The year 2020 marked an unprecedented period of global restructuring. The re-ignition of the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) spurred a national reckoning of our country’s inextricable ties to systemic racism, police brutality, and inequality, all while the omnipresent COVID-19 pandemic forced the reappraisal of social coexistence at its most fundamental level.
It was within this period of reassessment that the “Abolish Greek Life” movement took hold. Drawing on BLM’s autopsy of the American experiment and its racism, it scrutinized Greek life and fraternal culture for its historical and contemporary practices of exclusion, informed by white supremacy and misogyny. Activists continued their antagonism toward these organizations by exposing them as hotbeds of sexual abuse and misconduct, ritualized bullying disguised as hazing, and drug and alcohol abuse.
To advocates of the movement, fraternal organizations were unwelcome manifestations of toxic cultures that overtly contradicted the stated missions and values of the very institutions that housed them. But despite garnering national attention and support, the Abolish Greek Life movement never accumulated the traction it sought and, five years later, Greek-letter organizations remain anchored in college social life nationwide.
The negative perception of these organizations is not because their members are racist, abusive perpetrators of a damaging culture. Instead, it is a reflection of the preeminent presence that fraternal organizations have assumed as central to college culture, through both the parties they throw and the internal sense of community they provide. This can include, in the case of the Divine Nine, spaces to uplift black and brown voices, allowing their communities to flourish. Fraternities can also serve as springboards into the professional world through both alumni networks and inter-organizational relations. In addition, many groups have critically assessed their position and practices in recent years and have strived to confront the prevailing culture of toxicity.
But regardless of their renewed outlook and potential restructuring, Greek Life organizations are inherently laden with ostracism and inequity. Their very structure hinges on the exclusion of a large proportion of their applicants in order to cultivate whatever culture the membership strives to promote. Greek Life’s exclusionary culture is subjective by nature and as a result, at constant risk of being influenced by implicit bias, further precluding these organizations to be true centers of diversity. The benefits fraternities offer for networking and community are restricted to members, further maintaining their privilege.
Thus, in the absence of abolition, it is indispensable that Greek-letter organizations be subject to firm regulation that does its best to ensure equitable, inclusive conduct. By setting and enforcing standards of practice, regulation can substantially reduce incidences of misconduct and enhance diversity and inclusion through the funneling of social energy into safe outlets. Dogmatic practices, such as the threat of probation or expulsion and denial of the ability to throw parties, are notoriously adept at keeping fraternities in check; strict scrutiny often encourages compliant behavior. Without real punishments for their dangerous or exclusive practices, fraternities have no incentive to change their conduct.
The escape to unsanctioned nightlife can be avoided by prioritizing a student-led approach. Working in conjunction with university administration and student groups (like Tufts Green Dot) can actively enforce things, like bystander intervention as a means of curbing incidences of sexual violence and implicit bias training to make members of fraternities more aware of their latent preconceptions. Mandating the formation of these student groups and their cooperation with Greek life will also enhance student leadership and involvement across the board.
Lack of regulation poses a threat to student safety, as it could cause Greek organizations to default to the racist, misogynist, and otherwise harmful practices that have defined these groups since their inception. But it is clear that any such administrative measures must proceed with a nuanced understanding of the inevitability—and necessity—of social channels on college campuses. Abolition of what remains a prominent social force in colleges is unlikely to occur without major ramifications, but regulation encouraging student engagement is the best alternative.
Photo by Sascha Dembling