Fraternities Declare Misrepresentation
Every morning on my way to class, I grab a copy of The Daily Campus. I sit down, flip through all the articles and try my best to catch up on campus and world news. Friday, when I reached for the paper, one headline specifically caught my eye - "Friends Start Fraternity From Scratch." Being that I am the President of one of the largest social fraternities on campus, I was clearly intrigued by this news. When something along these lines occurs, it normally makes its way throughout the Greek community. Yet I, and many others, had heard nothing of it. With that, I would like to be the first to wish the members of Lambda Lambda Lambda the best of luck and welcome them into the community. On a side note, I was very disturbed with some of the things reported in this article. There is one line specifically that I feel is very important, yet is irresponsibly judgmental with no factual support. In the second paragraph, it is said of Carroll and the rest of the Tri Lambs that "It was the discussion of what fraternities have turned into lately that sparked their interest in starting one of their own …" Considering there is no further detail or follow up to this comment by Carroll or the writer, I felt it was necessary to compose a thorough response to this seemingly negative comment. What have fraternities turned into lately? From the outside looking in, I suppose people assume that Greek life is equivalent to movies like "Animal House." But anyone who has ever invested 10 minutes into what a fraternity or sorority does would know there is much more to our organizations and what we give back to this university/community. Every chapter is actively involved in numerous community services, philanthropic and mentoring programs on- and off-campus. Most recently was HuskyTHON, an event used to raise money for children ailing from cancer, leukemia, sickle cell, etc. There are also chapter philanthropy events, which raise money for groups including the following: The Make a Wish Foundation, Saint Jude's Children's Hospital, The Jimmy V Fund, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Children's Miracle Network, Great American Food Drive, Habitat for Humanity, Alzheimer's Association's Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute. These are only a few of the groups who benefit from the hard work and dedication put in by the fraternities on this campus. If I were to list every philanthropic and community service event put on by every fraternity and sorority, I could write a short novel. As an avid reader of The Daily Campus, I feel betrayed by statements defiling the Greek community. I feel as though no one truly takes the time to recognize what each organization adds to this university, or how we benefit from it. Especially after the tragic year we have had with the deaths of Gregory Landau, of Alpha Epsilon Pi, and recently Carlee Wines, a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, I feel as though the school newspaper should be recognizing how we have all banded together as a community, rather than making a mockery of us.
-Josh Fox, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi
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