Harvard DG debunking myths..

Great article written by a Harvard DG about what sorority life is REALLY about.

http://www.harvard-magazine.com/arch...d00_jhj_6.html

[localsororities]

That was a very nice article.

[33girl]

Nice article overall, although this dean needs to pull his head out of his nether regions.

"While I am sure their members consider them important, the Greek organizations do not add to the educational experience here in the aggregate, since they simply displace other forms of activity," says dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68. "A student who organizes the rush for his Greek organization is probably not going to organize things at the IOP or a choral group or his House intramural teams, too."

Obviously he doesn't realize that Greeks are usually the MOST involved students on campus and almost all members participate in other campus activities.

Furthermore, the groups' basis runs contrary to the values upheld by the College's randomized housing system. "We take students with widely differing interests and backgrounds and room them together," he says, "All this is, at some level, counter to human instinct." Yet, "It is absolutely clear from survey information that getting to know different kinds of people is one of the things students appreciate most about the education we offer."

Lewis acknowledges that the Greek groups offer diversity of a sort, but says that, from the College's point of view, gender segregation is enough to take away the benefits of diversity. "We still believe that using gender as a primary classification key results globally in artificial denial of opportunities in the long run," he explains, "even as it may provide a exhilarating sense of kinship and empowerment in the short run."

Doesn't random housing do the same thing? How many of those randomly placed roommates stay close if they have nothing in common? Duh.

[BSUPhiSig'92]

Isn't it ironic that the academic institution that is the most exclusionary and elitist in the world, views fraternities and sororities as too exclusionary? The rationale of academics never ceases to astound me!

[Tom Earp]

Amazing, Simply F&%#ing amazing!

HAAAVAARD! Hell, normally the Greek Orgs have a higher GPA than the Norm of any school! DA!

More involved than any other type of Org on campus!

Where does this Academian Moron come up with this!?

What a pea brain! Get out of the books and see what the real campus is really like!

We aint Law School!

[carnation]

Most of us educators will throw up if we hear the word "empowerment" again. "Self-esteem" would be a close second.

[IvySpice]

>How many of those randomly placed roommates stay close if they have nothing in common?

Actually, most of them do. Most Harvard freshmen choose to stay with their freshman roommates when the enter the house lottery. The houses at Harvard and colleges at Yale are randomly assigned, but there's a tremendous amount of house unity and spirit at both schools. Each house/college serves as a microcosm of the university.

>Obviously he doesn't realize that Greeks are usually the MOST involved students on campus and almost all members participate in other campus activities.

The dean is correct when it comes to his own school. One way the Ivy Leagues (and Harvard, Yale, and Princeton in particular) differ from other schools is that it's absolutely unheard of not to be heavily involved in extracurricular activities. Everyone does sports, community service, politics, performing arts, student government, journalism, etc. Virtually everyone except varsity athletes has several of these extracurricular commitments. Since everyone is active already, time devoted to Greek life necessarily cuts into the time available to work on other activities; if Greek leaders didn't have chapter responsibilities, they'd be able to take on more campus-wide roles.

Where the Dean and Greekchatters differ is whether it's a good thing that these students are running rush instead of joining a recognized organization as their third or fourth activity. But you can't deny that it does take time.

Ivy

[Optimist Prime]

Yale School of Drama is one of the best in the country.