While having dinner with a friend this weekend, I listened as he told me various stories involving a common practice in his fraternity -- getting so drunk that you urinate on yourself, objects such as a bed or couch or other members of the house. In the Dartmouth lexicon, this is known as a form of "hosing." As he told me these stories, I felt compelled to voice my problems with fraternities.
Generally, complaints against fraternities come from either deans on a hopeless quest to end underage drinking or anonymous women's groups that stigmatize houses with meaningless slogans like "Frats Rape." I speak only on behalf of my personal irritation. Fraternities effectively divide the campus into members and non-members. And for non-members, a few obvious cliques exist. There are the "alternative" and "artsy" students, the "outdoor" types, and there are those students who never go out at all. Yet if you don't fit neatly into one of these categories, and you don't belong to a house, like myself, you find yourself with few social options (and none that permit drinking). So, I spend a lot of time social time with friends in fraternities. But I never feel that I truly belong, and I always wonder if I should join a fraternity. Why not? After all, everybody's in a frat. It's not such a big deal. But I always decide against the idea. Why? Because, for myself, the negatives always outweigh the positives.
The amount of drinking that goes on in frats ceases to amaze me. I've had my share of debauchery and have been picked up by Safety and Security more times than I care to remember. My problem is not with drinking, a normal act for students, but with the excessive levels of drinking that exist in many frats. We all know of the endless games of pong and chugging contests that constitute a large aspect of "male bonding," but what about their consequences? Drinking until vomiting, passing out, constant blackouts, "hosing" oneself: these are asinine forms of "bonding." Yet they are often at the core of the stories regaled and championed among brothers. At best, they are humorous tales of misjudgment, and at worst they are signs of severe alcoholism.
Often closely related to binge-drinking is fraternity hazing. I have little idea of the levels to which hazing goes on, and I'm sure that each fraternity is different, but I have heard enough stories to know that it exists. And even if fraternities make any forms of hazing optional, it is easy to understand why a new pledge looking to make friends would bow to a system based on peer pressure and subject himself to degrading and disgusting rituals.
Fraternities are nearly homogeneous in their make-up -- but for a few exceptions, most houses are overwhelmingly white. Of course brothers have friends outside their houses, but being in a fraternity can create a kind of social inertia where members have little need to socialize beyond the comfortable world of their house. Some see this insulation and homogeneity as a plus -- these are their friends after all, so what's the problem? In the end it serves only to further self-segregate the College. It reinforces old stereotypes, and in some cases allows for the commonplace use of words like "fag" and "homo" when no one questions their use. The system does not challenge brothers as they are rarely presented with opposing views.
By their very nature of secrecy and exclusivity, fraternities can become elitist. Foolish and occasionally violent and destructive rivalries develop between frats. And while brothers rarely admit it, every house has its own stereotype. It is telling that Mugshots lists student's Greek affiliations. "Oh, he's in X, he must be a jock," or "He's a Y, what a nerd," or "He's a Z? Those guys are all scammers." Comments like these are heard all too often. Brothers are judged on these stereotypes, and at times, play up to them. Why voluntarily give yourself a stigma, why let others make assumptions just because of the house you belong to?
Another disturbing aspect of fraternities is the way they promote unhealthy social interactions between men and women. Women often come to fraternities to socialize, whether for formals, pong games or parties. This socializing almost always revolves around drinking, and in many cases, heavy drinking. Brothers and non-brothers talk to women while drunk, make passes at women while drunk and hook-up with women while drunk. The fraternity system encourages such behavior (for members and non-members alike), and it creates the misleading impression that this is normal. Women become objects and accessories, just another thing to go with your beer.
Of course students will always hook up under the influence, but a social life dominated by fraternities makes this the norm, not the exception, at Dartmouth. I've seen brothers whose dependence on alcohol and their fraternity has made it impossible for them to have healthy relationships with women. And, honestly, how many meaningful relationships do you know of that began in frat basements?
Finally, the prevalence of fraternities encourages the anti-intellectualism that is the constant target of deans. Many brothers purposely keep their social and academic lives worlds apart. Frat-life places a barrier between learning and socializing that need not exist. Drinking effectively replaces discussion. It is this phenomenon that gives people the impression that while Dartmouth students are as smart as those at the other Ivies, there is a concerted effort to "think less," and drink more.
I have made numerous generalizations about the fraternity system. These are not blanket generalizations, since every fraternity is different. They are, however, my overall impression from countless hours spent in fraternities over the last three years. I am sure the reactions to this column will be fierce and numerous and altogether predictable. I'll be told I "don't understand what it means to be a brother."
Of course fraternities have good qualities. They do community service, encourage tradition and brotherhood and create lasting friendships and connections that undoubtedly help after college. But can't all of these qualities be achieved without participation in frat life -- without the excessive drinking and ritual?
I usually leave my judgments to the world of four-panel cartoons. However, I feel this issue is too important to Dartmouth and the college experience to be trivialized. Frats should not be banned. Likewise, any college action against fraternities is generally ineffective and creates a stronger reactionary response. The answer lies among the students themselves. If sophomores choose to remain independent, fraternities will be become weaker and have less sway in campus social life. More social options will arise (ones in which students can engage in healthier forms of drinking) and the negative aspects of fraternities will diminish.
So before you sink your bids, question why you're joining a fraternity and ask yourself what you hope to get out of it. If becoming a champion pong-player is your goal, then by all means, go ahead. But if you're joining merely because your friends are and, "That's what everybody does at Dartmouth," then maybe you need to reconsider. Don't let Dartmouth decide for you.
Decide for yourself.