I am not in a sorority, and it is something I have long experienced internal conflict over.
When I first came to the University of Rhode Island, I told myself that I would not rush until my second semester, to see how friendships and involvement came along before I committed to Greek Life.
As anyone who knew me pre-URI would expect, of course I found connection and did not really feel like I needed Greek Life. Still, the intense pressure of feeling like I’m missing out on something bigger continued to weigh on me.
Sept. 28 rolled around this year, and I felt left out, just like I had most of my high school years. My female friends adorned matching T-shirts and found their sisters, and I watched them from afar. Did I need a sorority, or did I just need to feel like a part of something?
For the record, I adore all of my friends who are in sororities. My suitemate just rushed this year! My issue is not with Greek Life as a whole; it is with the separation between fraternity and sorority culture.
The New York Times recently published a letter to the editor in which four American University 2024 alumni shared their story about trying to abolish Greek Life on the AU campus. I do not think that we should abolish Greek Life at URI — besides, I think it would be impossible to do at this rate. What URI Greek Life chapters must do instead is evaluate the balance between how much they are a service organization versus a social one.
“Fraternity” and “sorority,” just by the denotations of the words, are meant to establish some sort of brotherhood and sisterhood. But each organization has a set national philanthropy, a common cause — or at least they are supposed to.
I would argue that most URI students know that the sisters of Alpha Chi Omega are staunch supporters of victims of domestic violence, or that Zeta Tau Alpha wants you to “think pink,” supporting breast cancer research and care.
I do not know the philanthropy of a single fraternity on this campus. Maybe it is because I am a girl and I never looked into it all that much, but I have no idea what these brothers support.
I saw a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon post about a sheet fundraiser recently, which gave me no clue as to what these men want me to donate to. URI’s sororities have dedicated Instagram story highlights that you can refer to for their philanthropies; what do frats have?
In light of the “Cornell 7” civil lawsuit resurfacing (updated coverage can be found on the Cornell Daily Sun website), many URI Greek Life organizations posted Instagram statements in support of Jane Doe. “Sexual assault is never acceptable,” read Tau Epsilon Phi’s post.
According to a National Library of Medicine study cited in the NYT opinion piece, fraternity members are three times as likely to commit sexual assaults as other male students. How am I supposed to feel comforted by these statements, knowing that these men condemning sexual violence are statistically more likely to contribute to the problem?
One comment on the NYT piece said, “It’s the people, not the organizations.” I would like to sit down in a Greek 101 session at URI and figure out what this disconnect is that, despite everyone receiving the same education, fraternity members are three times as likely as their non-affiliated counterparts to commit sexual assaults.
The answer is clearly not education, and it is certainly not reform. It is accountability. As the Cornell University administration has shown, punishment and consequences do not always fit the crime.
At URI, we must ensure that any violations of hazing, sexual misconduct or any other policies are reported and addressed for sororities and fraternities. I believe in “innocent until proven guilty,” but that does not apply when any of my peers are at risk.
