Of course, I was furious! How could someone say these things about my greek system? I’m guessing that quite a few people had similar reactions to Greg Jerrett’s column, “Wake up Timaeus; it’s Hell Week!” published on Friday, Feb. 12.

While I’m not sure what his motives were for writing the column (jumping from Dartmouth to the ancient Greeks to our current issues with homophobia to fashion conformity), I am not able to condemn Mr. Jerrett for his opinion.

The positive experience I had as a member of a fraternity was largely due to the support system it gave me while experiencing personal difficulty. I don’t expect others to understand.

Mr. Jerrett illustrates an excellent point. We as a greek community are not doing enough to fight the stereotypes that prevail outside our walls. It is easy to read about “why greeks are evil” in the Daily and dismiss it as ignorance or get upset about it and start putting down other groups for their shortcomings.

But I am writing this letter to challenge you to not do this. I am challenging you to say enough is enough.

I am challenging you to look within your organization and ask, “Are we doing anything to help perpetuate opinions like Greg Jerrett’s?” “If we are, then why?” and, “What is it going to take to change?”

Ask yourselves, “Do some people only interact with us during parties?”

Well, what do you expect them to think about you? That must be all you do, right? “Are we attracting members just because they want to party and drink with us?” “Why are we doing that?” “Are these people good members?”

Chances are, probably not. It is time to re-evaluate almost everything we do. Do you tear down your new members with hazing? Why? Because you can?

THAT IS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

How do we fight the stereotypes? The answer is a lot easier than you think: Stop doing the things that make us look bad.

Stop recruiting members with alcohol.

Stop tearing new members down with hazing. Stop inviting people into our houses only to drink. Be responsible for your actions.

These are all easy, in theory. The hard part comes when it is time to decide who is going to step up and make these things happen.

Is it going to be you?

If not, why? If not you, who?

And if not you, are you going to be standing in the way of change? Why?

What are you afraid of?

Will it be difficult? Probably.

Will it be worth it? Definitely.

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Chris Moe

Alumnus

Indianapolis