Written by Emma Grosskopf
On a campus as small as ours, rumors spread like the plague, and it’s hard to gauge their source or their truthfulness, but one can’t help but be curious about the hearsay surrounding fraternities.
It’s an interesting relationship. You have the 20% of people on campus involved in Greek life (although sometimes it feels like 75%), the athletes and the “others”. And everyone seems to care, at least a little bit, about their relationship with fraternities.
We either want everyone to know that we are super tight with the brothers in a frat or we want to place as much distance between each other as possible. Either way, fraternities play a huge role in life on the RC campus.
Whether we want them to or not, these groups possess inherent power over the student body.
In today’s social climate, the issue of sexual assault hangs over the heads of every young woman on a college campus. Here at RC, where large groups of young men have power and influence over student life, it shocks me that we, as a collective, aren’t talking about the issue of fraternities and sexual assault.
I may be the only one here, but I’m tired of feeling unsafe. I’m tired of hearing stories of fraternities at other schools who spike drinks at parties or who have initiation rituals involving the terrible treatment of women and wondering if the same happens at RC.
I’m tired of waiting for something to happen.
This school needs to stop acting like this isn’t a problem, because it is. Don’t stand there and say, “It’s not all frats!”
Show us. Show us that it isn’t all fraternities. Show us that young women have the support of the institutions. Show us that we don’t have anything to be afraid of.
Men in fraternities: you have a platform. People on this campus care about what you guys have to say. So, SAY SOMETHING. If you are as horrified as we are about the statistics of sexual assault on college campuses, SAY SOMETHING. If you are tired of being associated with hazing or the mistreatment of women, SAY SOMETHING.
If you believe that college women have the right to feel safe when they go to parties, SAY SOMETHING.
Just say something. Speak out about an issue that now, more than ever, is relevant for college students.
Fraternities have power, and people will listen.
