I support the Penn State Greek life ban sanctions that have been ensued. The reason why? Someone died at the hands of a fraternity.

It is simply that: a student died at a party they attended which was at a frat house. Timothy Piazza was a part of this fraternity. From what I know, Greek life is all about brotherhood and sisterhood. Each member of a sorority and fraternity share common beliefs and values with their given organization. However, how can one even begin to justify the death of Timothy? How does anyone think that it is okay to leave a young man at the bottom of the steps unconscious due to alcohol poisoning? And then wait almost 12 hours to contact police and help for this young man? The answer is: it isn't. The truth is, if I were at that party and I saw someone the seemingly needed help, I would help them. How people just walked on by without a care in the world is beyond me. Was it the alcohol, or was it the "not my problem, I don't want to get myself in trouble" attitude? If these Greek life organizations truly cared about the student that died, they would understand why these sanctions are being placed. They would want to do better for themselves, their community, and their sorority and fraternities. Instead, there are protests with #makegreeklifegreatagain. Is Penn State Greek life really about what they claim to be, or is it just an excuse for drinking and parties?

I've been to frat parties, and let me explain a few things about them. They are in a mini-mansion that is packed to the brim with sweaty, drunk college kids who need to have a "girl to guy ratio" to get in. There are puddles of frat gunk all over the floor (ex: alcohol, sweat, spit, god knows what else), and the bathrooms aren't anywhere near clean. They aren't socials; on the contrary it is pretty hard to even be social in that kind of environment. Why should a student have had to die at the hands of an organization that they were pledged to? Not only does Greek life have a drinking stigma around it, it also has a hazing stigma. Sorry not sorry, but snorting coke or getting humiliated just to be a part of something bigger is not okay. It is a known fact that pledges are essentially made to become someones bitch while trying to become part of their organization. I personally believe that there should be a zero tolerance policy for hazing, and if hazing does take place, it should be encouraged to be reported.

These sanctions will help alleviate the drinking problem and hazing problem while at Penn State. In my opinion, I don't think first semester freshman should be allowed to rush. I think that they should have their first semester to really look into these organizations and get to know the people within them. This will allow freshman to really understand exactly what Greek life is like, and meet members of each sorority and fraternity prior to having rush week. I would assume rush week is extremely hectic, and as an incoming freshman one may feel pressured to join something that in the long run, they do not feel comfortable with. Making sure that a student has 12 credits (or is full time for one semester), will allow this all to happen.

Granted, Fraternities and Sororities are one of the biggest parts of Penn State social life. Not all fraternity members and sorority members are bad people, not all frats and sororities have these problems. These groups provide huge amounts of reputable community service to various philanthropies, such as THON, and other local charity groups. They are a way to make lifelong friends, and really get the college experience. But why does this college experience have to entail heavy drinking, hazing,and even death? While I fully support fraternities and sororities, I also support the restrictions that Penn State has placed upon them.