Caitlin Flanagan, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, spoke at the Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 at the State Theatre downtown. The speech was funded by a gift from two Penn State Alumni — Larry ('48 Journ) and Ellen ('49 AL) Foster. Caitlin Flanagan's most well-known piece, “The Dark Power of Fraternities," was the fourth most-read article in Atlantic history. Though it took her some trouble to get here — “It's easier to get to Amsterdam by rowboat than it is to get to State College by plane," Flanagan said — she had a lot to say on the hidden truth of fraternities, especially in light of the situation involving nude pictures of women on a Penn State Kappa Delta Rho Facebook page that were discovered last month.
“There were people who hated the system and people who loved the system, but no one, not one person, who seemed to be able to answer the questions I had about it," said Flanagan. “The fraternity system was such an accepted part of campus life at UVA [The University of Virginia], that asking anyone about its history, its necessity, its purpose was akin to asking about the purpose, the history, the necessity of the library or the admissions office."
At many Greek-dominated campuses, such as UVA — Flanagan's alma mater — Greek life is integral, which is very similar to its importance here at Penn State. As a transfer student to UVA from a school without a Greek system, Flanagan had a different viewpoint, where she could see the flaws in the Greek system — from the raucous parties in the giant houses right across from the president's house where sexual assaults have taken place, the racial divide between the white Greek system and the African-American one, and the way students — herself included — would classify other students by their affiliations. At Wesleyan University, a violent rape occurred, and the school blamed the victim. But does that mean Flanagan thinks all members of the fraternity system are bad people?
“Most guys in fraternities are basically good guys, and a certain number of them are kind of excellent people that you want as lifelong friends and by your side during, sort of, the dangerous or bad or tricky moments during your life," said Flanagan.
And she's right. There are many stand-up guys in fraternities who would never rape a woman or post pictures of her naked and unconscious in their fraternity's Facebook group. But there is a minuscule percentage of members who are the reason the Greek system is viewed in a negative light.
“A small fraction of men who join fraternities are not bad apples, they're not creeps — they're criminals and sadists," said Flanagan.
A fraternity is the perfect place for these criminally-minded individuals to thrive, because accountability is lost on them. If these same people had the same mindset, but were black, poor or lived in a city instead of on a college campus, society would criticize them brutally — and that is a horrible miscarriage of integrity. While we judge those individuals, university officials allow the ones who have the money — and sometimes the right race — to control the system and do whatever they want, creating a pattern of behavior that leaves them unaccountable when they enter the real world a criminal.
