Issues in the Fraternity and Sorority Community

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/05/frat-guys-gone-wild-whats-the-solution/teach-ethics-101-to-new-fraternity-members

The Article I read was part of a NY Times debate on "Should Colleges Ban Fraternitites?". There were a lot of articles, but I thought this one was the best of the bunch, because it did not just attack or defend the Fraternity life, but it gave both sides of the coin.

The article was focused on the sexism that is displayed by fraternity men, and if this sexist presence on campus deters from a woman's education. The author argues that while this can hurt an education, it is not strictly fraternity men that show this trait, but an all guy floor at a dorm, or a group of male spectators at a sporting event.  The root of the problem is not fraternities, but it is really the groupthink that happens between a group of men, because of one bad egg or multiple bad eggs. A great quote to explain this is:

"By the time many young men arrive on a college campus, they are aimed to perpetuate the systemic sexism whether or not they know it, believe it, or acknowledge it. "

The reason why fraternities are being targeted with this is that a fraternity is a public organization that engages the student community and the overall university community. When something is done by one or a couple of their members, it is depicted to be the fraternity that has done something. The article also brings up the issue about Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity at Yale, which is covered very well in Caroline's blog.

She argues that banning fraternities will not fix this issue, but making a cultural change in the overall university community to prevent or educate people about this issue is the only way of fixing it.

MY REACTION

I thought the article was very good at pointing out an issue that was thought to be very fraternity centered, and made the arguement that it is more of a cultural  problem, not a fraternity problem. The issue is the groupthink, and I can see it at my chapter sometimes too. We have to work hard to make sure that this kind of behavior is nipped at the bud, because if it is let go, then it just becomes commonplace in the fraternity.

Fraternities should not be banned because they really do great things and help many men find the brotherhood and networking they need to be successful. The problems with fraternity come about when someone joins and does not follow the values of the fraternity. If that person can convince you that they are a good person until they join, but perpetuate these non-fraternal values, you must tell that person that this is not what we want our fraternity to look like, because as a member of the fraternity, they are one of the many faces of your organization.