I never knew that I wanted to be in Greek life when I came to college. Sure, I had seen movies like "Animal House" and TV series such as "Greek" and "Blue Mountain State" that had given me and many other curious high school kids some limited background about the American fraternity system.
When I received my bid, pledged and was initiated into my fraternity, I felt a bond of brotherhood. I felt accepted by a group of guys who would become (and still are), my second family. I thought it would last forever, the feeling of accomplishment and the admiration that I had for my brothers, and the mutual respect we had for one another for being a part of something bigger than ourselves. I thought this high would never end but just like that, it was over.
West Virginia University and Greek National Organizations have been on a tear for the past three years, removing the majority of the fraternity chapters on campus. Starting with the removal of Phi Kappa Psi in fall of 2013, the university has since dissociated itself from chapters Kappa Sigma, Beta Theta Pi, Pi Kappa Phi, and just in the past month Delta Tau Delta, Sigma Nu and Sigma Chi have all faced removal or suspension.
It’s well known that there is a certain stereotyped lifestyle associated with being in a fraternity (thanks, TFM). Particularly one at West Virginia University which has its own stereotypes that the university has been attempting to control and downplay since the arrival of Gordon Gee. However, this has lead to the complete gutting of the Greek culture. I am by no means defending what the fraternities did to face suspension and such, but there seems to have been unnecessary action by the university and by some of these fraternity nationals.
This was personified after the suspension of Sigma Nu just a few weeks ago. I don’t claim to be close with Sigma Nu, but the fact they are being suspended for “event planning violations” should speak volumes that there has been over the top action against Greek Life.
Delta Tau Delta actually received an indefinite suspension for the actions of one member. Creating an audition tape for the MTV reality television show the Real World, that was loaded with inappropriate sexual references. The entire video has since been taken off YouTube but a clip can be seen here.
I mean sure, the video is inappropriate, but it’s clearly satirical to gain attention from the staff at MTV. The fact that the entire fraternity faced disciplinary action and not just this student for his actions I find appalling. Can no one take a joke anymore?
When we talk about Greek Life, we are talking about college students who were in high school asking to go to the bathroom and were living with their parents just a year or so ago. It’s often forgotten that these are 18 and 19-year-old kids living on their own for probably the first time, and they should receive at least some leeway from the authority in charge of them. My parents had enough trouble accepting that I was responsible enough to take the family van out to McDonald's without getting into a head-on collision when I was in high school.
West Virginia’s Greek life introduced me to my best friends, and some of the best days and nights of my young life. It’s a shame that it is being completely torn apart by petty actions like this.
The moral of this story is, don’t come to West Virginia if you want to experience a Greek Life that isn’t already fighting against you.
