Letters in school paper Bashing Greeks

[ShaedyKD]

We've had a recent rash of Greek bashing in our newspaper. The first letter was written last week, on the grounds that he heard a sorority woman asking a male student to hand out recruitment fliers "to the pretty girls only." He then basically went on and on saying that the Greek system is so superficial and a joke. That was rebutted by a member of ADPi (who is a friend of mine), trying to explain that maybe the sorority woman was joking, and summarizing the good points of Greek Life. Then, today, some other girl writes a letter in response to hers, as well as in reply to an article on a fraternity that is predominantly catering to homosexual men. Here is her letter:

Letters to the Editor 9/29

Idea of gay fraternity met with positivity Re: "Should gays go Greek?" Sept. 25

Wednesday's response from the sorority girl angrily defending the comment regarding "pretty girls only" was laughable. Then I read "Should Gays Go Greek" on Thursday, and simply had to write.

First off, I'm a cute, straight white girl. I'm a National Merit and Honors scholar, and our university pays me for the privilege of attending it. I should be bouncing around in front of Cooper Hall with Greek letters emblazoned on my flip-flops. That said-I'd rather drop out than become a part of the farcical circus that is Greek life at this school.

I want to gag when I see these legions of Daddy's girls and boys, strutting in their oh-so-fashionable Abercrombie & Fitch plumage, their Alphas and Deltas and Kappas all but tattooed on their toned posteriors.

Let's face it. Every sorority girl I've ever met has been sweet as pie to my face, but would she want me as a sister if I were a lesbian? If I had some kind of physical deviation from the silky-haired, straight-tooth, size-2 mold? Of course not. Granted, this is only my second year here, and there are surely exceptions to these generalizations. But would I ever consider that a sorority sister handing out fliers singled out "pretty girls only" as a joke? Not for one second.

I'm not debating whether the inherent idea of sororities and fraternities is merit-worthy. At other campuses (mostly private and smaller), Greek life is a commendable mix of service, society and academics.

USF, sadly, is another story. Ours is a bloated tangle of small minds, shallow personalities and snotty disregard for any walk of life other than their mostly white, privileged, heterosexual one. If I were a guy, I would join Delta Lambda Phi in a heartbeat. I was a member of the Gay and Straight Alliance in high school and was dismayed upon arriving at college after graduating to find out that ignorance and small mindedness was more persistent at USF than in secondary school.

I'd love to know what Derek Gannotta meant by "I wouldn't think much of it just as long as, you know, they keep their activities to themselves," Does he refer to the flaming displays of pride and machismo that "normal" Greek guys carry on every day on campus without batting an eyelash? Leave Adam Miramon and his would-be brothers alone, and don't make bigger fools of yourselves.

Trudy Williams is a sophomore majoring in psychology.

(Taken from the USF Oracle)

OK, so I'm trying to figure out why this person feels the need to bash Greeks, other than the fact that maybe she's either: A. Too "cute," so she didn't get into a sorority because the members were intimidated by her cuteness, B. Burned out her gag reflex from gagging at the sight of people wearing A&F because we all know that NO one but Greeks wear that stuff OR maybe C. She's been turned off by all of the sorority members who have been "sweet as pie" to her. (I don't know about you, but I kind of enjoy it when people are nice to me.) Sorry for the extreme sarcasm, I am just really fired up by this.

So my point is, what can the Greek System at USF do to improve our public image? Any ideas for PR events that have worked for improving campus relations? Any ideas for a rebuttal for tomorrow's paper?

[carnation]

I think you ought to write what you just wrote! It's not too sarcastic!

[GeekyPenguin]

Obviously this girl doesn't feel like you're doing service, or really doing anything besides looking pretty. I would do some sort of all Greek philanthropy week and make a conscious effort to focus on philanthropy.

And I wouldn't send that - it's coming off as rude and elitist and is not going to further your cause. Saying "You just say that because you got cut" really isn't a good approach.

[Optimist Prime]

Some people just aren't good enough to wear letters.

[bethany1982]

There will always be detractors, and those who, for whatever reason, hate the Greek system. You probably won't change any minds with a rebuttal in the paper. A sarcastic rebuttal may indeed be funny, especially to those of us who are Greek, but it’s not likely to help the overall cause of showing our finer points to the readers. It may have the opposite effect. I’d just leave it alone. You know what’s right, and so does anyone else who is willing to look at the facts instead of the fiction that relates to Greek life. Let your actions, both on and off campus, reflect who you really are and what you stand for. Just my opinion....

[OtterXO]

I agree with bethany1982, I don't think a rebuttal would do anything but fuel the fire for people who don't like greeks to begin with. Unfortunately there are people who perpeutate the stereotypes that this girl seems upset with, so all you or your chapter can do is speak to your campus through your actions. I have to admit, at my school I have heard girls who are literally wearing their letters talking trash about other girls in their house. I'm sure things like that happen all the time, but these incidents do not define the greek system as a whole. I know this because I'm part of a wonderful organization but many people just see the negative: partying, snobby, two-faced. Maybe you could have your chapter president address the article at the next Panhellenic meeting and have each president speak to their chapter about what it means to represent an organization, behavior in letters, etc. I think a change could happen slowly on your campus, but it would take a group effort. Just my thoughts!

[USFSDTAlum]

Speaking as a recent alum of USF and its Greek system. Maybe we/you(since I'm no longer there) should concentrate on pulling together as a unit, instead of individual organizations. I remember while I was at USF there was very little Panhellenic or IFC unity. There was a lot of infighting, bickering, namecalling, and poor behavior among all the greek organizations. Maybe if we all stepped up and became a strong collective unit we could showcase positive Greek Life to the entire community. Our positive contributions are being overshadowed by the fact that there exists an atmosphere of unhealthy competition, that manifests itself in the trash-talking, and two-faced behavior, that the non-Greek community sees and hears about.

[ShaedyKD]

I definitely don't intend on writing a rebuttal, I wouldn't want her to start to gag from the influx of letters in the paper written by Greeks And I really don't think that she is bitter because she got cut from recruitment, I think she is one of those who believe they are "above" Greek Life.
Anyways, as USF Student said, we are trying to work on Greek unity a little more. We have the Greek Programming Board, which sets up activities that all councils are invited to participate in. We have also voted as a Quad Council (IFC, NPC, NPHC, UGC) to have one place as our community service focus. Maybe it's just because I serve on Panhellenic Council, and was a Pi Chi and have many friends in other organizations, but I truly feel that Greek Unity has improved in the past 3 years I have been at USF.
Thanks all for your comments!

[RACooper]

Look don't let it bother you; just keep on promoting Greek unity and a positive image around campus..... it'll make the whiners look like tools in the long run.

That being said we have letters or articles like this hit our school newspaper(s) about 4 times a year. The houses just keep up our positive image.... and sometimes someone does reply to a letter (but only if it isn't throwing fuel on the fire). Now recruitment is up and the school is starting to acknowledge our presence as positive (the school severed ties with all houses back around 1960).

[Buttonz]

We have been fighting a print war with one of the school papers from the first week of class. They went so far to attack the IGC and NPC Prez (who is also SDT's VP) personally. If I can find the website, I will post the articles on here. However, we have an undertsanding with the other paper and they have been helping us out by printing postive things...same goes if I find the link I will post it here. We all have been running to get the newest copies of the paper, to see what the next thing they are goign to pull is. It's sad that the papers can't realize what a good job we do, and have to bash us.