O Brother, Where Art Thou?

To believe in the Life of Love,
To walk in the Way of Honour,
To serve in the Light of Truth-
This is the Life, the Way and the Light of Sigma Nu-
This is the Creed of our Fraternity.

Yes, it's true. I am an alumnus member of the Kappa Beta chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity at the University of Western Ontario. I enjoyed my time in the undergraduate "Active" chapter, made a number of lifelong friends and have met people that I never would have under normal circumstances. I'm proud of the founding values and, though I'm not perfect, I try to live each day of my life by the guiding principles of Love, Honour and Truth. But like it or not, my Fraternity is suffering from the same sort of anti-Fraternity sentiment that has caused a decline in membership across almost all the Greek-Letter Societies on campus.

So why do Fraternities and Sororities get such a bad rep at UWO? Is there any truth behind the clichés and stereotypes? What has caused this backlash against these student-run organizations? Let's try and take these on one at a time, shall we? Maybe once we hash this out a bit, things will get a whole lot clearer.

Why do Fraternities and Sororities get such a bad rep at UWO? Because in many cases, they deserve it. People do a lot of stupid things during their university career and members of Fraternities and Sororities are no different. It seems to me that the larger the group, the more likely they are to try and do something akin to the pranks and antics one sees in Animal House. They want their own little slice of immortality in the annals of campus lore. The unfortunate thing is that entire organizations and, in fact, the whole Greek Letter system, can be coloured by the actions of a very small sampling of their membership. In all reality, a frat keg party isn't going to be any wilder or more exciting than one held on Broughdale by OC sophs. But the perception is different. Expectations are higher, so frat members (or possibly even partygoers) may do things they otherwise wouldn't in order to spice things up. There's more anonymity and less accountability under the Fraternity banner. Just remember that everyone is prone to doing stupid things from time to time.

Is there any truth behind the clichés and stereotypes? Absolutely. But again, I believe this has more to do with people wanting to play the role of the typical frat boy or sorority girl. My brothers in the Active chapter were pretty down to earth guys, overall. And certainly not the kind you'd immediately think of as "frat boys." That being said, you're going to find a wide range of people in most Fraternities. There'll be the occasional rich kid who has too much access to daddy's visa. You're going to find the playa out there to nail any woman that breathes. But I bet you could find these same archtypes in just about any club on campus. You'll also find these same kinds of guys at Queen's and they've never allowed Fraternities on campus!

What has caused this backlash against these student-run organizations? It all comes down to conditioning. From the moment a first year student comes on campus, the only information they receive is negative. Last time I checked, Orientation Staff were not permitted to wear their letters on campus (if they were members of a Fraternity or Sorority) during O-Week, nor were they allowed to directly promote or solicit membership or interest. There may also be a well-placed opinion piece or two in the Gazette bashing the Fraternity concept over the course of the year. I would be hardpressed to believe the Gazette editors, though they change every year, will have given up what had become a time-honoured tradition of frat-bashing. As a longtime contributer to the paper during the latter part of my undergraduate days, I know whereof I speak. So unless they go out of their way to seek out the info, students will likely just believe what they've been told, without getting the other side.

There is also no support from the University Students' Council. In days past, the Greek-Letter Societies have attempted to gain status as student organizations, but have been denied. They'll no doubt cite the "exclusivity" of Fraternities as a major reason for this, as well as their affiliation with International organizations. But has one ever stopped to consider that Fraternities are a lot more open and welcoming than they appear at first glance? When I was in the Active Chapter, we had a pretty diverse group, ethnically and religiously speaking speaking. We had Filipinos, Indians, Chinese, and Caucasians who were Christians, Jews, Atheists, or Sikhs. We were more concerned with the kind of person we invited to be a member moreso than skintone or religion.

Let's take a look at the USC now: Although technically anyone can join a USC recognized club, how many Jamaican students do you find in the Chinese Students' Association? Or Muslims joining the Campus Crusade for Christ? Think about that for a moment or two. The biggest difference is that Fraternities ask specific people to join, usually after holding several events to get to know the prospective members. Is the invitation process really the source of all the uproar?

I'm not saying the USC has to fund the Fraternities, not by a longshot. But by the same token, I don't believe it's just to charge them business rates for the use of the UCC Atrium. These are still students trying to promote their student-run organizations. They're also not-for-profit organizations, so give them a break! Give them the same chance to promote themselves as is afforded the Purple Spur Society.

So while we're discussing things anyway, let's take a look at the biggest accusation thrown at fraternities: why do you have to buy your friends? We're not buying our friends. We're paying membership fees, much as any other student does for their club membership. However, in most cases, we're also contributing our share towards the running of the year's social events upfront. Let's take another look at our friends in the Spur. The standard membership fee when I was a member was $20. The pub events were usually $5 at the door, give or take, plus drinking money. There were typically 2-3 pub events in the first term, and then Winter Week (capped off by the infamous ski trip) and the semi-formal. So if one were to attend all the club's activities, without drinking a single beer at the bar, then your total cost for the year would run somewhere in the neighbourhood of $340 or so. That's starting to look alot like lower level Fraternity dues to me. Add in the alcohol for the home football games, the pubs and your ski trip stock, and semi-formal and you're all of a sudden into the $500 range, easily. And once your year is up, it's up. Hmmm... and this club is funded by the USC... At least Fraternity membership extends beyond the undergraduate years. In fact, one of the most reliable of my friends in Montreal is my fraternity brother, Phil. We've hung out more often here than we ever did when I was in London.

So if there's all this negativity focused toward Fraternity life, then what are the benefits? Well, everyone gets something different out of it. For me, I liked the idea that I could be part of something that had a history at Western. I also liked the idea that even though I may leave the city, move on to different things, etc that there would always be something to come back to that felt like home. I wrote for the Gazette for 2 years, but do you think anyone would know me if I walked through the office doors today? Not a chance. But when I walk back into the Fraternity house, I'm welcomed back immediately, whether the brother has ever met me before or not. We've also got a very well developed development program called LEAD (Leadership Ethics Achievement and Development) used during the pledge process. I found that info to be quite helpful once I entered the corporate world. I've also met a variety of alumni who have been helpful as I've tried to make my way in the "real" world, post-university.

Now if you've managed to make it to this part of the posting, then congratulations! Don't worry, I'm wrapping it up now. My whole point in writing this commentary is to provoke some thought. Whether or not you choose to investigate the Fraternity scene is a personal choice. I'm happy I made my choice. The important thing about university is to get involved in something, whether it be the campus Foot Patrol or the Chess Club, just do something. University is about more than just the classes you take and the degree you earn. It's about experiences, memories, and relationships.