happened to Greek life. Or I have the option to look more broadly at national trends and why schools choose to disaffiliate. I don’t think this option will be as effective for my interests, since I am still very curious about the specifics of Santa Clara. Alternatively, I could combine the two and use national trends to shed light onto what happened at Santa Clara in particular.
I plan on surfing the databases next week to get a better sense of direction. Hopefully by looking over recurring issues I will be able to find a better focus for my research.