The past two semesters at IU have had a significant amount of controversy for greek life.
Last semester, Alpha Tau Omega’s charter was revoked and Phi Kappa Psi was placed under suspension. This semester, Sigma Alpha Mu was placed under deferred suspension.
Such events like these can create negative stereotypes toward greek life both in the media and for non-greek members, Pi Lambda Phi brother Thomas Mandel said. He organized an event with his fraternity Wednesday night that educated IU students on these stereotypes.
Mandel said the most harmful effects these stereotypes have is the loss of potential members because of the misconceptions presented by the media.
“It prevents people who potentially being great in greek life from joining greek life,” Mandel said.
Education is important because it allows those who are not greek members to be able to understand that greek life encompasses more than just the stereotypes, Mandel said.
He said the media tends to influence the negative general perception of greek life.
“We tend to focus more on negative attention because it makes better news stories,” Mandel said.
All four greek councils on campus were represented at the event by seven different chapters. The event was moderated by Barry Magee, the assistant director for residential life.
The event began with Magee asking members of the audience their preconceptions of each greek councils for those who are not members of each. Afterward, representatives of the organizations explained what their organizations are actually about.
Each organization also discussed the stereotypes faced by each organization. One of them is a lack of inclusion in its membership.
The Multicultural Greek Council is stereotyped as only accepting members who represent the founding ethnicity of their individualized chapters, Omega Phi Beta member Anahy Mayorga said.
However, Mayorga said this is not entirely true.
“We are accepting of everyone, regardless of gender, race, sexuality or background,” Mayorga said.
While known for being a primarily black greek organization, the National Panhellenic Council is accepting of all races, Alpha Kappa Alpha member Gabrielle Hicks said.
The Panhellenic Association is not just basic white girls who are non-inclusive of other members, Kappa Alpha Theta member Maddie Wade said.
Along with this, PHA is also often accused of being made up of only non-intelligent women, Alpha Omicron Pi member McKinsey Cummings said.
“Something I get a lot is that sorority girls aren’t the smartest tools in the shed,” Cummings said. “The sisters in my sorority are some of the smartest women I’ve ever met.”
Another common stereotype is a strong sense of entitlement among greek members, Magee said.
The pride for one’s chapter and organization may be misinterpreted as a strong sense of entitlement, Iota Phi Theta member Frank Bonner said.
The recruitment process itself may also be a source behind this misconception, Wade said. Those who go through recruitment and don’t receive enough bids to be in a chapter may feel purposefully isolated from the other members of the chapter.
However, Pi Lambda Phi member Daniel Keay said he believes there is some truth behind this stereotype within the Interfraternity Council.
He said he believes the pride one’s chapter can allow members to take for granted what they have.
By definition, the word stereotype means there is some truth behind them, Magee said.
He and the representatives speaking at the event agreed parties are present within the culture of greek life.
Keay said he believes that the idea that all fraternity brothers are rapists is a negative stereotype.
He said he does admit that a rape culture exists on campus, but this culture isn’t what fraternities are about.
However, he said IFC has been addressing this through various movements on campus.
“It’s a bad stereotype leading to good improvement on campus,” Keay said.
These truths can lead to positive outcomes on campus, Keay said.
The media shows stereotyped representations of greek life in more than just the news, Pi Lambda Phi member Arpan Kapoor said.
Before he joined a fraternity, Kapoor said all he knew about greek life came from films like “American Pie” and “Animal House.” He said he knew those films were exaggerated to a point, but he thought there also may be truth within them.
While there are stereotypes against greek culture nationwide, fraternity member Edwin Flores said there is more to the organizations and chapters than what is generally portrayed.
“I think they’re warranted to a certain degree,” Flores said. “But I definitely don’t think they’re representative of the whole community.”
