Tribalism Goes Greek
 

Unfortunately, the actions of one chapter of SAE are damaging the reputation of many Greeks by implication (I'm already seeing that phenomenon play out over at GreekRank.com with anonymous slams on SAE at other campuses). Not all SAE's are bad, but unlike radical Islam, where the terrorists are not "representative of their religion", Greek letter organizations don't get the same "pass" by the media. You are guilty because you have Greek letters and are elitists, racists, bigots, misogynists, etc. While I strongly disagree with these characterizations, I still expect the media will "go there" as the Rolling Stone already tried at Virginia.

Greek letter organizations have been living in a "virtual" bubble and I'm afraid it is about to burst. Colleges, national HQ's, and alumni associations are closing Greek letter organizations at the slightest infraction or appearance of impropriety - to wit, SAE at Oklahoma, almost Phi Psi at Virginia, Sigma Chi at SMU, Betas at Purdue, this list is becoming endless. While I cannot argue with their justifications for doing so (high risk, legal liabilities, reputation), it doesn't appear to matter to some of the undergraduates who only care about their "tribe", the national charter be damned.

It is my opinion that some of our undergraduate chapters have gone "tribal" and don't much care about you if you don't have the same Greek letters. This tribalism is being played out at GreekRank, where you get to hide behind anonymity while attacking the accomplishments (and failures) of your interfraternal cousins (both guys and gals). I offer this as a concerned alumnus who has worked with the Greek system for over 30 years and still thinks the Greek experience in college should be cherished.

As Benjamin Franklin, a member of the greatest fraternity and precursor to all college fraternities, Freemasonry, once said "if we don't hang together, most assuredly we will hang separately". I hope some will understand and I pray for the best for each and every Greek organization in our great country.

Blessings to my Greek cousins, a Purdue fraternity alumnus.

I agree with this concept and am not surprised that it happens when you join a Greek organization before you've even had one college class and before you've had the chance to feel part of your school.

It probably depends on the campus. Elitism at flagship schools is always going to be an issue. Especially as our increasing income inequality remains such a part of our culture at large. You can't expect parents who are members of "the 1%" to encourage their children to consider those of lower economic status any more than "less than." So let's just agree that this is now more part of our situation than it ever has been.

Some elite organizations simply do not care how they are viewed by outsiders. As Greek organization, a large portion of our fate is determined by outsiders, so we have to take that into consideration.

Organizations need to take steps to create some diversity in their organizations. I don't know what the answer is... scholarships (i.e., free dues and rent) for outstanding lower-income students? Minority quotas?

For many chapters, diversity isn't a problem. For others, particularly those in the South, it is a huge problem and maybe it is even a question of our survival and continued relevance.