Greek revolution

Fraternities and sororities often get a bad rap from those outside the greek system, sometimes deservedly so. For example, the criticism directed at Delta Zeta sorority was justified when the DePauw chapter evicted 23 women from its house who were overweight or of color. Critics suspected they did this out of fear of the negative stereotype those women were giving to the house. Fraternities and sororities should take responsibility for poor judgment ranging from white fraternity brothers in blackface to demeaning and deadly hazing incidents.\nAlan DeSantis, a communications professor at the University of Kentucky, described other troubling greek life trends in his book “Greek U: Fraternities, Sororities, and the Pursuit of Pleasure, Power and Prestige.” DeSantis, himself a fraternity brother, reported on the expected topics of drinking, hazing and social cruelty – especially among sorority sisters. For example, anyone labeled an ORT (“operation remove tool”) was marked for rejection from a sorority for being too “fat, ugly, or unattractive” with the exception of one DUFF (“designated ugly fat friend”) selected to make others look and feel more attractive.\nDeSantis also described the confining gender roles that fraternities and sororities reproduce. He was surprised at the body image problems he observed in the men in his study, most of whom took supplements, shaved body hair and went to tanning beds. DeSantis was also shocked at the redefinitions of sex, specifically that oral sex is something other and less intimate than sex and is an expected step in casual dating after kissing.\nUnfortunately, greek organizations nationwide frequently receive extreme criticism for these problems when none of the concerns are uniquely “greek problems.” Instead, they are symptoms of wider cultural problems:\n• Rigid gender roles start from birth when boys get blue clothes with footballs on them and little get pink dresses with butterflies.\n• Hypersexual expression for women starts well before the sorority pledge process. The super-sexy, mid-riff baring, fishnet-stocking Halloween costumes are being made for 8-year-old girls as well as college freshmen.\n• The National Center for Health Statistics reports more than half of Americans between 15 and 19 have engaged in oral sex.\n• Anyone who believes binge drinking is exclusively a greek problem isn’t paying attention to the broad drinking culture at IU.\nIt’s short-sighted to attack fraternities and sororities for larger cultural concerns. Greek organizations reflect problems in their culture, and scapegoating them unjustly allows non-greeks to reject responsibility and to assume incorrectly that they are not part of the problem.\nInstead of endlessly criticizing the greek system, we should echo the advice DeSantis includes in “Greek U.” Applaud any members of the greek system who find ways to question and challenge norms, such as gender roles or drinking cultures, and who challenge oppressive behavioral expectations. We should encourage these bright leaders to do all they can to change troubling cultural norms and find opportunities to help them alter the status quo.