On Oct. 14, the Resident Student Association (RSA) was informed by Philomena Mantella, Northeastern’s senior vice president for enrollment and student life, that the Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) Leadership Living Learning Community (LLC) would be a “go” for fall 2009 in Building I.
While I was happy to see the initiative be given the go-ahead, some students are opposed to the FSL Leadership LLC. Their opposition is based on biased stereotypes of fraternity men and sorority women.
One student quoted in the “Group pass legislation to give Greeks own home” Oct. 6 issue of The News said “I think the building would just get destroyed within two weeks of it being opened.” Such a statement unfairly stereotypes fraternity men and sorority women as rowdy, destructive individuals who have no regard for those living around them and almost appears to be based off watching the antics of the Deltas (a fictional Fraternity) in “Animal House” (a fictional film).
In reality, members of FSL do not go around wrecking every building they live in by throwing wild parties, nor is the punishment for such antics being put on “double secret probation.” In fact, those involved in Greek life are held to higher standards of behavior than students not involved in FSL. Most fraternities and sororities have their own Codes of Conduct and hold their members to standards – many of which are higher than the standards in Northeastern’s Code of Conduct.
Of course, fraternities and sororities have bad members who break the rules, but these people are dealt with. Sanctions include fines or expulsion from their chapter in addition to sanctions from the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution.
It is unfortunate that in the area of FSL, negative information spreads quickly but positive happenings do not. It was big news when Kappa Sigma and Delta Zeta were put on probation following an investigation into an off-campus party. It was big news when Phi Gamma Pi had their charter revoked. However, such incidents are atypical of the actions of fraternities and sororities.
More typical actions are giving – like when Alpha Epsilon Phi raised more than $1,200 for pediatric AIDS and Kappa Sigma raised nearly $950 for testicular cancer; programming, like when Kappa Delta and Pi Kappa Alpha in conjunction with RSA put on PIKEtoberfest last week or when Sigma Sigma Sigma, in conjunction with Campus Girl Scouts, brought Natalie Laughlin, well-known plus-size model, to campus; and community service – like when Kappa Delta participated in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk and when Sigma Beta Rho participated in the Boston Heart Walk.
Another common misconception about the FSL Leadership LLC is the idea, as one student said in the article, that the program is “taking our housing away for frats.” This notion is entirely untrue. All students living in the FSL Leadership LLC will need to have lottery numbers. These are students who would be living on-campus, and the LLC simply consolidates them in one area. Essentially, you have a student who would be living in an apartment in West Village C or Burstein Hall living in Building I, thereby opening that space in West Village C or Burstein Hall for someone else to live in.
The last misconception I will touch on is the calls for RSA to focus on academics and not special interest initiatives. First, academics and scholarships are one of the four pillars of FSL that the FSL Leadership LLC proposal had in mind. The graduation rate, nationally, of students involved in FSL is more than 70 percent compared to an overall rate of just 51 percent. At Northeastern, the FSL average grade point average is 3.08, higher than the overall average of 3.04. Secondly, in RSA the General Council does not act in the interest of special interests, but rather as a general advocate for all resident students.
The benefits of the FSL Leadership LLC go beyond just members of FSL. The General Council backed the FSL Leadership LLC because it offered benefits to students living in Building I, like more programming in their residence hall, more opportunities to learn about FSL and more chances to participate in organized community service. Additionally, we might see benefits extending beyond Northeastern like providing larger community service programs, facilitating better connections with alumni and serving as a model institution for other colleges and universities.
While some people are stuck in the mindset that Greek Life is like “Animal House,” the reality is that fraternity and sorority life is an asset to Northeastern, and the establishment of a FSL Leadership Living Learning Community will benefit the students at Northeastern.
– Matthew Soleyn is a junior marketing and information science major and RSA vice president for housing services.
