IT IS truly hard to believe that in just a couple weeks the semester will be over. It doesn't really feel different from any other semester, except that for myself and for my fourth-year classmates it is our last. Coincidentally, this is also my last Cavalier Daily column. Yet rather than write one final diatribe -- or as some of my fraternity brothers like to say, another Econ 400 lecture -- it seems more appropriate to offer a few final thoughts on what I consider to be the most important issues facing our University.
To begin, there is the standard Opinion fallback: honor and the single sanction. To be honest, for most of my first and second years I was against the idea of single sanction. Why? Because of the possibility that I or a friend might falsely be accused of something and have it ruin their life. Oh yeah, and because it also got me out of ever having to serve on the jury for an honor trial. Over time, however, I realized that there was more to it, and that honor served a vital function at our University in its present form.
The single sanction is more than just a tradition, it is an affirmation that we hold ourselves to a higher moral standard upon which we will not compromise. It says that certain crimes -- lying, cheating, and stealing -- will not be tolerated. This is honor's mission, to preserve this trust which has been handed down to us. Though many people cite the recent failed proposal to change honor as having been an extremely close vote, the bottom line is that we live in a democratic society and a majority of students thankfully voted to maintain the single sanction. Fortunately they recognized that you cannot fix the reporting problem at the beginning of the process by throwing out the sanctioning method at the very end.
Similarly to honor, the Inter-Fraternity Council and especially the IFC Judiciary Committee must also remember what community they serve and must learn to place the interests of that community above any other. I have served as both an IFCJC judge and as a fraternity president, and have noticed an unfortunate trend: Rather than seek to preserve the fraternity system, many within the IFC leadership have sought instead to simply cut off troublemakers in order to please the University and greater Charlottesville community. Rather than fight the image of fraternities as nothing more than drunken accidents waiting to happen, the attitude has been one of conforming to others' ideas of what fraternities should be.
The media and everyone else loves to hear when a fraternity screws up, and they do not really care when a fraternity holds a large and successful philanthropy event -- indeed, many people write these events off as little more than a cover. This is the image fraternities must fight, and this is where both the IFC and University community need a wake-up call.
Fraternities are a major part of this University's rich heritage and joining my fraternity was one of the best choices I made in college. I am troubled, however, because I understand all too well how easily and arbitrarily it can all be done. To the IFC, I say remember that you serve the fraternities and their brothers, not the University administration, the media or anyone else. Your job is to help them, and the primary agent for this should be the IFC presidents, not the oversized governing board. To the greater community, I urge you to not judge us so quickly or to jump to unfair conclusions about our actions or motives. I also ask you to recognize the vast multitude of benefits and opportunities we offer. Take a closer look at us, and you will no doubt be surprised.
Well, with both time and space winding down, I want to quickly address a few other topics: First, if you're going to be an activist on any side of the fence, have a good plan -- don't just rant. Second, if everyone I've ever seen jogging looks miserable, why in the world is it so popular here? Third, guys should wear a shirt and tie and girls a sundress to football games. It's just classy.
Finally, I just want to say to the student body as a whole, make good use of your time at this University. It's not often you get to go to school at one of only twenty World Heritage sites in the United States. It's also pretty amazing how much that ranking doesn't even take into account.
Be good to each other, and look out for each other.
Allan Cruickshanks is a fourth year and is out of here. See y'all later.
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