My big fat Greek opinion

Congratulations to The Daily Campus’ Editorial Board.

They’ve done it again.

With Tuesday’s editorial entitled “Reality Check: Hazing allegations give school a bad name — not our reporting,” the Ed Board simply widened the gap between Greeks and non-Greeks on our campus. The editorial begins by defending the DC regarding recent feedback after the paper’s coverage of the Fiji investigation. (If you don’t know what I am referring to, then I hope you were cozy living under a rock for the last month.)

As the editorial comes to a close, Ed Board decides to “discuss the larger issue at hand” — presumably, hazing within fraternities.

“Ed Board,” the piece reads, “cannot understand why people would subject themselves to cruel and unusual punishment just for the sake of brotherhood, and all that other corn-fed bull.”

Let’s see … ”Ed Board cannot understand … all that other corn-fed bull.” Can’t understand? I wouldn’t expect you to; of the six members on Ed Board, allow me to show you how many are members of a Greek organization: 0. Yessir, what we read in Tuesday’s editorial was a description of Greek life by a handful of people outside the Greek community. Not that I don’t value an outsiders perspective on things, but what frustrated me as a member of a Greek organization was Ed Board’s inaccurate description of fraternity life.

While the editorial did make a passing reference to the beneficial aspects of Greek life, the piece as a whole seemed to convey quite an anti-Greek sentiment.

Am I condoning the extremities of hazing in which new members land in a hospital room? No … obviously, the recent hazing allegations on campus have raised ethical questions about the process of pledge ship.

However — this may come as a surprise to some — there is more to a fraternity than, “heads dipped in someone else’s urine or participating in the infamous ‘elephant walk.’” I feel that some people see only this side of a Greek organization. For those of us in fraternities or sororities, we’ve heard it all: from “Dude, why do you need to pay for your friends?” to “Man, I would never give money just to get my ass kicked for six to eight weeks,” nay-sayers of the Greek system are all over the place.

What they don’t see, however, is the positive aspects of Greek life. Ed Board, for example, spent hundreds of words speaking on what has been released by police reports or the media about hazing allegations at SMU. These sources of information fail to mention the true brotherhood, sisterhood and lifelong connections that fraternities and sororities create. Yes, the rumors are true — within the walls of a Greek house, we are actually friends … sorry if that shocked anyone out there.

From philanthropies to formals, Greek organizations at SMU and across the country go beyond the incorrect stereotype suggested by Ed Board of frat boys who, “pay to undergo such treatment [as hazing].” Earlier this month, for example, the Delta Gamma sorority raised nearly $1,000 benefiting Service for Sights, DG’s national philanthropy. Each spring, the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity hosts a powder puff football game, which pits sorority gals against one another on the gridiron. As the event enters its sixth year on campus, the Pikes have regularly raised $4,000 to benefit the Ryan Gibson Foundation, aiding those with leukemia. In 2002, the Phi Delta Theta Casino Night raised over $35,000 toward the Ronald McDonald House.

But what is a bigger deal to the Ed Board — generating thousands of dollars for those in need or allegations that are still being investigated? Unfortunately for fraternity or sorority members who read The Daily Campus, the ratio of Greeks to non-Greeks on the Ed Board is a lopsided 0 to 6, resulting in editorials such as Tuesday’s. I feel that narrow-minded views such as these paint an unfairly tainted picture of Greek life on the Hilltop.