I wrap up the semester with a relevant question — what is this place, this adored jumble of white pillars, construction sites and endless red brick? According to the official Online Etymology Dictionary, the word “university” derives from the Latin root universitas meaning all things, universal, whole, etc. Barring additional etymologies, this term seems to approach a core characteristic of most universities, namely the diversity of opinion, culture, language and identity that thrive within them. Subsequent centuries tacked on more familiar descriptions, fleshing out the university as a place of higher learning and community of scholarship. To summarize — we appear to be a diverse intellectual community that exists for the advancement of ideas. So far this all seems fairly accurate. But I believe the definition wants for one crucial element: the unknown.
Like the universe, universities are largely defined by everything we do not know. The unknown compels their existence. It is the territory where no one has ever gone, and we stand right on its edge, continuously carving out chunks of darkness with the incisive intellect brandished by our collective academic community. The unknown gives us a space in which to exercise our creative and intellectual faculties. It encourages us to question, criticize and reform old ideas for the betterment of society and state. In advocacy of divestment from South African Apartheid, the late professor Robert L. Payton of Indiana University puts it best: “The university's central mission [is] to develop and clarify social thought and to uphold and improve public discourse.” To clarify and improve is to work forward, to progress. After all, the greatest unknown is more accurately symbolized by the future, not the past. And yet how can a university advance if already heavily focused on preserving the past?
The Board of Visitors homepage states that the Board “is entrusted with the preservation of the University's many traditions.” At a recent special Board meeting on sexual assault, Student Council President Jalen Ross appeared to channel this very mission, asserting that structures and systems of fraternities “may be the most direct way we can create safety.” I admittedly have very little knowledge of Greek life. Many of my friends have strong emotional connections to their sisterhoods and brotherhoods. And of course, not all groups are to be conflated. For instance, there is Alpha Phi Omega, a coed service-oriented fraternity, among others geared towards leadership building and community involvement. Amber Finlay, Vice President of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated drives this message home: "The service and educational components of Greek life are at the center of what my sorority does… While some people believe that Greek life does not contribute at all to the intellectual life of the University, I would strongly disagree.” Point being, we shouldn’t readily lump all of “Greek life” into one category.
But do the presence of a handful of intellectually engaged, service-oriented groups warrant our loyalty to the rest? Why do we have to justify the merits of certain organizations over those of others? Some clearly align with the moral purpose of our University, and yet many do not. (The common usage of Greek letters only convolutes the task of parsing those differences — a minor but persistent challenge to us non-Greek folk.) Should our Board of Visitors aim to preserve a system whose primary activities have little to do with those of an academic community?
I can only offer my own interpretation. While student social life is fundamental to our University culture, the traditional fraternal experience does not truly complement our University’s core purpose. Groups that do not fall under conventional fraternity and sorority categories should simply seek different names. Why would any organization associate itself with a longstanding tradition bogged down with negative connotations and conflicting values? Furthermore, we should not endorse the idea of a gender-based and exclusionary social outlet for college students in the first place — particularly in an age sensitive to diverse sexual identity. Factor in frequent incidents of hazing, substance abuse and criminal behavior, and our continued dedication to the culture seems silly at best.
While I realize that a university is only meaningful to the extent that its members glean meaning from it, and that different individuals formulate varying perceptions of the ideal university, I stand by my opinion. These conventional social structures that Ross and the Board of Visitors appear to uphold seem fundamentally detached from the true definition of our institution. Nevertheless, the deeply entrenched U.S. Greek tradition suggests that my vision may be nothing more than a pipedream.
I return to the more immediate existential mission of our University. What are we? In my opinion, we are hodgepodge of intelligent human beings who have gathered to promote positive change for our kind. And that purpose is guided solely by what we do not know. It is not some hidebound commitment to a clearly defined past, but rather the proactive promise to securing a largely unpredictable future. A healthy university is one that is on edge, unsettled and eager for change. The unknown presents us with an opportunity to explore new territories and expand our moral horizons. The unknown is embedded into the universe of our intellectual community. And I believe the time may be ripe for that uncertainty to symbolize a new chapter in U.S. higher education — a chapter in which social life can flourish without the harms and heartbreaks of a deeply inappropriate tradition.
Will Evans is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at w.evans@cavalierdaily.com.
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