U of Illinois' Chancellor's Statement on Fraternity/Sorority Life
I came home today to find a bold, yet eloquent e-mail by our university's Chancellor in regards to Greek life on our campus:
Aside: I emphasize our. I'm not out to badmouth all Greek organizations, but they seem to do a lot more harm than good on my campus.
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Dear Students,
Many of you may be aware of an event known as Rush. It is my objective to
warn you of the potential downsides of Greek organizations. I advise you to
not succumb to the aggressive recruitment tactics used by these
organizations. It has been my concern over the years, that the Greek culture
of alcoholism and lack of respect for the community degrades campus life.
These organizations present themselves as prestigious, yet are
discriminatory, serve to perpetuate social inequality, especially with
respect to the opposite gender, and promote a lack of diversity. Many
students have expressed concerns with regards to safety on campus,
particularly due to Greek culture and behavior. It is my hope that a
student's experience on campus strengthens one's individuality, but the Greek
system emphasizes the group above all, without cause or reason. This is
detrimental to the purpose of universities.
I hope that you will consider wisely.
GDI Chancellor Richard Herman
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This e-mail was sent out to every person affiliated with the University. I'm hoping it causes an uproar within our Greek system. If it does, I see things going one of two ways:
1) Maybe people in positions of Greek leadership will take a hint and make some sort of an attempt to clean up their reputations.
2) People affiliated with our Greek system will get upset and continue parading around campus as the self-absorbed, ignorant, oft-drunken assholes that they are and further push their efforts in retaining that label.
Whatever happens, it needed to be said. I look forward to the campus' response.
(EDIT: It turns out it was all a hoax. However, I'm still hoping some sort of dialogue can from this. Regardless of the nature of the message, it doesn't change the fact that these statements aren't entirely false.
Aside: I emphasize our. I'm not out to badmouth all Greek organizations, but they seem to do a lot more harm than good on my campus.
------------
Dear Students,
Many of you may be aware of an event known as Rush. It is my objective to
warn you of the potential downsides of Greek organizations. I advise you to
not succumb to the aggressive recruitment tactics used by these
organizations. It has been my concern over the years, that the Greek culture
of alcoholism and lack of respect for the community degrades campus life.
These organizations present themselves as prestigious, yet are
discriminatory, serve to perpetuate social inequality, especially with
respect to the opposite gender, and promote a lack of diversity. Many
students have expressed concerns with regards to safety on campus,
particularly due to Greek culture and behavior. It is my hope that a
student's experience on campus strengthens one's individuality, but the Greek
system emphasizes the group above all, without cause or reason. This is
detrimental to the purpose of universities.
I hope that you will consider wisely.
GDI Chancellor Richard Herman
------------
This e-mail was sent out to every person affiliated with the University. I'm hoping it causes an uproar within our Greek system. If it does, I see things going one of two ways:
1) Maybe people in positions of Greek leadership will take a hint and make some sort of an attempt to clean up their reputations.
2) People affiliated with our Greek system will get upset and continue parading around campus as the self-absorbed, ignorant, oft-drunken assholes that they are and further push their efforts in retaining that label.
Whatever happens, it needed to be said. I look forward to the campus' response.
(EDIT: It turns out it was all a hoax. However, I'm still hoping some sort of dialogue can from this. Regardless of the nature of the message, it doesn't change the fact that these statements aren't entirely false.