Please stop calling for the abolition of Penn’s frats

Fraternity members here don’t deserve their collective reputation

One of the few clear distinctions that can be made at Penn is between those who are part of Greek life and those who are not.

And it seems an increasingly negative media representation, and a vocal minority of students, mean that fraternities—especially at Penn—are continuously perceived in a negative light.

A fire broke out at Castle last month 

The general gist that I have gotten from Penn students is that people don’t think fraternities are inherently evil, at least not to the extent that their reputations on campus suggest.

The stigma stems from singular events caused by individuals within fraternities, rather than problems with the organizations themselves.

Individuals need to be held accountable for their own actions, rather than offloading responsibility onto the organization they hide behind.

One experience that particularly stood out was when a Penn junior was working door one night and—as their house became full—was forced to deny entry, at which moment he was labeled as a racist.

While problems of racism, sexism and rape culture have certainly permeated fraternity houses across the country, they are not the result of the lack of infrastructure in the fraternity, but rather the wrongdoings of individuals within those fraternities.

And these problems occur more frequently outside any fraternity events.

These generalizations made about fraternities are found in the comment section of the recent article by the Daily Pennsylvanian, regarding the arson incident at Castle’s house.

“Murder, preventable serious accidents, rapes, and other physical assaults” are obviously very serious problems. But they won’t be fixed by abolishing fraternities—these assaults occur throughout campus and are not exclusive to fraternity houses.

By extension, harmful offenses do occur in universities: every 21 hours there is a rape at an American college—should we call for an abolishment of all colleges?

Regardless of whether an individual is a rapist or an arsonist or a racist, it is that individual’s responsibility to deal with the consequences of his actions. Generalizing from such instances and then creating hurtful stereotypes is unfair and counterproductive.

A large number of fraternities are constantly working with organizations to lift the stigma against Greek life, one which may have been justified in the near past, but is in no way warranted today.

Many people don’t realize the number of benefits that can stem from being in a fraternity. On the surface, it’s just drinking and parties, but in fact each individual brotherhood has its own specific advantages.

For example, all authorized fraternities have large networks of alumni, which often prove to be very effective, especially for students at competitive universities such as Penn.

Although some might perceive Greek life traditions as outdated and unnecessary, having them is an essential basis for brotherhood: they serve as the foundation for the bond fostered by the brothers between themselves and the fraternity.

One asset of fraternities at Penn specifically is their size and structure, which is pretty rare in comparison with Greek life organizations at other universities.

In 2011, around 30 percent of all male undergraduates joined fraternities, while the average size of a fraternity was around 46 members. In comparison to the national average of 65, Penn’s frats are considerably smaller, which allows for much greater affinity between the brothers.

At a very competitive and pressurizing organization like Penn, having such an organization to fall back on can be very useful.

Despite the fact that some actions of individual fraternity members can be downright offensive, in no way does this justify hurtful generalizations, for example that all Penn “frat boys” are racist, sexist or rapists.

So please, before calling for the abolition of fraternities, go to a frat’s philanthropic or rush event, meet a brother and talk to them—you may be surprised.

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