With a link which included “dean-wormer-s-favorite-editorial.html,” I knew what to expect. The title “Abolish Fraternities” left no room for interpretation. I know smoke was coming out of the ears of those of us who believe in the fraternity system. We believe that when it is done correctly it is one of the best training grounds available to college students. I realize that I am preaching to the choir. Most of you who subscribe to this blog are dedicated believers.
Anti-fraternity sentiment has been around for as long as there have been fraternities. When Monmouth College gave into church pressure and banned the organizations from campus, both Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma had to close their Alpha chapters, both less than 10 years after they were founded. I have often reflected on how amazing it was that both organizations were able to grow and prosper despite this very threat to their existence.
In stewing about this editorial a thought kept running through my mind that I had just written about something similar, but I couldn’t place it. So I had to bring up the front side of this blog and just start looking through it. Yes, a few weeks ago I wrote about the anti-fraternity sentiment of a century ago. The full post is at http://wp.me/p20I1i-1is. It is as true today as it was 100 years ago.
John L. Kind, Delta Tau Delta, who a century ago was a professor at the University of Wisconsin, told of the anti-fraternity movement in Wisconsin. He wrote, “The fraternities ask for no privileges except the modest one of being allowed to lead healthy, mutually helpful lives. On the other hand, the fraternities, thanks to the zealous labors and sacrifice of their actives and especially their alumni, help solve the difficult problems of housing and feeding hundreds of students, at no expense to the state.”
Kind pondered what the banning of Greek-letter organizations would bring for it was the “most vital, most practical question that can be asked. The fraternity houses exist, and Mr. Anderson himself suggested that they be used to house students. Since they could and would still be used to house students and feed students, why should not the same students who occupy them now continue in residence? If they did what would prevent them from filling vacant place with other young men of their choice? These men would not be initiated into any mysteries, they would not be made members of a Greek-letter fraternity, to be sure, but they would live and associate immediately with each other then as now, and so where would the shaking up in the bag of democracy be, that Mr. Anderson wanted to administer? It would simply mean to the casual observer wiping the Greek letters off the front door. But the real effect would be of much greater importance. The ties that bind a group of young, inexperienced men and women to a responsible, supervising national government would be broken. The feeling of pride in and responsibility to a great, dignified organization of national membership would be lost, all the local disadvantages that our opponents point out would be augmented. It is always better ‘to look before you leap.’”
The fraternity system offers students many opportunities for learning and personal growth. Most of the time, chapters and officers try to do the right thing. Sometimes young adults do stupid things (sometimes older adults, myself included, do stupid things, too). And as humans, we sometimes learn the best lessons when we make mistakes. Fraternities provide a good opportunity for these lessons. It’s hands-on learning in a hopefully nurturing environment.
As T.J. Sullivan says, “You are always wearing your letters.” (http://tjsullivan.com/you-are-always-wearing-your-letters/). Greek-letter organizations are easy to identify; it’s almost like wearing a target on one’s back. I remember a conversation with a fraternity chapter president who was lamenting that the guys in the house two doors down could have a party whenever they wanted and do basically whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted because they were just a random group of guys living in a house. Unless laws were broken, and the police were called, there was nothing stopping them from all sorts of mayhem. The fraternity chapter had policies and procedures for all varieties of events and activities and a matrix to follow to keep themselves in good standing with their organization and the university. When the random house of guys two doors down from the fraternity did something stupid, hardly anyone noticed. The same could not be said if the fraternity fell into the same fate.
And as long as students are not forced to join fraternities, why in the world should they be banned? Moreover, there is nothing in this world that is done correctly 100% of the time. Should cars be banned because every day there are deadly accidents happening all over the country? Should we ban airplanes because every now and then, there is a plane crash? Ships occasionally sink. People still drown in bathtubs. Should we ban them, too?
Sensational still sells, and the Bloomberg’s editorial drove in traffic to that site.
*Dean Vernon Wormer of Animal House fame.
©Fran Becque, fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.
