Sticking Up For Bluto!

Fraternities have a bad rap in society.  Frat boys are thought of as being drunk, immature, juvenile criminals.  While this description does fit many members of Greek Organization; it also describes many college students who didn’t “Go Greek”.  The fact is that a good portion of all college students are drunk and immature Neanderthals.  Many experiment sexually; some do end up in jail from their juvenile activities.  These traits- while not flattering, are what being young is all about.The truth is, the only difference between fraternity boys and other college males is that Fraternity brothers are members of a club.  Individuals being part of an exclusive club gives society a way to classify all members of that club together, rather than on an individual basis.  For example, if a member of a fraternity gets drunk and pukes off a balcony onto the Dean’s head, he is described as being an out-of-control frat boy.  This person will no doubt face stern discipline from the University up to and including expulsion.  Now, if any other student does the same thing, they are just described as being hammered.  Said student might have to go to an Alcohol Treatment class or two; but it is very unlikely that he will get expelled.

This Frat Guy image is nothing more than a stereotype. 
 

This broad classification is very unfair and portrays members of a Greek Organization in a bad light, through no fault of their own.  Unfair pre-judging of Greeks by an ill-informed, un-educated public is no different than the stereotypes placed on other groups of people.  People who never even met them are constantly pigeonholing people from all nations, creeds, professions and even interests.  For example, consider the reputations of these different groups: Jews, Muslims, blacks, Puerto Ricans, cops, doctors, and lawyers.  These groups all have reputations that are damaging and untruthful.  Before even stepping into a room, they have an opinion formed about them.  I shouldn’t need to state how ignorant thinking like this is.

The facts are that non-Greeks drink significantly more, and cause much more financial damage to campuses, than Greeks.  This is true no matter what part of the country you live in.  Yet it is fraternities who get all the bad press.  This is even more the case when hazing is involved.  It is common knowledge that Fraternities and Sororities make their pledges do inappropriate and sometimes dangerous things while pledging.  Every time a hazing incident occurs, it is always assumed a Greek Organization is involved.  What most people don’t realize is that hazing goes on everywhere' not just on college campuses during Fraternity and Sorority pledging.  College sports teams; clubs and even charity groups make new members do things against their will.  They do this to the new members for many reasons.

My Fraternity Crest

First off, the current members of the organization need to see how bad the pledge wants to join.  By ordering the pledges around and having making them show their humility, the current members can see which ones are worthy of being part of their Organization.  If the new member refuses to do something, then they obviously don’t belong.  In short, it is a way to weed out the weak.  The weak are those people who don’t believe in giving themselves to a cause.  They are selfish and have never worked for anything.  For example, how would you like being trapped in a foxhole with someone who has a history of abandoning his team at the first sign of danger? It is better to find that out beforehand, so you could at least be more prepared.  Secondly, the current members of the club want to make the new members respect their authority.  Respecting those with more seniority than you, in any facet of life, is not only a valuable attribute; but it is also a necessity.  Imagine if no one in your office ever listened to the boss, but instead just did what they wanted.  Not only would nothing ever get done, but people would get hurt because of this insubordination.

Lastly, the senior members conduct these initiation activities because they had to do the exact same thing when they were new.  It’s a matter of respect! How can a new member of an organization earn the respect of the others if he didn’t have to do the same stuff to get in? If they got a free ride, every other member of the club is going to look down on them.  Whether they do it to the person’s face, or in private, are moot points.  The point is that this new member will not be looked at the same way as the others.  Making sure everyone does the exact same things to get initiated is the only way to ensure that every member of the group gets, and gives, the same respect to one another.  Jealousy or resentment within a group can produce catastrophic results.  If a team is to succeed, they need to all work together.  Mutual respect and a common bond is the best way to ensure that all the members of a team, or unit, believe in the same things.  The more they care about one another, the harder they will try, and the more often they will succeed.

This abuse of the “rookie” happens everywhere in society.  On professional sports teams, the veterans always make the rookies do something embarrassing.  No one causes a fuss about it because the veterans had to do the exact same thing when they joined the team years before.  It is a productive activity that is fun for everyone.  It also builds camaraderie amongst teammates.  This happens in the corporate world as well.  It is always the people fresh out of college who get stuck with all the undesirable tasks.  This is because they have to prove themselves before they can work their way up the company ladder.  The new guy has had it harder in almost every culture, religion and profession in history.  Yet it is fraternities who are portrayed as being the only bad guys.

The media plays just as big a role as any in this unfair stereotype.  Anytime someone is injured or dies as a result of a “hazing” incident, it is always the media that brings up past hazing incidents involving Greeks.  I speak from firsthand experience.  I went to Alfred University, and I am very proud to say I am a brother of Klan Alpine fraternity.  Back in 1978, a student died while pledging my house.  It was a terrible incident that everyone involved regrets.  We learned from this mistake and adjusted our pledging process to make sure something like that never happened again.  The pledge that died was Chuck Stenzel.  His death was the first widely publicized hazing death in the country.  A book and a movie were written about the incident. 

My fraternity received a lot of bad press, rightfully so; we were almost disbanded.  After this tragedy, Klan Alpine was always on the news every time a hazing incident occurred at a college.  It didn’t matter where the incident occurred, or if it even involved a Greek Organization.  I remember one time there was a hazing incident at a college located at the other end of the state.  This incident had nothing to do with my college, and didn’t even involve a Greek house, yet a news crew still showed up at our doorstep.  The crew filmed current KA brothers and asked questions about Chuck Stenzel.  Mind you, the Stenzel tragedy occurred in 1978- before most of the current brothers were even born.  Yet any uninformed viewer who watched the news that day would have thought that my fraternity was full of future convicts who drank too much and were always getting into trouble.  This was extremely unfair to us.  It gave our house, and the whole University, unwanted and undeserved bad press.  I am quite certain that the actions of this news crew also hurt recruiting at the college.  New enrollment was down the next semester.

What the media never mentioned in that “Exclusive Report” is that our house had the best GPA amongst all Greek houses.  They also failed to mention that almost every brother in our house was a member of some extra-curricular club; including having Captains on both the Football and Lacrosse teams.  This just shows careless or incomplete reporting by the media can cause public opinion on a whole group of people to be altered negatively.  The media is where stereotypes are born.  Unfair portrayal in the news or on television is what causes many groups- like blacks, Puerto Ricans, lawyers and others, to be viewed negatively by the public.  The media cherry picks what it reports.  It is as corrupt as any politician.  When news is reported, the editor always makes sure that those individuals who contribute the most money, and the companies that advertise the most, are always portrayed in the best possible light, no matter what they did.  On the other hand, those who can’t afford to contribute large sums of money are always portrayed as the villain.  It was like this ten thousand years ago, and it will be like this in another ten thousand years.  The victors always write history; and the victors are those who have the money and power.  Big-time Athletic Programs and rich politicians have money and power; most fraternities don’t.  As a result, fraternities constantly take one on the chin in the media, while the politicians and Sports Teams get a free pass.  How unfortunate!

The media plays an even bigger role in romanticizing the party life in college.  They have been cramming this party attitude down our throats for almost 20 years.  Events like Spring Break; companies like Girls Gone Wild; and movie studios that release countless college movies every year have contributed greatly to the image of college life being one big orgy.  Every year, MTV and other networks have spring break specials- complete with attractive, scantily clad women drinking beer and having a great time on the beach.  What college kid wouldn’t be attracted to this? Before shows like this, most college kids went home and worked during Spring Break.  With the media cramming partying down their throats, creating a “need to vacation”, college kids are now going on expensive trips, with the belief that their reputation will suffer if they don’t.  All this media corruption does not even include all the beer advertisements all over the airwaves.  These are definitely aimed at those under 25.  The Budweiser Frogs and all the other cartoonish characters created by beer companies are designed to attract a young audience; those just starting their partying days.

Drinking, legally anyway, is something a person has to wait 21 years to do! That’s a long time.  You don’t realize it, but when a person turns 40, which is a milestone birthday, they have still been old enough to drink alcohol for less than half their life.  Of course a person is going to drink when they turn 21, if nothing else just to see what the fuss is about.  It was like that in earlier days as well, when the drinking age was 18.  It’s like when you turn 16 and get your drivers’ license.  I bet you drove all over the place.  Even If you didn’t want to- you’re younger friends would make you.  Waiting that long to do anything will cause some anxiety.  The day one turns 21 is one of the best feelings in the world.  You have officially become an adult.  Your 21st birthday is the only day in your life that you want to be carded for alcohol.  You flash your ID like it’s a VIP concert pass.  You want EVERYONE to know it’s your day.

Not all Greeks are like Bluto

Getting drunk, getting into fights and doing stupid things are rights of passage for all college students.  Much like a Bar Mitzvah for a young Jewish man; participating in these activities turns a boy into a man.  College is all about figuring out who you are as a person.  Grades are completely secondary in that respect.  I mean, what good is a 4.0 GPA if a person has no idea what they want to do after graduation? College is where a person finds out what professional skills they possess.  It is also where they learn what field or fields interests them.  This period is also when a person finds out what drives them, and what they are truly passionate about in life.  These traits are much more important than getting a 98 on a mid-term. 

Having a firm view of oneself will also prove to be invaluable in life following graduation.  The same cannot be said for any question you will find on a test.  Knowing the atomic weight of Boron will only prove useful if you are ever on Jeopardy.

All fraternities do is provide a place for students to drink and socialize.  Buying alcohol is something college kids are going to do anyway.  The benefit of drinking at a frat house is that the beer is provided for them.  This means that they don’t have to buy it; which means they can spend their money on other things, like books.  In this respect, fraternities and sororities are actually helping the economy.    

Greek parties are great because they are a place to meet people.  For most kids, freshman year of college is their first time away from home.  Meeting new friends in an unfamiliar setting can prove to be very difficult, and intimidating; especially if the person is shy.  Throw that person in a frat house and put a beer in their hand, and they’ll be sure to loosen up.  They’ll meet new friends; they might actually talk someone’s ear off.  I speak from experience.  I was an extremely shy kid who went away to college with no friends.  After my first frat party, I was one of the most popular kids on campus.  Beer and a friendly environment allowed me to come out of my shell.  If it wasn’t for that, I might never have realized my potential as a stand-up comedian.  If it wasn't for Klan Alpine, I know I would never have met many of the people who have become some of my best friends today.  In my opinion, life experience and good friends are two of the most important things a person can gain in a lifetime.  I didn’t have all these good times at a Young Republicans Meeting or in Basic Training for the Army.  I did these things in college; while in a fraternity.  I am sure there are many thousands of others just like me who have a warm place in their heart for Greek life.  We may not have the money of Wall Street bankers, or the power of the Bilderburg Group; but we have class, humility, and enough fond memories to keep us smiling for the rest of our lives. 

In closing, don’t judge Greeks by what you see on television or hear about from authority figures.  You would be surprised with all the good Greeks have done, and all the lives they have affected positively.  While no one in this world is perfect, so many institutions claim to be just that.  The only difference between them and Greek Organizations is that the Greeks don’t pretend to be all knowing.  We don’t whore ourselves out for good press, and we don’t tell the world when we do a good deed.  We just carry out our business quietly, and have as much fun as we can.  It’s a depressing world out there, and if you can’t at least have fun while your getting screwed up the ass by the man, then your life really isn’t worth living anyway.  Consider us the Robin Hood of leisure time.  We rob it from those that don’t deserve it and give it to the less fortunate.  Hopefully, someday, we will be romanticized like Robin Hood. 

Until that time comes, we’ll just have to settle for being the occasional protagonist in a college movie, or being mentioned when one of our alumni does something worthwhile.  Someday I hope fraternities will get their due.  Maybe having Greek letters on top of the White House in the near future will change people’s minds.  Hey, I can dream, can’t I?