Washington State University - Chinook Yearbook (Pullman, WA)

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Is going greek all its cracked up to be? I t could be said that the nation ' s fraternity sys¬ tem is experiencing good times. Today, fraternity membership on the nation ' s college campuses has reached an all-time high of more than a quarter mil¬ lion. Last year alone, they raised nearly $7 million for various philanthropies. Then what could be wrong? While fraternity popularity is up, so are complaints that accuse the system as being one that focuses too much on tradition, one which encour¬ ages elitism and prods mem¬ bers to become sexist and ra¬ cist individuals. On the surface, the con¬ troversy appears to be the age-old Greeks vs. dormies vs. GDIs. Julie Riggs, a mem¬ ber of Kappa Kappa Gamma sor ority at WSU, said I think the Greek system promotes leadership, not elitism. Peo¬ ple often seemed suprised to find out that I ' m a Kappa. There is this myth about our house that if you ' re father isn ' t a doctor or a lawyer you won ' t get in. Yes, I have some very wealthy sorority sisters but I ' m not rich. You don ' t have to be rich to go Greek. My parents make less than $30,000 a year. ASWSU President Dave Pridemore, a member of De¬ lta Sigma Phi fraternity and former Interfraternity Coun¬ cil President agrees. I drive a beat up ' 57 Chevy truck not a new Trans Am, he says. I frequently find that our greatest critics are those peo¬ ple not involved in the sys¬ tem. They have never even gone through rush, yet they don ' t hesitate to point fin¬ gers. While Pridemore admits there are some things I would like to see changed in our Greek sys¬ tem. He is also quick to point out the flaws of the Residence Hall Association. An unbiased opinion seems difficult. Administra¬ tors at Dartmouth, Hamilton, Brown and Stanford are under pressure from a num¬ ber of campus groups who are insisting that reforms be made to the system. Mean¬ while two private New Eng¬ land colleges, Amhurst and Colby, found another solu¬ tion to problems caused by fraternities there — they abo- lished the Greek system altogether. In the sixties, many Greek systems were shelved. The University of California- Berkeley dropped its system because the majority of the student population felt it was sexist and elitist. Berkeley ' s Greek system is back again, but on shakey ground once more after several strong years. Stanford only recently allowed sororities on campus after a twenty-year ban that came about as a direct result of hazing. After delving into exten¬ sive research on the subject and visiting college campuses across the nation, Andrew Merton, director of the jour¬ nalism program at the Uni¬ versity of New Hampshire who has written for Esquire , the Nezv York Times and the Boston Globe, compiled and re¬ cently submitted his findings in Ms. magazine ' s September 1984 special edition on men. Merton, who said he con¬ siders himself to be a civil libertarian, has taken an ac¬ tive voice in defending the rights of women, which, he accuses, fraternities abuse. Taking his case against the fraternity system to a wider and more diverse audience, Merton appeared in Septem¬ ber on the Phil Donahue Show to discuss his outlook on fraternity life today. Merton accuses the fraternity system of en¬ couraging young, vulnerable undergraduate males to de¬ velop opinions and values unbeneficial to a progressive society. (continued) Many communities be¬ nefit from Greek philan¬ thropic activities. This year, members of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity raked leaves and cleaned yards throughout Pull¬ man. Mike Anderson photo Fraternity Debate 29 On Sfo Prowt

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‘I think the Greek system promotes leadership, not elitism. Yes, I have some very wealthy sorority sisters but I’m not rich. You don’t have to be rich to go Greek.’ - Julie Riggs Pull harder! Members of CiUinnia Phi beta tug it our during homceomeing as their sorority sisters cheer them on. Greeks are known for their en¬ thusiastic participation in many campus events. Gary Foster photo Cramped quarters are one of the few drawbacks of living in a house or re¬ sidence hall. One mem¬ ber of Segma Phi Epsilon camps out on the window ledge to watch the world go bv. Mike Anderson photo 28 Fraternity Debate On the Prowt 1I9IPIIII1IIII

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■ I n Ms., Merton writes, For many adolescent males just out of high school, the transition to college represents a first step in a struggle for a kind of ' manhood ' from which women are viewed as objects of conquest — worthy, but decidedly inferior, adver¬ saries. Entering freshmen are im¬ pressionable and the values that group situations encour¬ age have a greater impact and potential for carrying on through life. In a collegiate setting, students are away from the influence of their pa¬ rents and peer pressure can be even harder to resist. The fraternities encourage a certain type of behavior, Merton said in a telephone in¬ terview. Isolating them brings out the nasty side of them, they have all taken these vows of brotherhood but what they end up doing in a lot of cases is covering them up in the name of brotherhood. This value sys¬ tem becomes part of you, he added. In his Ms. expose, Merton cites many cases where fraternities have been kept exempt of upholding moral and legal responsibility in the name of brotherhood. One of these cases, de¬ scribed by Merton in his re¬ port, occured at the Universi¬ ty of Florida ' s Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. There, brothers of the fraternity ...became up¬ set when a large number of people — obviously anti- Greek — misinterpreted cer¬ tain events that took place at the Pi Lam house in Septem¬ ber, 1983, Merton writes. The Pi Lams did not deny that several of the brothers had had sex with a 17-year- old freshman. But they insist she was willing. She says she was raped. No formal legal charges were filed. But Merton said that one group of women on the cam¬ pus did not agree with the Greek ' s defense. In fact, they (the women ' s group) had the audacity to march through the campus p rotest¬ ing ' organized rape. ' Where¬ upon a number of Greeks took to the streets to enlight¬ en the demonstrators. ' Stop complaining about rape, ' one man yelled. ' You ' re sup¬ posed to give it away, ' Mer¬ ton said. According to Merton, that incident at the University of Florida is representative of many others going on in fraternity houses where members disclaim accused wrongdoings and use the organization as a cover for their actions. They encourage drinking, that it is macho to drink, and that it absolves you of doing anything after it, Merton said. I know that on a lot of campuses there are always one or two houses on proba¬ 30 Fraternity Debate On t i» Prswr tion, they come and go. But as Merton explains, Every¬ thing turns out to be positive in the end. That accused encourage¬ ment of irresponsibi lity for one ' s actions is of major dis¬ turbance to critics of the fraternity system. Bernice Sandler, director of the Association of American Colleges Project on the Status and Education of Women said the agency has identified 50 gang rapes that have occured in the nation ' s fraternities during the last three years, and did so with¬ out any major investigation. There are a hell of a lot of fraternities that have a prob¬ lem dealing with women in a way that ' s good for their mental health, she said. Too many fraternities en¬ courage young men to drink and have sex with women as a sign of manhood, and in this case sex is really used as a symbol of male domination. Other critics of the system agree that sexist outlook to¬ wards the women is not something which should pre¬ vail within the bastion of h igher education — for col¬ lege campuses have tradi¬ tionally been active forums in favor of the Women ' s Move¬ ment. But Greek leaders here say much of that national critic¬ ism is not valid when applied to WSU ' s system and that a complete examination of the system would include a look at the positive aspects of Greek life. Jack Burns, area director of fraternities at WSU, admit¬ ting that the system here is not flawless, said that gener¬ alization of Greek systems across the country is unfair. I think people are grossly stereotyping isolated inst¬ ances, Burns said. We try to promote a positive living and learning experience. It is not a perfect system nation¬ wide. The benefits outweigh the problems and the prob¬ lems can be dealt with. Burns agreed that Greeks on this campus are exception¬ al examples nationwide. There are some very positive things the system does for this institution, he said. Eighty percent of the Greek chapters here brought home national awards from the national convention. In so many ways we ' re an exam¬ ple. We ' re not a perfect exam¬ ple, but a lot of organizations look at ours, Burns said. We have one of the strongest Greek systems in the nation, Pridemore said. I ' m not saying that everyone who lives in fraternities here are saints, but I think that we ' re a lot more advanced here on the West Coast. □ Mike Strand Contributing Writer Spirit and unity are im¬ portant elements of the Greek system. Three sis¬ ters of Gamma Phi Beta get together during the Homecoming rally on the CUB Mall. Rusty Coe photo Many Greeks complain about being stereotyped as toga sporting, beer drinking animals. Sigma Alpha Epsilon member Gary Ferris, dressed in traditional Greek attire sips an afternoon beer with Alpha Gamma Delta Laurie Tranum Gary Foster photo