Article from "Policy Review"

[James]

Here's an interesting article that illuminates the plight of Greeks across the country. I'd be interested to hear feedback on it.
http://www.policyreview.com/feb00/sirhal.html

[PenguinTrax]

A well-researched and factual article in my opinion. Not to mention that it supports the thought that the problem is not a Greek one, but a campus problem and therefore the removal of Greeks will not solve anything.



[This message has been edited by PnguinTrax (edited April 11, 2000).]

[LXAAlum]

It points out a trend that caught my eye - yes, GLO's have always managed to "change with the times" operationally to keep relevent on campus (yet, our rituals never change, showing the timeless nature of their meaning!). The one obstacle we are facing now that we never have had to before is the administration being predominantly NON-Greek - in the past, that was not the case. Even though administrations and chapters in the past didn't exactly see eye to eye, there was at least some link back that could keep things in perspective. We have lost this link for the most part - and there is the challenge before us - relating to non-Greeks who control our destiny more than we would like.

Thoughts?

------------------
Don't be your brother's keeper; rather, be your brother's Brother.

[BSUPhiSig'92]

Excellent article! It totally backs up many things I have felt about some faculty/administrator's views of Greeks. The ironic thing is that faculty/administrators turn students off to liberal ideology through their own hypocrisy. I personally have found that most Greeks are pretty liberal on a lot of issues, but react very negatively to having views forced upon them!

[Alumnus who cares]

God, how long did it take that lady to write that article? I started reading it, but stopped because it was so long. It makes "War and Peace" look like a Dr. Seuss book.

[SilverTurtle]

It was long , but definately well-researched. And as Barb said, accurate (at least to the best of my own knowledge).

The fact that Dartmouth views the Greek system as elitist is beyond my grasp (isn't that exactly what Dartmouth is?!).

You know, my fraternity is co-ed, professionally oriented, multi-cultural. We don't have a chapter house. So how would Dartmouth get rid of us? I'm sure they would try if we had a chapter there.

I'm pretty liberal, and very anti-establishment. But here I am, proud + Greek.

There's a side of me that thinks Dartmouth deserves what it gets. Let them shut down GLO's. And (hopefully) every one of their Greek alumni will stop donating to the school (heck, based solely on statistics that could do them in!). Their drinking issues will only increase (with no one to blame now). Who knows what the social scene will become, but i can't imagine it will be pretty. And who's going to do all their service + volunteer work? Not the basketball team.

Of course, I would hate to see those chapters shut down, and hope that people keep writing things like this article. Maybe one of the biased, elitist administrators will wake up.

------------------
SilverTurtle@greekchat.com
Phi Beta Fraternity

[PhiKappForever]

That article was great, I have to agree, there are some things wrong about Greek Life but there are more things wrong with College Life as a whole. It is easy to point a finger at the Greek system. It is easy to look at some letters across a shirt, Greeks are a visible part of campus life. If administration, instead of making committees on trying to find the problems in Greek Life, make some committees dealing with problems about Campus Life, I think that the problems will solve itself.

[BFulton]

What an interesting article! (Though it is quite long...) This would be great reading for anyone wondering why some campuses are "anti-Greek."

[AlphaChiGirl]

Gosh, what an epic article. :-p It was informative, I think it'd be a good thing for all, Greek and non-Greek, to read, especially on this board. It seems that we often make the distinction between BGLO's and GLO's without realizing that we're all Greek together. Bad press affects us all.

[dc1]

Thanks for sharing that article..

Lengthy, yet informative

------------------
Faced with the Divine, I was asked; "What one gift do you seek?"
I answered ever so meekly; "I seek Honor, Truth, Integrity, and Wisdom, yet those are four. How am I to choose?"
The answer came as a pounding whisper; "The four you seek are but one. I grant thee Compassion; for without it the four make none."
Author - me

[James]

I wanted to take a moment and bump this back to the top for those that might be interested in a well researched article about what motives might exist behind attacks on Greek Life.

Its well worth reading, so please take a few minutes and look at it.
http://www.policyreview.com/feb00/sirhal.html

[This message has been edited by James (edited May 03, 2001).]

[33girl]

James, you tricked me! I opened this and thought "Cool! LXA Alum and BSU Phi Sig are posting again!" Then I saw the dates.

Worth bumping back up. Most administrators nowadays are the ones who when they were in school, protested Greeks as part of "The Establishment." Funny how they still think they're the ones on the outside and the Greeks are the insiders' golden children....when actually the opposite is true.

[AKA_Monet]

I thought the article was very well written, but long... And it goes on and on about fraternity binge drinking when everybody knows that all college students at one time or another went on a drinking binge.

At least at the school where I teach, traditional fraternities and sororities are seen as the foundation for obtaining leadership skills. Without these skills, there would be anarchy. Yes, it is difficult to monitor what happens in a private fraternity/sorority house, but then, what goes on in some convents or country clubs?

Can someone explain to be what the author meant by modifying the greek system so badly that the organizations will be unrecognizable? I did not get the main point.

[G8Ralphaxi]

Originally posted by AKA_Monet:
Can someone explain to be what the author meant by modifying the greek system so badly that the organizations will be unrecognizable? I did not get the main point.

Seems to me they were referring to reforms like:

* making single-sex fraternities/sororities become coed
* restricting/eliminating greek's freedom to have social activities
* limiting the activities of greeks to just academic and philanthropic activities
* prohibiting fraternity/sorority houses or severely limiting who can live there

IMHO, these kind of reforms ignore one of the basic tenets of being Greek: the social benefits. Clearly we are very proud of the philanthropies we do and (at least in my experience) being Greek can strengthen your academic life (at my school Greeks ALWAYS had higher GPAs than non-Greeks).

However, the major benefit we all talk about when we say why we love our organizations is the Sisterhood and Brotherhood!

I treasure my memories from my college experience in Alpha Xi Delta not because our philanthropy raised a lot of money (It did! We won awards from Nationals!) or I was academically enriched (my Big Sister was instrumental in helping me find a major and later apply to law school). I treasure them because my sisters ROCKED MY WORLD! I couldn't have asked for better friends. There for me in thick and thin, pick your favorite Hallmark card slogan! This sisterhood that I found probably wouldn't have existed without the so-called "selective" environment, only females, having a chapter house to live and gather together in, the fun social activities, the date functions, the trips, preparing for rush, getting ready for formals, chatting about nothing at all for hours in the middle of the night, and on and on!

We had a slogan on our bid day shirts one year: "Sisters by Chance, Friends by Choice." There is something about the traditional Greek environment that nutures that level of friendship.

...stepping off the soapbox...

G8Ralphaxi

[James]

Thought I would bump this . . .