Speaker addresses greek pride, life

A sea of greek letters faced Will Keim as he delivered a lecture Thursday night at Assembly Hall. Keim, a motivational speaker and alumnus of Delta Upsilon fraternity, addressed the members of IU's greek system about the pride and responsibility associated with fraternity and sorority life.\nHe began his address by reading an excerpt from Sports Illustrated about the ill-fated American Airlines flight that plummeted into a Pennsylvania field Sept. 11. The story included testimonials about the heroes of the flight, extolling the courage the passengers displayed in the face of adversity.\n"If someone says you never tried to be the hero, but you always were, you have lived your life well," Keim said. "I am proud to be greek, but do we, as greeks, have the guts to face our challenges?"\nKeim then took a lighter note, teasing common perceptions of the greek system.\n"When I tell people I am a member of Delta Upsilon, they respond that they didn't have to buy their friends," he said. "When I was initiated in 1971, I paid a $200 initiation fee, and in return I got over 50,000 brothers worldwide. That's less than a dime a friend -- a hell of a good investment if you ask me!"\nKeim reminded audience members that greeks have donated more than $50,000 and 10 million hours of community service in the past year and that many leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., were members of sororities or fraternities. He added that greeks, on average, have higher scholarship and leadership skills than other college students.\nKeim also addressed more serious topics, including hazing, alcohol and drug abuse and sexual assault. He emphasized to fraternity men that it is their responsibility to act like gentlemen and make sure women leave their houses escorted.\nKeim specifically said that sleeping with a woman who was too intoxicated to know what she was doing is wrong. So is the use of date rape drugs like GHB and Rohypnol, he said. \nKeim reminded audience members to take care of themselves sexually and practice safer sex.\nHe also tackled the subject of drug abuse, cautioning students not to take drugs lightly. He said the Safe Campus Act of 1990 makes a misdemeanor drug offense into a felony that will haunt students for the rest of their lives.\nKeim spoke against abuse of alcohol as well.\n"Eighty percent of the students who fail out of school have an alcohol problem," he said. "Two-thirds of women who are raped were under the influence at the time. Alcohol can be a problem."\nSophomore Meghan Miller said she enjoyed Keim's speech but disagreed with some of what Keim said.\n"I really liked what he said," she said. "He's really funny. However, I don't think that whether or not a woman is intoxicated makes any difference in rape. I really disagree with him correlating a violent attack with having a few drinks."\nFreshman Adam Steer said he took a lot away from the address.\n"I think every chapter on campus could learn a lot from Dr. Keim," he said. "He clearly illustrated what being in a fraternity or sorority should be and mean to a person"