Ever heard the phrase, ‘It’s all Greek to me?’ Basically, it means that something doesn’t make sense, and no phrase could better depict my sentiment toward university campus Greek communities, especially as of late.
Although I recognize that many Greek organizations have devoted much of their time to philanthropic and charitable efforts, there is a negative connotation associated with sororities and fraternities that I can’t help but acknowledge.
The classic 1978 film “Animal House” portrays it best: a rowdy group of college students with elitist mindsets, who pay lofty fees to join a group of fellow students whom they can call their friends, but who must first endure a series of outrageous experiences in order to be ‘accepted.’ The events in this movie are actually based on the real life experience of writer Chris Miller’s Alpha Deta Phi fraternity experiences at Dartmouth University.
More recently, the Delta Zeta sorority chapter on campus at the University of Connecticut has been suspended as a consequence of alleged “hazing”-related activity. The New York Daily News recently reported that the university sent a letter to the Delta Zeta president declaring the sorority’s suspension, and citing the hazing activity that took place on March 7 as the reason behind the punishment.
At first, it may seem unreasonable that a group of female college students are being punished for continuing a tradition of humiliation that has characterized the university Greek community since the 17th century, which is when one of the first controversial hazing-related incidents took place in America.
In that particular incident, a Harvard student was expelled for hazing, according to the 1885 publication, “Biographical Sketches of Graduates of Harvard, Volume 3, 1678-1689.” In the more recent UConn incident, the female students allegedly forced male fraternity members “to wear female thong underwear, paint their bodies and take shots off each other’s bodies,” according to USA Today.
These students were merely placed on an interim suspension that will “remain in effect until the matter is investigated and resolved,” according to NBC Connecticut, which also reported that the male students were forced to eat dog treats. This incident marks the third suspension of a Greek organization at the same university in the past month.
Kimberly Hill, the UConn associate director of community standards said the interim suspension “indicates that the presence of your organization on campus could pose a threat to the health and safety of the campus community.”
Back in 2007, the New york times reported that the Depauw University chapter of the very same Delta Zeta sorority had been essentially kicking girls out of their organization as a result of a lack in “attractiveness.” This chapter defended its actions by claiming it was attempting to “enrich student life at DePauw.”
That same year, the Amanda Bynes’ film “Sydney White” was released. In this film, a particularly catty sorority is portrayed as superficial, vindictive and all-in-all mean as they, at least to an extent, rob various students of their social status by making them feel inferior, a pretty accurate portrayal in my opinion.
The term “hazing” makes me think of college boys or girls challenging each other with crazy drinking dares and humiliating pranks, all in good fun, as a step toward acceptance into a club, team, etc. In fact, some movies make it look like a really good time, “Sydney White” not included, obviously.
However, the fact that hazing is, in many parts of the country, illegal, most likely due to the fact that there have been casualties, injuries and negative physiological effects reported over the years in result of hazing, makes me think twice about giving my nod of approval to Greek life.