Bicker week is over. Let the gossiping cease and the thoughtful examination on which Princetonians pride themselves begin. (Juicycampus.com fans, I’m talking to you!) Now that the air is thick with words like “associations” and “connections,” it is as good a time as any for the administration to reexamine its policies toward fraternities and sororities on campus.
In a letter to the Class of 2011 last summer, Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson and Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan argued that Greek organizations do not “contribute in positive ways to the overall residential experience on campus.” Instead, they noted that they can “contribute to a sense of social exclusiveness” and that the fall semester rush and pledging process makes freshmen “restrict themselves to one set of activities and acquaintances.” As such, the administration chooses not to recognize frats and sororities on campus.
Despite the administration’s head-in-the-sand attitude, Greek organizations play a significant role on campus. Most notably, these associations are important (though by no means all-powerful) in determining which students are granted admission to bicker clubs. Membership in a sorority or fraternity essentially guarantees a pass to a bicker club on a Saturday night. Inevitably, freshmen who party at specific clubs build social networks that will help them during Bicker. As the president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity pointed out to me, many of the same people who vote to admit a freshman into their particular fraternity will one year later have a say in which sophomores are accepted into their eating club.
Moreover, neither the administration’s letters nor its policies seem to have discouraged participation in these associations. According to my calculations, somewhere between 15 and 18 percent of campus, or 120 women and 60-100 men in each class, are members of either a sorority or fraternity. If the administration were to recognize Greek life, there is no evidence to suggest that this would increase the ranks of the toga-clad masses. I know of no students who were swayed by the administration’s letter — except maybe those who were convinced to join a frat or sorority just to spite Nassau Hall.
Greek life mainly contributes to “a sense of social exclusiveness” because it is an institution that has traditionally been reserved for the wealthy on this campus. With membership costs between $400-$650 and the additional costs of voluntary trips and dinners, this is not particularly surprising. To their credit, many frats and sororities on campus have devised policies to ensure that financial concerns do not prohibit a student from joining. Since these institutions are prohibited from advertising on campus, however, these policies are not well known, and therefore many students are probably intimidated from rushing. Just as the administration wisely provides financial aid for students who wish to join eating clubs, so too it should help students who wish to join an association that offers what often amounts to early admission to a club.
By providing fraternities and sororities with financial support just like our peer institutions of Columbia and Brown University do, Princeton could gain some critical influence that would help shape the Greek scene so that it would do more to “contribute in positive ways” to the campus.
For example, the University could mandate that members perform a minimum number of hours of community service or maintain a certain GPA.
Additionally, the administration’s financial support could serve as leverage whereby it could curb those aspects of Greek life that it considers socially restrictive. For example, it could pressure frats and sororities to start the rush process a few weeks later than they currently do as well as to shorten their often-lengthy pledge process.
More importantly, it could help control some of the more dangerous aspects of these institutions. Greek life is often a life doused in beer and spiced with liquor. This is the prerogative of the members, but it is important that when they do drink, they do so in a safe way. Administration oversight and regulation could be a powerful tool to ensure this safety. After all, the last thing anyone wants is a secret frat or sorority event ending in a Rider-like tragedy.
I am not a member of a fraternity nor do I intend to join one. Like most students, however, I recognize the significant role they play in the social scene and find it exceedingly frustrating and concerning that they are forced underground and cannot be discussed openly. Why does Nassau Hall continue to pursue a misguided policy that stifles campus dialogue and therefore the community as a whole?
Adam Bradlow is a freshman and a member of Wilson College from Potomac, Md. He can be reached at abradlow@princeton.edu.
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