From the outside looking in, it does not look pretty for the Greeks. It is true when people say, “The few spoil it for many.” Greek Week has been postponed by an incident that occurred during so-called “friendly competition.”
Because of Delta Sigma Phi, Greeks were in fear of their safety. The Inter-Fraternity Sorority Council (IFSC) held a meeting Wednesday regarding this incident and also addressed previous occasions in which Delta Sigma Phi has been out of line. Now, a whole week that was supposed to be filled with fun is thrown away. Step back for a moment and look at what has happened. Can they honestly say that at that moment they were proud to be Greek? How can these members be proud of themselves?
Another issue that needs to be addressed is the public image of Delta Sigma Phi. Besides marketing themselves as the “animal house” choice during a rush informational meeting, they further enjoy negative coverage of themselves in this paper.
Many questions were answered during the meeting. We were finally able to listen to the truth about what goes on.
Finally, it was said by all other organizations that something needs to be done. It is a serious thing when violence occurs. The president of Delta Sigma Phi addressed the issue as though “boys will be boys.” However, the message IFSC was trying to send is that fighting and creating unnecessary conflicts is not appropriate behavior and will not be tolerated. There are consequences for one’s actions in the real world.
One thing must be understood. Not all individuals within this group are bad, just the combination of them as a whole. The fact that they are no longer IFSC members only empowers them even more.
The next step is for the University to take action. Whether this occurs is another issue. Delta Sigma Phi needs to act like responsible adults and clean up its act. The right thing to do would be to publicly admit that they have a problem and make a commitment to changing. It is one thing to say you are going to talk about it and it is another to actually do it. They need to have a positive attitude and challenge themselves to be bigger than a stereotype. Everyone likes to have fun, but ways should be found to do so without hurting others and causing problems. All of the negative outweighs the positive.
This fraternity must clean house and start building positive relationships around campus. Is it cool to be known as the rowdiest fraternity on campus and classified as a loser? Is their sole ambition to get drunk and stoned?
It was once told to me that being in a fraternity will allow one to gain business connections. How will an individual with a grade point average below his potential make it in the real world? The world does not begin and end in La Verne.
The sole purpose of college is to learn how to deal with situations and make adult decisions. What kind of a decision was it to be drunk in public and cause a fight? It was not a good one. It is common knowledge that college students drink. It is also common knowledge that one group on campus has a reputation for it.
The college environment is supposed to nurture the development of young minds, not to destroy it. This institution walks its students through their college careers, making it impossible for its students not to graduate in four years.
When you look back at your college career what are you going to remember the most? Getting voted out of IFSC? What an accomplishment!
Let us witness the reconstruction of your organization. Stop complaining about how everyone is out to get you. Grow up, take a stand and prove us all wrong.
Starr Carroll, a senior journalism major, is photography editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at carrolls@ulvacs.ulaverne.edu.
