From: ddogruel@nmt.edu (Lazarus)
Newsgroups: soc.college
Subject: Re: still more practical jokes
Keywords: read all about it
Date: 7 Apr 92 21:14:19 GMT
Article-I.D.: nmt.1992Apr7.211419.15380
Followup-To: soc.college
Distribution: na
Organization: Dave's Not Here

In article <1992Apr1.204828.4724@ac.dal.ca> 01sybok@ac.dal.ca writes:

>I find the bad reps fraternities have very interesting. They do a lot of

	I find the bad reps of frats, sororities, other elitist clubs scary.
 
>community service work. They are involved in campus activities. They generally

		No argument here.  I have seen many cases of some real
and honest philanthropy on the part of college greek organizations.  Most
students on campus are too apathetic to  help anyone else.

>make life more interesting in a positive way, at least on my campus. I admit
>my opinions are biased, because I am a Phi Delt. However, I can safely say we 
>have never served someone so much alcohol that they were close to alcohol
>poisoning, our pledge program is designed not to humiliate new people into 
>tears, but to help them in their quest for adulthood.We do not attack, degrade
>hate or harass women. All we are is a group of friends running a club. You
>may not like that, I don't care. You may say we are elitist; we are. On the 
>other hand, so are a *lot* of other clubs on campus. We have the right to
>be elitist, It's guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and in the 
>American constitution. You may say we are sexist; we are. On the other hand,
>so are sororities, and many women's groups. Once again we have the right to 
>exclude whoever we want. If you don't like it, too bad. It's that old
>Freedom of Association thing again. The only difference is that we know things
>about our organization the  general public does not know, and we put new 
>members through an initiation. I'm not going to tell you what we do, but I'll
>tell you that *every* sports team I have ever heard of has put their members
>through a lot more hell than I ever would have endured to become a Phi Delt.

	I only hope that the report about alleged hazing involving drunk
pledges being forced to mow lawns with gas mowers i overheard on the
police scanner last weekend was only a joke.  I just don't see how
being forced to do demeaning or degrading activities develops maturity
or character.

>I expect that the flames are going to fly fast and thick after this posting.
>I'd recommend you email them, since I don't often get a chance to read this 
>group. 

	Glad to see YOUR frat is, in your opinion, not deserving of the
bad rap others are getting and have had for a long time.  However, i
disagree on the notion that frats impart positive benefits on the
overall quality of campus life.  Frats are great for those in them, or
aspiring to be in them, but in my experience, they tend to polarize 
opinions and alienate others not affiliated with the frats.
I can't think of any other campus organizations that people react 
more militantly to than frats.
	It's perhaps the secrecy of frat society that have led to so
many  of the problems.  IMHO, if frats wish to reverse some of their
sterotypes and bad reputations, i feel they need to legitimize their
initiations and operations in the campus' and communitys' eye.  People
aren't going to change their minds about frats until the frats can prove 
to them that they aren't bad.  Until the frats do this, they are going to 
continue to get stereotyped by past actions.
	Interesting reading can be had in the December 1989 issue of
Gender and Society, in which Dr. Patricia Yancey Martin and Robert Hummer
present results of a study conducted to determine the connection
between sexual coercion and fraternity lifestyles.  The results of the
study conclude that "the organization and membership of fraternities
contribute heavily to coercive and often violent sex."  Here again, 
it's up to the frats to prove otherwise.
	Last but not least, what really ticks me off it the amount of
university resources that are devoted to greek organizations.  We 
have graduate students on food stamps, but the greek office is always
well staffed and full of supplies, including the latest office
computing equipment.  If the greek organizations are truly  philanthropic,
how about becomong self sustaining and giving more needy students the 
money used for their campus administration?

Just my $.02 worth