To the Editor:
Ages ago, the Catholic Church would make priests and nuns lie on beds naked next to one another to test their vows of chastity. They discontinued this practice though, when they ended up with a lot of pregnant nuns. The Church admitted to itself what the administration and students at this college need to admit to themselves: there is a limit to what you can expect from people (and perhaps it is lower than we'd like to think). Though we would all like to think that had a few -- or even one -- brother actively stood up against the Zeta Psi newsletter it would have been discontinued. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case, and it is a dangerous simplification of a much larger problem.
Gender relations are not great on this campus, or in this country, and these probles are not restricted just to the Greek system. Two issues must be considered though, when making the "there will always be poor gender relations" argument. First, it is hard for me to imagine society as a whole solving its gender issues if the four thousand of us on this campus cannot create a respectful environment in this small town. Second, I have never thought that the Greek system caused the discordance among men and women here, but rather that it simply perpetuated and exploded already existing problems. Buying this scenario though faults the individuals, not the institutions, which is an important distinction to make.
I have more faith in my fellow students than that, but not enough to believe that one of them -- or even just a few of them -- can override years of tradition. The institutions themselves encourage men and women to look at and act negatively towards the opposite sex, rather than respecting each other and hanging out together in equal space on equal terms. Certainly fraternities and sororities do not promote respect for the opposite sex.
In a discussion with many sorority sisters last night, many women voiced the fear that with the downfall of the fraternities would come the end of sororities. I would expect no less. If I have to sacrifice my sorority that I have loved, so that all the houses can turn co-ed I would gladly do it. Some women say that their sorority empowered them as women. Mine certainly did for me. But I would have preferred to be empowered and to grow as a person first, woman second. I would have preferred to be able to take a leadership role among men and women.
Very few people are claiming that the Zeta Psi newsletter was only the fault of a few individuals, however many people are saying that blaming the Greek system as a whole for one house's stupidity is unfair. On the sidewalk in front of Parkhurst Hall this morning someone chalked the phrase "Generalization is dangerous too." There is of course a danger in generalizing. Maybe the students who have this view are just not aware of the facts, or maybe they just don't want to admit to themselves what is really going on, because to say that this one instance of misogyny at Zeta Psi is restricted only to that fraternity is dangerous and nave. Since Beta was derecognized " just before the '01s arrived " there has been one problem after another with fraternities. From the ghetto party , and design for the Theta Delt shirt, the arson charges with Phi Delta Alpha, the point system at Gamma Delt, the Psi U incident and to the latest newsletter at Zeta Psi, there has been relatively few terms without some sort of problem within the Greek system. And those are just the reported issues.
A friend said to me today, "Zeta Psis were supposed to be the nice guys. If they do this, what do other houses do?" I don't know. I only know what my friends in houses tell me. A few '01 brothers told me yesterday that "things" like this always go on at houses, and anyone who thinks they don't is in denial. He added that Zeta Psi was just stupid to write it down. In my mind it's not any less worse spoken than written, the same misogynistic attitudes are still supported.
The men in Zeta Psi, just like the men in other fraternities simply cannot stop the pervasive attitudes and rituals that go on in their houses. Therefore, the administration must.
This is pattern recognition, so start noticing the pattern. The Zeta Psi newsletters represent only the latest problem in the Greek system. But this problem is systemic, and therefore the system must be changed.
