Editor's note: Harper Neidig is an alumnus of the Delta Chi Fraternity at ASU.
With rumors swirling about a housing project for ASU’s fraternities and sororities coming in the near future, we must remember that the problems facing our campus Greek life, as well as Greek life all over the country, are deeper and more systemic than a lack of housing.
Greek housing will not put an end to the drug and alcohol abuse, sexual assaults, hazing or any other type of reckless behavior that has been plaguing fraternities on campuses nationwide. In fact, the most high-profile incidents of fraternity misconduct have often taken place in fraternity houses.
It would be misguided to claim that these problems are confined to Greek life. They are widespread among students and society in general. It would be equally wrong to claim that all fraternities everywhere engage in the type of dangerous behavior that often dominates headlines.
But past and present members of the Greek community — of which I count myself — have to be honest with themselves. The organizational nature of fraternities and sororities can exacerbate problems that are commonplace among college students. Being in a group of peers where even a few engage in reckless behavior will cause it to spread. It’s part of human nature to take social cues from those around us, even more so when you’re a young student away from home for the first time and looking to gain acceptance from those around you.
The problem with Greek life isn’t that it attracts bad people. The problem with Greek life is that the few bad apples are capable of turning the rest rotten.
ASU saw this last year when Tau Kappa Epsilon celebrated Martin Luther King Day by throwing a racist caricature party, replete with gang colors, basketball jerseys and watermelon cups. We also saw this two years ago when a heavily intoxicated member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon drowned after wandering away from a social event.
Granted, these are extreme cases. But they’re also demonstrative of trends in fraternities all over the country. Both elitism and alcohol abuse are undeniably a part of fraternity culture and these extreme results will be reproduced until there is broad, sweeping change.
Another issue is the unbalanced gender dynamic. Parties — whether organizations will acknowledge it or not — are a cornerstone of Greek life. Because these parties are almost exclusively hosted by fraternities, people have begun to question whether this creates an unsafe environment for college women. Wesleyan University, in response to a series of rape allegations, recently ordered its fraternities to begin admitting women as full members.
Proponents of this initiative say that making fraternities co-ed will change the dynamic in Greek life. Parties would no longer be exclusively in male-dominated environments, a contributing factor to the prevalence of sexual assaults.
I cannot say as to whether or not this would be a viable solution; I honestly don’t know. But it’s a conversation worth having. Nothing should be ruled out when it comes to the safety and well-being of college men and women. “This is the way we’ve always done it” is an argument that comes with a price; it’s a mindset that refuses to accept that there is a problem, that tradition and privilege must be preserved even at the expense of safety.
Reach the columnist at hneidig@asu.edu or follow @hneidig on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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