The Daily and the Tufts Greek community have a fraught relationship. Frequent editorials on fraternities and sororities are oft criticized as unnecessarily harsh. Editorialists are often table-thumpers, arguing about issues they likely will not address in any meaningful way outside of their pieces (I myself am guilty of this). Greek life at Tufts is a particularly easy table on which to thump, and maybe that is why the issue comes up so frequently.
Many members of the Greek community feel they are underrepresented in the administration and given little logistical support, and criticisms of past directors of fraternity and sorority affairs on campus are widely known. Budget cuts motivated the administration's decision to place Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman in the position once filled by former Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Patrick Romero-Aldaz, in addition to his other responsibilities. This change makes now a salient time for reform of the Greek system at Tufts.
Yet the Daily's best contribution to this debate was its suggestion that the Greek system add more philanthropic events during rush. There are at least three shortcomings to the Oct. 13 editorial, "Pledge a commitment to philanthropy." First, it fails to consider a plethora of philanthropic events hosted by Greek houses in the past year, all of which were reported in the Daily's own pages. From Delta Tau Delta's speaker on Sudan on Sept. 29 to Zeta Psi's Peace One Day on Sept. 22 to fraternities fundraising for non-profits last April, the Daily has reported plenty on charitable events in the Greek community. (Thanks to Oct. 13's anonymous online commenter for posting your research.) If the Daily knows all this philanthropy is going on and still writes an editorial like the one published on Oct. 13, there must be a more systemic problem with the Greek community's marketing and image.
Second, the Daily makes questionable, unattributed statements. Editorials should still be subject to the same standards of rigorous fact checking the Daily employs in its news section. For example, the editorial claims pledging is marked by "clandestine" and "questionable practices, sometimes including group binge drinking." Who said this, or where has it been reported before? Is this actually the case at Tufts, or is it simply a remnant of our perceptions of the film Animal House that cast all Greek houses as stupefied monoliths of alcoholism?
The editorial's third and most important shortcoming is that it addresses a concern that is secondary to the central question of the role of the Greek community on campus. The editorial assumes philanthropy is the panacea for the Greek system's problems and negative image, if these problems exist in the first place. Philanthropy certainly is important and laudable, but certainly Greek houses can find another way to engage the campus community in a productive way beyond just fundraising.
The Daily repeats a common criticism — that fraternities are only visible on a "typical Saturday night" — and suggests more philanthropic events during rush would help change their image. But a new program like this could only go so far. What about the 80-plus percent of students who don't go through rush? And is the answer to the Greek system's problems to work more off campus, or to find a place on campus during the week?
Or, does the Greek system need to change at all? Does it serve the 15 percent of the campus that it should with a space for camaraderie, and most of the rest with weekend parties? These are the kinds of systemic questions we should be asking and answering about the Greek system. If campus media is going to table-thump, we should at least talk about salient issues.
