One bad apple can spoil the bunch. Recently, it seems,fraternities and sororities are filled with rotten fruit.
Therecent death of 18-year-old Adrian Heideman at Chico State poses thequestion: Is the greek system really a valuable asset to universitiesworld-wide or do they simply act as an excuse to party?
Media coverage seems to sway the public to see greek organizationsas nothing but a place to get into trouble. I agree to some extent,though I do recognize what these groups can do for the community –besides giving police officers something to do.
Several chapters claim to dedicate a lot of time to helpingothers. Mike Pereira, president of San Diego State University’s KappaAlpha fraternity, said his fraternity does several activities aroundtown. They have beach cleanups and fundraisers, the last of whichraised $500.
Pereira said every member contributes 40 man-hours per semester tohelping out.
Think about that. That’s close to three hours a week. Most classesdon’t allot that much time to being in the classroom.
But also take into consideration how many hours are left in a weekonce the community service is done.
How much time and effort is put into partying each semester? True,there’s no law saying you can’t have fun — that’s what college isall about, right?
But what would Heideman say about fraternities if he were stillalive, attending Chico State? Does it matter? Even in death, brothersstick together and Brandon Bettar, president of the fraternity thatHeideman was associated with, spoke for him.
“Hazing(is) not the case,” he is quoted as saying in the Orange CountyRegister.
So, then, what exactly is hazing? The University of Missouridefines hazing as, among other things, the “creation of excessivefatigue; physical and psychological shocks; public stunts and morallydegrading or humiliating games and activities; and late worksessions, excessive time demands or other requirements that interferewith academic performance.”
Clearly, under this definition, hazing is the case more often thannot.
At Southern Illinois University, fraternity brothers paddled sixmembers of Beta Phi Pi, reported www.salon.com
The Website reported on a number of fraternities.
Phi Kappa Phi was suspended from the Florida State campus foralcohol- related violations. Some of the brothers were arrested forunderage possession and providing alcohol to minors. Florida Statepolice said pledges were “asked to drink two large glasses of beerand a bottle of whiskey.”
Members of a Northern Illinois University fraternity were boundnaked to a tree and covered in human waste.
At the University of Minnesota, a party at the Zeta Pi fraternityresulted in a freshman allegedly being raped.
And, closer to home, a pledge was found lying unconscious in AztecCenter. Following the incident, Doug Case, coordinator for fraternityand sorority life, told The Aztec, “the fact that we were able toavoid a death was a relief.”
And that’s just what’s in the news. My friend who rushed told me acrazy story. He said pledges couldn’t shower or change their clothesfor an entire week.
Doesn’t sound too terrible, right?
What if the fraternity members had urinated on you on Monday? Addto that sleep deprivation and — hold on! There’s just something Idon’t understand about all this.
Why would you put yourself through the torture just to be part ofa group? There’s the obvious — the challenge of seeing if you canput up with everything.
But I still have a question. Why?
I really don’t think people put themselves through hell so theycan volunteer to clean up beaches. I assume it’s a status symbol. Idon’t know who would see that as pristine, but whatever. It seemsfraternities and sororities are just asking for trouble.
Drunken college students don’t exactly act like the Amish. They’rebelligerent. They’re rowdy. Point blank: They cause problems.
But there are far too many reports of problems at fraternityparties to say it’s a coincidence and that the media only reports thebad stuff. It’s true the media mostly reports the negative.
But that’s no excuse. There is plenty of good that Greeks can dofor the community — since when did hurting the community’s imagebecome their sales pitch?
Look at SDSU, considered by many to be the major party school inSouthern California.
Why do you think that is?
The greek system seems a fitting answer.
My first year at SDSU, I lived in a dorm on campus. A walk downthe street near the fraternity houses and you’d think you were in themiddle of some riot on the Gaza Strip in Israel. People walking inherds up and down the street, yelling and being annoying. Theneighbors have got to love that.
True, fraternities and sororities can do a lot of good in thecommunity. God knows I haven’t cleaned any beaches because I thoughtit would be nice. I understand and respect that side of greekorganizations.
But the other side — the one that makes you pay to have friendsso you can party together and get the crap beaten out of you uponinitiation — I don’t respect.
I talked to a few presidents of fraternities on campus and theyall denied any wrongdoing with respect to hazing. So maybe not all ofthe organizations haze.
That’s good.
But some do. The facts don’t lie. The question remains: Arefraternities and sororities a hazard to your health?
Just like anything else, fruit goes bad — eat at your own risk.
–Ryan Albert is a journalism junior. Send e-mail to daletter2000@hotmail.com
–This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of TheDaily Aztec.
