On Greek Life: A Grad Student Compares Cornell to his Alma Mater, U. Chicago
By Anonymous
Re: Katie Englehart’s article, “Hey Sister,”
My best friend was in a fraternity back at the University of Chicago, my alma mater, which is a much different institution when it comes “Greek” life. In fact, I had a pretty positive opinion of fraternities until I came to Cornell. I spent a lot of time at his fraternity house, although not really during parties. It was sort of the low-key “geek” fraternity — most, if not all, of the guys in that fraternity were pretty good dudes, and all of them were gentle folk in the sense that there wasn’t anyone who would ever pick a drunken fight. Most of the rough-and-tumble fraternities at the University of Chicago are related to sports teams, or at least they were when I was still there. So we did have a handful of fraternities that had a reputation for wild parties, hazing rituals, and epic sex stories. One thing in common with all of them, and you really get at this in your article, is the hierarchy that is associated with all aspects of life for people living in the fraternity.
I think the difference at Cornell, the palpable difference I’ve been made aware of this year because I live between a couple of fraternities and sororities on Stewart Ave., is not just the size of the “Greek” community but its impact on social life for students. Back at Chicago there were few people in fraternities so you wouldn’t encounter a “Greek” unless your intention was to join a fraternity (or had a close friend who was in one). But the “Greek” presence here, it seems, is inescapable. As a Cornell student, you’re at an Ivy League school, and social competition, networking, finding a suitable social circle … these things matter to a lot of students. Hell, they matter a ton for grad students.
You make the claim that other places are not like Cornell, and I think I disagree; the problem is that there might be a sense among students here that the stakes, socially, may be higher. I had never seen throngs of girls walking in dresses and high heels, to fraternity houses as an undergrad myself, but having spent a lot of time at a fraternity house, that kind of behavior is not surprising. The absurdity of these social rituals builds camaraderie; that doesn’t make them less absurd, at least not in my eyes, but they serve an important purpose in terms of establishing a sense community and social hierarchy.
I think, on the balance, the problem you present is not necessarily something that can be solved by reform in the “Greek” system. Fraternities and sororities are a microcosm of the phenomena you briefly mentioned, that is, the need to establish tight-knit social systems where people are comfortable while advancing their career interests.
Fraternities and sororities promise a fast-track to networking and a social life, and their allure is the bacchanalian perks that come with being in one … access to the opposite gender, underage alcohol consumption, a party where you’re not standing around feeling shy and uncomfortable because you don’t know anyone. You’re right that it occurs at all levels here at Cornell. For example, in graduate programs I’ve found that students almost immediately settle into their regional or thematic groupings in an effort to achieve some sort of comfort zone and intellectual safe area. And yes, we like to drink! (Editor. Boy do we!)
Fraternities and sororities essentially provide social hierarchy on steroids; no matter how much social work or philanthropy they perform, they still are closed social networks that require a vetting process, rites of passage, and deference to the top of a particular social pyramid in order for students to join. For this reason, many who never willingly subject ourselves to this system will always see it as a closed, somewhat strange, alcohol-guzzling, hormone-driven society (and the latter two, I must insist without reservation or qualification, are consistent traits). On my part, I’ve done my share of alcohol guzzling and hormone-driving (if that makes any sense at all), and a slew of stupid, disrespectful, and sexist things to accompany that behavior.
But I think the “Greek” system needs to admit this type of behavior is a staple of their social system and look to improve some of the problematic behavior. Every guy or girl who drinks does not have to do so to excess and those who do occasionally become inebriated do not have to be asses. And you can help curb your friends who might be doing stupid, disrespectful or sexist things. Group dynamics can help curb bad behavior as well as give it room to flourish.
I hope that, instead of taking offense to your article (especially since you were a former member), whoever is in charge of the “Greek” system realizes that their PR problem is, in fact, a tangible behavioral problem in social systems. The dangers are that these behaviors mentioned in the article are symptomatic of how this social system does business with its own and others.
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