Dear fraternity brothers,

I know its been weeks and you are angry with the administration's decision to defer Greek recruitment to the Spring Semester.

I know you feel ignored and possibly unimportant as you were excluded from this decision-making process.

I know it can be frustrating to have someone limit the amount of hazing you get to do in a year to just one semester, and expect you to be okay with it.

I know there's the concern of Welcome Week stretching into a semester long party because you expect everyone is lost without drinking and partying in frat houses. (But trust me, no one wants to do that for so long, especially if all those parties are now off-campus! Do you know how uncomfortable it is to sit on some stranger's lap in the front seat of a small vehicle?)

I know that you ridicule the "Collective Freshman Experience" being proposed because without Greek life what would a freshman experience be? Preposterous idea!

But do you know that as freshman, first semester is spent more searching for connections within their own student body than the entire school?

And how quickly that time is cut short when half of those friendships disappear into Greek life, very exclusive in those first few weeks, the weeks most crucial in developing relationships among the freshman class?

Do you know how shitty it feels to watch as could-be-friends join these chapters creating connections with upperclassmen and the school as you stay within the limited group of people that you know?

That outside of a PA group, freshmen who don't rush really have no other group to turn to and find it difficult to stay connected to the friends who are now a part of a Greek organization?

You cite the logistics in drinking and financials without fall rush but don't actually consider what would benefit the freshman class.

You fear Greek life will become more exclusive that first semester without fall recruits, but really the whole idea is to get the freshman engaged with each other. To allow them to rely on one another for support and create their own experiences.

If you want to make your parties more exclusive and off-campus during the fall semester, that's fine. In fact, maybe if there are less accessible parties for freshmen, there will be a decrease in sexual assault and alcohol/drug related injuries that semester.

You're protesting/whining isn't going to change anything. The Board made their decision, regrettably without your consultation or consideration of financials for Greek life, and are going to go through with it. It may aggravate you, but remember the very privileged position that you come from that allows you to even "protest" this "injustice" in such a staged manner that receives a response from administration, when rape culture and racism on campus are simply given lectures in FJ.

Spring Rush is not the end of the world, and perhaps, by allowing freshman to experience one semester as a GDI, you'll get even more rushees who can say for sure that they want to be a part of a fraternity instead of dealing with the indecision of what it is like to not be in one.

Spring Rush will provide a shared experience for the freshmen rushees, instead of having them split over two semesters, they will now have a collective hazing and recruitment experience together. This will build your sacred bond of brotherhood and provide for even louder chanting in the spring.

In the end, whatever you work out with the administration in regards to this tragedy, I hope that it considers the opinions of others besides your organizations and creates a plan that everyone can be satisfied with.

Signed,

An exasperated and incredulous GDI.