I am writing in regards to the letter written by Justin Cotter in the October 27 issue of The Clock. He wrote about the current situation of Greek life at Plymouth State University in response to the interview with Rodney Ekstrom that was in the October 5 issue of The Clock.
Cotter wrote “as stated in the student handbook the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Plymouth State are each components of a community.” This is true, so why is it necessary to create an exclusive community within the pre-existing community? It leaves us looking at group A and group B, which are in this case Greek and non-Greek. Greeks at PSU seem to see themselves as a higher power; just as the rich think they have more control in the national community. Unfortunately for Greeks, the truth is that we are all students here for a common purpose and one group of friends is no different than any other.
Cotter also states, “The administration of Plymouth State should consider working with the Greek organizations in developing a plan for what it wishes Greek life to be. Then use that plan to work with the Greek organizations to make a change that will be good for all.” Administration is already trying to do this. In the interview with Ekstrom, he says, “I’m hopeful and I extended an offer to the current presidents [of the few remaining recognized Greek orgs left on campus] at the meeting to help them set up goals and reach them. I followed up with an email. I hope they take us up on that.” The future of Greek life on this campus relies on the recognized sororities, and the school is trying to meet with them and help them. The school shouldn’t be working with the unrecognized Greeks on campus because they aren’t organizations anymore. The school doesn’t give them funding and in the eyes of the school, they don’t exist. At the moment they are just an exclusive clique of friends, and nothing more. And whose fault is that? Certainly, not administrations. They weren’t the ones who broke the rules and lost their charter.
So, the big question still is, what does eliminating Greek life accomplish? My questions that I would like to ask the university community is this; what is the Greek life on our campus doing for you and for the university? Is it really necessary to have a Greek life on our campus? Is it possible to see a future without them? Should they be recognized by the school?
I say no. The Greek life on our campus, with of course a few exceptions, has just become a thorn in the side of the university. Unlike some schools, the majority of the Greeks here don’t do anything for the campus. At Colorado State, The Greeks help out on move-in day, there is no drinking during rushing so that future members can make the choice to join with a clear head, and for Homecoming and Greek week, the fraternities and sororities compete in different community service events to see who can raise the most money. Pi Kappa Phi, a fraternity from CSU, requires that all members have at least a 2.5 GPA for a semester and every weekend they have two brothers that stay sober, so that no one will ever drink and drive. And do they party? Yes! But as you can see, that is not their main motive. Colorado State’s Greek life sounds a whole lot different than PSU’s.
The PSU Greek life hasn’t changed very much in any way since the beginning of the 2003 moratorium. Greeks that lost their recognition have not shown the school that they deserve to be re-recognized. I haven’t seen them at school events, like Homecoming. And where were they during the blood drive? Are unrecognized Greeks part of PSU volunteers? They all claim to be helping out the community and just because they can’t wear their letters, doesn’t mean they still can’t be showing their faces. Our campus isn’t benefiting from their existence and there are still rumors of hazing during pledging, which was why the moratorium went into effect in the first place. Granted, the death of Kelly Nester was an extreme case and also happened in an illegitimate sorority, even though most of the groups that call it that aren’t true recognized organizations themselves. But it brought to light a lot of things about Greek life that people were overlooking before. So now, not only does the unrecognized Greek life not do anything for the campus community, but they also don’t learn from their mistakes. The school should not support this and I would be disgusted with our university if it did.
Our campus is a community that thrives with over 80 student orgs, and it is very easy to get involved with a group of people that you can connect with and make friends for life. I am in some student organizations. I did not have to pledge to become a member and through them, I have made friendships that are held together by bonds that no words could describe. Oh, and the best part, I don’t have to pay dues to keep my friends. Our school is not a big school like Colorado State, where the Greek life makes up the majority of the student orgs. We are not a Greek school. We do not need to be centered on Greek life and the majority of Greeks at our University have not shown any reason for our campus community to think otherwise.
The thing is this; what ever happens with the Greek life in the school’s eyes doesn’t really matter, because they will always be there. They are unrecognized now and they haven’t died, showing us that they don’t need Plymouth State University or its community to exist. A few have died out, and if there was no chance of regaining recognition, I think a few more would as well, but there would always be some sort of Greek life in existence. This is why I don’t think it is necessary to have them recognized. They don’t do anything for the school, and the school doesn’t do anything for them, so why do they deserve the school’s money? They would still be around, calling themselves “organizations,” for the students that feel the need to be Greek to fully experience college.
Sincerely, Tim Sacco