From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank)
Subject: Re: Fraternities  was (Re: still more practical jokes
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 05:38:53 GMT

In article <1992Apr8.211204.4902@ac.dal.ca> 01sybok@ac.dal.ca writes
 [in response to an article by Sean Erwin about all-male organizations
  in general]:
>*Sigh*. Here we go again. O-kay, I'm going to say this one more time...
>*are* you listening carefully?

Yep, I'm even unveiling the brand new Generic Frat-Boy Checklist to
make sure you hit all of the cliches.

+++++GENERIC FRAT-BOY CLICHE CHECKLIST, version 0.5, copyright 1992+++++
			(selectively annotated)


  x	How do you know?  You've never been in a fraternity.  [1]
-----

  x     What about our philanthropy?  [2]
-----

	Frats are much more active and involved than independents.  [3]
-----

	Why should you care whether I'm in a fraternity?
-----

  x     Why are you so insulting to me just because I'm in a frat?  
-----

  x     You're just stupid.
-----

        People who aren't in fraternities rape, what about them?  [4]
-----

  x     You just don't understand the special bonds of brotherhood.
-----

	What about single-sex bathrooms/athletic teams?  Are they sexist?
-----

  x     What about sororities?  Aren't they sexists also?  [5]
-----

	What about my Constitutional right to freedom of association?  [6]
-----

  x	You're just generalizing.  My frat's not like that, and every
	single chapter of my frat's not like that.
-----

  x     At least I don't assume things about people because of their
	organizational affiliations.
-----

  x     You must lead a boring life if you're not in a frat.
-----

	Fraternities have much higher grade point averages.  [7]
-----

  x     Just because we don't admit women doesn't mean we don't respect
	them.  Heck, some of my best friends are women.
-----

  x     Just because we don't admit women doesn't mean we're exclusive.
	*Any* male student can join if they survive the pledge process.
-----

        What are you, some sort of homosexual?
-----

  x     Pledge, and then decide about fraternities.  [8]
-----

 6.3    TOTAL SCORE 
-----

6.3, not bad, not optimal.  Only a few contradictions, and you did avoid
some of the more fallacious arguments, direct insults, and false flag-
waving.

+++FOOTNOTES+++
[1] How do you know why we criticize?  Have you ever been an anti-fraternity
    activist?  Really, now, since when was membership in an organization
    a pre-requisite for criticism of that organization? 
[2] Nice public relations.  On average, works out to almost 63% of dues.
    Also, most philanthropies have a lower death and rape rate.
[3] Well, when frats control campus life, it's hard to get involved.
    Many fraternity campuses dominate student government, for example.
[4] Well, there's a demonstrated causal link between frats and rape.
    And it happens disproportionately in frats, despite the fact that they're
    less likely to be prosecuted.
[5] Sororities exist solely because frats won't let women in.  That makes
    'em inclusive, not exclusive.  Co-ed bathrooms exist.  So do co-ed
    athletic teams.  Most professional sports emphasize physical skills
    that give men a biological advantage, and women wouldn't be able to
    compete at all without the existence of separate women's teams.  In the
    case of fraternities, if the emphasis is on social interaction and
    philanthropy, there's no reason to exclude women. 
[6] Doesn't exist wrt frats on college campuses.  
    See Waugh v U of Mississippi.
[7] Amazing what you can do when you have a selection process. 
[8] Get your carotids slit, and then decide about murder.
-- 
Ted Frank          + "A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it
1307 E 60 St, #109 +  is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in
U o' C Law Skool   +  color and content according to the circumstances and
Chi, IL 60637      +  the time in which it is used."  --  Holmes