I was always taught to not place sweeping statements on large groups of people. Told to take every person as an individual and then make assumptions from that point. So when I first heard of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon in 2011 I tried not to pass judgment. That is of course until I heard the rest of the story, the story of one George Desdunes, a student from my high school that was studying at Cornell University. A student that I had known to be smiling, smart, and helpful, a student who was black, and a student who died during a hazing ritual at Cornell’s chapter of SAE.
Now, this is usually the point where people say that he was voluntarily participating in this ritual, and at first, I agreed, until I thought about two things. First, why is it that we hold institutions that have a culture of binge drinking and what amounts to torture in such high regard? And second, why is it that George, who was black, was the one who died? It would be so easy to say that hazing and racism have nothing to do with each other. That George just had a bad night. But when you look at not only this fraternity’s roots in the notoriously racist antebellum south, and recent incidents with chapters at Yale and in Oklahoma it’s hard to not look back at George’s death and see something more. So now I am taking the opportunity to pass judgment, and do something I try not to do often, make a sweeping remark about a large group of people.
To the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, wherever you are across the country, I hope you see that your very continued existence is the illustration of the white privilege that you seem so content to keep the norm. I hope you see that even if all of you aren’t racist many of you are, thus making your institution and much of what you stand for bigoted and outdated. How dare you believe that you can sing a song about lynching and pass it off as a tradition? How dare you host a white-girls only party and think you can get away without any repercussions? How dare the public stand by and defend your actions? I am so disgusted and hurt and horrified that you have produced presidents, and senators, and anyone else who may be in a position to effect law making. It actually makes me sick. You actually make me sick.
We all need to stop letting these privileged boys, masquerading as men, think they can get away with being racist, and misogynistic. We need to stop the culture that makes being a member of tis association a key to success later in life, that way men, black men, like George Desdunes don’t pay dues.
Now I know this may not be a popular thought, some may say that my rhetoric is too extreme; to them I say, that is what they tell anyone who may upset the status quo. Luckily, that is exactly what I want to do. I want to upset the status quo and let people know that while all fraternities may not be racist this one certainly is, and I think it’s about time they either change or close their doors and become a shameful part of history, taking their disgusting ideals with them.
