MOST OF us don't like to acknowledge our prejudices, but we have them. I remember my attitude when I started college and my grandma offered to recommend me for membership in her sorority. Instead of really thinking about it, I made some flip comment about sororities being a waste of my time.
Looking back, I think not rushing was the right decision for me personally. But this view is based on a more realistic picture, not the overly negative impression fed to me when I arrived. Some members of the University community demonize the traditional fraternity and sorority system, but membership does have its benefits.
Any honest Greek must admit the system has problems. Houses differ, but many overemphasize alcohol in their social activities. Traditional organizations, such as the Inter-Fraternal Council and the Inter-Sorority Council, have lost ground to more minority-oriented organizations, such as the Black Fraternal Council, because they don't fully represent the school's racial or socioeconomic diversity.
But these problems aren't confined to Greeks. How many of us honestly can say we have a truly diverse group of friends? In electing our new board this weekend, The Cavalier Daily itself admitted that we could do a better job of reaching out to the entire University community. As long as we're being honest, let's admit that this entire school has a love affair with alcohol. Greeks are not the only organizations that serve alcohol at parties, and bars on the Corner thrive even on school nights. National Greek organizations, however, are at least holding honest dialogue about alcohol abuse and possible solutions.
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Concentrating on the party scene ignores the service experiences that Greeks gain. Through their national organizations, IFC and ISC members traditionally have had designated charities, for which they hold fundraising events during the spring.
In recent years, however, the IFC and the ISC have opened new avenues. To ensure that fraternity members have service experience from the beginning, the IFC added service hour requirements for its pledges ("IFC to require service hours for pledges," The Cavalier Daily, Feb. 25, 2000). In a personal interview, Allison White, ISC president, cites periodic "Service Saturdays" as a way the ISC brings together sisters from different houses to work in the community. White also is enthusiastic about one ongoing project, a Habitat for Humanity house for which Greek organizations are raising money and will build together.
The Greek system also functions as a highly successful way to maintain student-alumni ties. Greek alumni weekends and newsletters encourage University alumni to return to their alma mater, and give them a stake in the University's continued success. Greeks often find that the system "helps foster relationships in postgraduate life," White said. Fellow Greek alumni give a network of contacts to ease the transition from University life. The University has an alumni organization, but staying involved with specific organizations provides more intimate ties.
Additionally, active membership in Greek organizations gives students lessons in responsibility and leadership. House leaders must work with national chapters, manage finances, work with University administrators and ensure a safe social environment, to name only a few challenges. Although a fraternity or sorority pledge may join for the social outlet, those who stay active gain exposure to the other aspects of organizational life.
University administrators are beginning to acknowledge this more readily. Although she has often said that Greek organizations could do better at living up to their ideals, Dean of Students Penny Rue admits that Greeks provide leaders for other organizations, and argues that reforms suggested by the Fraternity Working Group, such as shifting more accountability from the IFC to individual houses, are necessary to preserve and expand this tradition. The group also plans to institute Greek leadership classes, acknowledging that "fraternities have been valuable training grounds for leadership within their own ranks." White sees this recognition as "the [University] administration changing its attitude towards Greek organizations," a change that is long overdue.
In recent years, the University community has focused on the problems of the traditional fraternity and sorority system while ignoring the benefits that have made it such an important University tradition. Such an attitude prevents the community from taking advantage of what Greeks have to offer. No human institution is perfect. Despite that fact, the Greek system has persevered as a positive experience for thousands of University alumni. For this reason, it deserves respect from students and administration alike.
(Elizabeth Managan's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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