The Collegian
Wednesday, April 24, 2024

My take on: fraternity life property rights, a noticeable injustice

It must be aforementioned that I am a member of Greek Life. That being said, there is a problematic binary discrepancy pertaining to the distribution of wealth between sororities and fraternities on this campus.

Sorority life has been an overall positive experience. By enabling both meeting and maintaining contact with people in a unique way, membership has helped me create a strong friendship network.

I look forward to events and take pride in my increased campus community involvement, which likely would not have occurred without the motivational properties of being part of such a network. I have a wonderful time at philanthropic events, chapter activities and socials. I love the people I have met, the opportunities I have come across and the personal changes I have undergone while being a part of such (let's face it, Northerners) an unusual organization.

But last weekend, while standing in line outside of a fraternity lodge, a feeling jolted in the pit of my stomach that I found neither familiar nor pleasant. I looked it up online, and I believe I have it pinpointed: jealousy. I was shocked and disappointed, but I allowed probability to take its course.

It's true: I want a lodge. I want to plan parties. I want to have a say in the songs that get played. I want to choose the theme. I want to write my friends' names down on lists of who gets in first and who has to stay outside. I want to help decorate. (I'd be so good at it!) I want to stand outside on crowd control or dance inside with the authority of someone who owns the place; because, in a way, I would. I want a lodge.

And why don't I have one? This is what I fail to understand. Sorority members have shown consistency in the payment of dues, have they not? Sorority members have shown their universal ability not only to have fun, but also to register themselves quite fully into the heart of parties, have they not?

Did I miss some outrageous event where sorority members destroyed buildings that were assigned to them, or some study that churned out facts pertaining to the inability of women to successfully host social events? Do fraternities and sororities compete yearly for the best theme choices and the best decorations? Furthermore: Have women been known to enjoy taking turns for chapter meetings in the Alice Haynes Room? I don't think so. Show me some statistics.

I don't want the door held for me; I, as well as anyone else, am quite inclined to avoid eye contact with the person behind me so I don't have to wait that extra second in the cold. I don't want someone to buy my dinner; we are all enrolled in college with career goals and should get acquainted with acts of expenditure. I don't even mind being physically pushed aside at the Pier, because let's face it: There is a natural human violence inherent in the acquisition of an egg-and-cheese biscuit.

But I do want a lodge. I want balance. I want a university-wide recognition of the twofold Greek Life hierarchy, and an equalization of the unfair distribution of wealth.

This is not a threat, and it is not a cry proclaiming, "Give me lodges or give me death!" It is a calm assertion that, in the words of Cyndi Lauper, "Girls just wanna have fun." At their own parties.

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