The Tufts Greek world is currently in a tailspin after the revelation that the Delta Tau Delta (DTD) fraternity, long a staple of fraternity life at Tufts, will be closing for a year following numerous violations uncovered after a pledge was taken to the hospital during a fraternity event.
The significance of DTD's closure is not limited to that fraternity or even to Greeks as a whole. The entire campus, especially those who frequent the Greek houses, should be worried about the status of the Jumbo Greek system. In the same vein, Greeks, students and administrators have some hard thinking to do if Tufts wants to preserve fraternities and sororities.
The Greeks, of course, have the most to lose should the fraternity system go under. While it is tempting for members of other Greek houses to shrug off DTD's distress as not relevant, this is not the case. With DTD missing, other houses will most likely find themselves under more close scrutiny while facing swifter and harsher punishments for any and all violations of University policy.
Non-Greeks also have a stake in the existence of the system: it is, after all, a focal point of campus social life. While it may be convenient to think that the actions of non-Greeks have minimal impact on the system, the case is often quite the opposite. Students have the ability to influence what their friends in the Greek system say and do; any student who takes advantage of the Greek system also needs to take an interest in its well-being.
Finally, the administration must take a more pro-active approach towards Greeks on campus. Oftentimes the only contact brothers or sisters have with administrators is when they are already in trouble; meanwhile, when the houses are doing well, they receive nary a word from busy administrators. This system sets fraternities and sororities up for failure by refusing to provide meaningful positive reinforcement for good work such as philanthropy.
It is important to realize, when addressing Greeks as a whole, that the problems endemic to the system here and elsewhere are not exclusively the province of fraternal life. Indeed, one does not have to look very far on this campus to find numerous examples of athletic and club activities that involve drinking and hazing. Nevertheless, while these problems are not limited to fraternity row, they are issues that consistently affect fraternities (the recent DTD incident echoes a similar situation at Zeta Psi two years ago). To a certain extent, these events recur because of a larger campus culture that tolerates them. It is in this vein that all Jumbos should work together to ensure that Greek life on campus is not merely a haze, but rather a party to remember.
