How to end Greek elitism
In recent years, organizations like Abolish Greek Life have brought attention to some of the less savory aspects of Greek life at campuses around the world.
So scathing are some of their criticisms that it is presently a factor in many college student deciding to go greek or not, because if they do…some of their friends might think they are racist, xenophobic or homophobic.
For greek life to hit that low level of bad public perception is a real gut punch to Greeks like myself who see far more good in the organizations…than bad. As a result, I would hope we can listen to these accusations, sort them into legitimate and illegitimate and learn from those that are legitimate. If we can do that, we can then take what we learned and apply it to better the Greek system overall.
Does this sound like a plan?
Is Greek Life Racist? Elitist? Homophobic?
It’s such a broad statement, that it’s hard to even approach with any kind of objectivity that we could fit into anything smaller than a book…or two. So for the benefit of this BLOG POST, give me the latitude to make some pretty sweeping generalizations, in order to not get too bogged down in each point being dissected down to chaotic outlier scenarios which are unmanageable minutia level. Let’s stay broad here.
Look at old photos…there’s a lot of white people…but I think that’s understandable.
This is a photo of one of the first pledge classes of my fraternity. It’s mostly white dudes…and it stayed pretty much like that until….and a bit past my days in the mid to late 1980’s. Not to say there weren’t exceptions, but they were exceptions.
My fraternity was mostly white guys. I am a white guy. Bloomsburg was mostly white guys. Colleges everywhere back then were mostly white guys. So if fraternities were a subset of Colleges at the time (which I think we can agree, that they are) then it’s hard to call the Greeks “racist” with any validity, if all the students they had to pick from were pretty homogeneous.
And even in that time of mostly white campuses, I still managed to get my first experience with different kinds of people while at college, and more intimately in the communal living of Greek life.
I lived with folks much richer than me.
I lived with folks much poorer than me.
I lived with my first homosexual friends (who, at that time were more secretive and discrete about it, but everyone always knew eventually, and I personally didn’t see any rejection of those individuals in my organization).
Diversity isn’t just skin color, and if it weren’t for greek life, my personal experience with different types of people might have been even more monochromatic by all metrics. Even if it was limited, it was still exposure to a wider spectrum of people than I would have had without it.
This is a photo from my fraternity almost 10 years ago. We have come a long way, and today, we are even more diverse. So let’s not go back.
Economics changed things
College was made more accessible to a MUCH wider range of folks. Guaranteed student loans ensure that anyone who was willing to take on debt, could apply to college and be accepted if qualified.
No more was attending college tied to economic realities or class structures. These practices (although having some drawbacks of their own) made diversity on college campuses around the world, more easy to achieve and leveled the playing field for a good many folks. As a result, it’s more easy for greeks to be more diverse as a subset of college campuses.
Greeks today are still folks who are looking for their tribe. Kids who come to a campus and get acclimated, and then say to themselves, “I want more.” If they are considering Greek life as the “more” they want, they typically use what they know about each Greek organization to determine where they might find folks who share the most interests and likes that they enjoy.
And that’s how it should be.
However, in the past, organization had barriers to entry that kept the groups mostly monochromatic and of a certain economic means. This isn’t blatant racism, but it’s the more insidious, and less easy to prove secondary type that is typically driven by economics and social status.
Not having any people of color on the entire campus is one factor. But equally onerous, is the practice of making membership in certain Greek organizations so EXPENSIVE…that only certain “types” of folks can apply. If this was the historical south, these practices are on par with Jim Crow laws.
This should not happen.
My fraternity went back and forth between being a Local (Delta Pi) and being a National (Sigma Pi) a few times over our 50 year period. During our time as Sigma Pi…folks liked it just fine, but as most of our brother were first generation, working class college students: a good many of them couldn’t afford national dues. As a result, we went back to being a local, so that we could offer the benefits of being a Delta Pi brother to more young men on the Bloomsburg campus.
With liability concerns leading just about all decision making these days, it would be a shame of Bloomsburg choose the elitist route of ONLY having national greek organizations on campus. That would go back to those old days of using economics to discourage “certain kinds” of people, and limiting their options and advantages in life. To me, Locals provide a valuable service in the ecosystem of Greek life on a college campus:
More comprehensive experience to their members in so far as there is no structure outside your org and your alumni.
Discounted dues (in most cases). This gives accessibility and equity to more students.
Let’s hope we find a way to keep moving forward on these fronts as Commonwealth University looks for a standardized greek policy for it’s three campuses.
