Opinion
Kansan
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Published daily since 1912
Spencer Duncan, Editor Sarah Scherwinski, Business manager Lindsey Henry, Managing editor Brian Pagel, Retail sales manager Andrea Albright, Managing editor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
4A
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 1997
Branch/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Raving
Society, youth to blame for binge-drinking deaths
Wondering what's going on at our fellow Top 10 party schools?
Recently at Louisiana State University, a 20-year-old fraternity pledge had 25 alcoholic drinks at an off-campus party. He was later found dead in his fraternity house, with a blood-alcohol level six times the legal limit.
The LSU death is part of a long and growing string of recent alcohol-related deaths linked to fraternity parties and hazing rituals. Last Monday's incident at MIT, in which an 18-year-
old pledge drank himself to death at a fraternity party joins incidents in California, Maryland and New York this year which involved deaths, criminal charges and suspension for the fraternities involved.
This shut-em-down mentality satisfies in the short run, reinforcing the knee-jerk reaction that the fraternities involved are solely responsible. Problem solved.
Well, not exactly.
First, let me go out on a no-brainer limb here (for which a lot of columnists; on this page and elsewhere, are noted); hazing should end. It’s primitive — even for
Michael
Martin
poison@kansan.com
organizations that celebrate our most primitive impulses and cruel, less character-building than an excuse for sadistic behavior.
But not all fraternities hate. Not all of the aforementioned fatal incidents occurred on-campus or because of hazing. And to get technical, none of these deaths were caused by hazing: they were caused by personal choice. Common sense dictates drinking to excess can make you sick, even kill you. Fraternity members don't trade reason and logic for keys to the house and a 64-ounce cup.
We have to curtail our impulse to condemn the greek system at the drop of a keg. Doing so in the face of incidents like these make us lose sight of the real issues, which in this case go beyond Fraternity Rum. Ultimately, this is a matter of personal responsibility, and it affects all of us.
A recent binge-drinking study by Harvard University shows 80 percent of college students drink on a regular basis. The inevitable conclusion is that a lot of this drinking is done in excess.
Almost all of us — myself included — are guilty of overindulgence, alcoholic or otherwise. Almost all of us engage in behavior that hindsight renders ridiculous. Almost all of us
pressure ourselves or friends to get drunk or take other risks under the guise of having a good time, blowing off some steam. We know it's stupid, hollow and occasionally dangerous. But we do it anyway.
How is this different than, or superior to, fraternity hazing rituals?
I thought we were the generation that was supposed to get it right. We're supposed to disavow the economic excesses of our parents, learn from the sexual mistakes of our older brothers and sisters. AIDS has reshaped our image of mortality, giving it the face of youth and a constant presence, making it a very real threat.
So we're supposed to know better, but we're leaving a lot of the knowledge ignored and the lessons unlearned. HIV infection among the young grows fast as we continue to make the same stupid mistakes of countless others before us. We keep falling victim to the trap that has caught every generation before ours and held it fast: The notion that youth equals immortality.
At the beginning of my freshman year at MU, I went to fraternity rush information meetings, where the slick and pomaded pledge chairman stood in front of an auditorium full of students and parents and lied.
"No hazing," he said, with polished dental precision.
"Absolutely no hazing."
On the first day of rush, I overslept, and missed it. I later found out the truth from friends who became pledges: there was absolutely a lot of hazing going on.
And it's not going to stop. Hazing is part of the greek system's all-important commitment to tradition and will find some way to elude regulation. Alcohol consumption — on or off-campus, in or out of the greek system — will not end either. Some would argue rituals must be kept, fun must be had. I can't dispute that.
What is clear: The necessary change can't be mandated. It isn't going to be accomplished by expulsions, criminal prosecutions or shutting down fraternity houses. We can't mislead ourselves into thinking these are solutions; as we are satisfied to let universities and the police deal with these isolated incidents, we ignore our role and our responsibility.
We must stop envisioning ourselves as helpless in the face of irresistible establishments which force us to be completely irresponsible, whether they are greek social organizations or — in a larger sense — youth itself.
Kansan staff
Martin is an Lenexa junior in English and journalism.
News editors
Bradley Brooks ... Editorial
Jason Strait ... Editorial
Jodie Chester ... News
Jen Smith ... News
Adam Darby ... News
Charity Jeffries ... Online
Kristie Blasi ... Sports
Tommy Gallagher ... Associate Sports
Dave Morantz ... Campus
Eric Westlander ... Campus
Ashleigh Roberts ... Features
Steve Puppe ... Photo
Bryan Volk ... Design, graphics
Mitch Lucas ... Illustrations
Mark McMaster ... Wire
Ann Marchand ... Special sections
Lachelle Rhodes ... News clerk
Advertising managers
Matt Fisher ... Assistant retail
Michael Soifer ... Campus
Colleen Eager ... Regional
Anthony Migilazzo ... National
Jeff Auslander ... Marketing
Chris Haghirian ... Internet
Brian LeFevre ... Production
Jen Wallace ... Production
Dustin Skidgel ... Promotions
Tyler Cook ... Creative
Annette Hoover ... Public relations
Rachel O'Neill ... Classified
Jaime Mann ... Assistant classified
Marc Harrell ... Senior account executive
Scott Swedishlund ... Senior account executive
Broadon your mind: Today's quote
"I turn around and look again. A male standing in the middle of the aile wearing nothing but briefs. In one hand he held a book. In the other—Mr. Winkie."
Brandon Robertson. Watson library employee on catching a lewd patron
Letters Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and home-town if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
How to submit letters and guest columns
**Guest columns** Should be double-spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuaffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Bradley Brooks (brooks@kansan.com) or Jason Strait (jstrait@kansan.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the staff page (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Feedback
I usually tend to tune out the endless stream of whining and grand standing that issues forth from the greek community. Today, however, Anne must have caught me in a grumpy mood. Let me respond to her letter point by point.
First, she said that she was "appalled and frustrated by the amount of judgment the 'Kansan' has thrown our way." Next, she stated that the "Kansan" had printed four articles on the "stripper" incident in the past week. Anne, since when does thorough treatment of a news story equate "judgment" of any sort? Your victim mind set is tiresome and it taints every word of every argument you raise.
I must respond to Anne Ferraro's unfortunate and short-sighted letter in the Feedback section of the Oct. 2 issue of the "Kansan."
Letter to editor misses point of greek coverage
If you do not understand why Ann Marchand feels it is her duty to be the moral conscience for the entire greek community, let me put it to you very simply: The greek community is not doing it for themselves. Who of us has not heard horror stories (or experienced them first hand) of what can only be described as ritual abuse? Beating of pledges? Binge drinking? Illegal drinking on campus? And now strippers? There is a line of moral indefensibility in our society (yes, even at this University) and the greek community has put forth a litany of examples of crossing that line.
Now let us move on to the diversity issue. She stated that she had about 150 women in her sorority. I wonder if she knows how many of those women are of Native-American extraction, or African American, or Asian or Jewish? How many are handcapped or lesbian for that matter? How many times has the greek community really made a concerted effort to celebrate the diversity of our campus. Please imagine, in your mind's eye a "typical" sorority girl. How many of you see a Black woman in a wheelchair? I didn't think so. My point is simply that these important questions need to be asked before raising the diversity banner.
In the interest of brevity, let me conclude with the words of Paul Pearsall: "We come to feel as we behave." It is time for the Greeks to stop whining and take their bad press, along with their good press, with dignity.
Jeff Newberry, Lawrence graduate student
In response to column covering Daisy Hill votes
As a Daisy Hill resident, I was taken aback by Andy Obermueller's column regarding a possible polling site at Daisy Hill.
Obermueller's first bizarre assertion is that voting is a privilege, not a right. He drones on incessantly about the views of the founding fathers to support his point. True, Mr. Obermueller, but the founding fathers also held the view that only white, property-owning males should vote. They're no role models for society today.
Voting is a right - yes, a right. Mr. Obermueller -- that many groups have fought for across decades and even centuries to earn. Countless sacrifices were made by the women of the suffrage movement and by proponents of the civil rights movement to guarantee every citizen's right to vote. Only a fraction of this country's history has seen all its citizens share in that right. Narrow-minded viewpoints such as yours, Mr. Obermueller, can only take us backward.
This brings me to the Daisy Hill polling site. The ascertain that Delta Force is promoting the site to gain political advantage is laughable because, had Mr. Obermueleller bothered to check his facts, he would have found that Delta Force has very few active members that live on the hill.
Only 15 percent of students took the time, thought and energy to vote last year. That is a sad number. Putting a polling site on the hill would help by making freshmen (who compose a majority of the population of Daisy Hill) more willing to participate. If freshmen are encouraged early on to care about Student Senate and the issues that affect their campus and their education, it can only better this campus as a whole. Both Delta Force and Mr. Obermueller would surely like to see this happen; the difference between the two is that one works toward this goal by building things up, while the other can merely tear things down.
While Mr. Obermueller's style may be a bit caustic, I wholeheartedly support his arguments against establishing a polling site on Daisy Hill. What he and other students on both sides of this issue continue to overlook is the rationale Student Senate has used in the past to reject such proposals.
Sarah Yannacone Sterling freshman
Two years ago, while serving as student senator and vice-chairman of the (horribly mismanaged) finance committee, a Real coalition senator introduced similar legislation in a thinly veiled attempt to alter potential voter demographics. After much heated debate, it was decided that to adopt such legislation would directly contradict the precedent set by finance committee by granting the elections commission "block allocation status."
Specifically, the elections commission had been granted such status to protect its budget from the less-than-objective influence of Student Senate. Any attempt by Student Senate to dictate the elections commissions expenditures would blatantly compromise the objectivity block allocation status was designed to protect.
Although I appreciate the effort of Delta Force to rouse student activism on campus, I think their most recent effort is unfortunately short sighted.
Paul Melton Salina senior
Death of director loss for University
The death of Gerald Harris, Director of International Students Services, on the night of Oct. 2, has caught me with a deep grief. It was the last night of the year in the Hebrew calendar, and this sudden, sad occurrence ended a cheerful period crowned by my relationship with Mr. Harris.
Our professional relationship — he as the adviser of the International Students Association, and myself, as the former president of the ISA — had gone far beyond advising and sponsoring. He was an exemplary leader. In fact, Gerald was my hero and a leader for 1,700 international students on campus while evoking tremendous respect from his colleagues. He initiated academic relations with new countries. He fought for the interests of international students, as he did against policies that adversely affected us, and acted on our behalf concerning tuition and scholarships.
He attended countless international events — organizational celebrations or formal meetings — always with his pleasant smile and inspiring presence. With the same spirit and professional attitude, Gerald's office embraced international student newcomers through its orientation session at the beginning of each year, and constituted the all-mighty "Mecca," where international pilgrims piled up to get some relief from adversity and turbulence. Harris was easily approachable and always helpful with his logical insight. But beyond his many qualities, he taught me much about leadership.
Beyond being a professional, Mr. Harris was a unique personality uniquely personable. He was a father-like friend — he was Gerald. (With a soft or hard G — he didn't care.)
I never felt I had to have read Socrates in order to talk about virtue or Martin Luther King Jr. to discuss diversity. In fact, Gerald was one of a few scholars with whom I shard true diversity and open mindedness. And as the scholar that he was, he taught me about internationalism versus multiculturalism tradition versus culture and much more. Gerald was easygoing though opinionated, timid though sociable soft spoken though expressive, demanding though inspiring. Such a man he was.
Last Thursday I lost a friend, a father, an adviser, a teacher, a leader and a hero. I am certain that all those who knew Harris share this loss with me. There is nothing we can do about this great loss but to keep the momentum Mr. Harris created. He internationalized the University for us, the foreigners and the Americans, and laid the grounds for us to learn from each other. As a new year in the Hebrew calendar begins, I reflect on the life of a great man and cherish all that he has given me. To his family I extend my most sincere condolences. May he be inscribed in the Book of Life. Amen.
David "Dudu" Cohavi Rehovot, Israel senior
Scholarship Halls cast in poor light
In a few recent issues of the "Kansan," negativity concerning organized living arrangement has been rampant. First, Robert MacRae spoke out against the evils of the greek system and scholarship halls. Bobby Hutchinson responded with a letter defending the greek tradition at the University and the enrichment that it can bring to college life. He states that, "Fraternities and sororites are not, and should not be a group of students living together solely for academic purposes. That is why the University has scholarship halls."
For the love of God, there is no requirement for being asocial to live in a scholarship hall. The image that we are all geeks devoted only to our books is as ridiculous as the stereotypes that all Greeks are alcoholics.
For those who are ignorant of the scholarship hall system: The University has five men's and four women's halls that are run through the Department of Student Housing. Located in the area behind Fraser and Spooner Halls called Alumnae Place, each scholarship hall houses 48 exemplary students. The term "scholarship" hall is derived from the idea that it is similar to a scholarship and a privilege to live here. Each hall has their own individual parties, formals and traditions in a manner similar to greek houses.
Both the greek and scholarship hall systems should be supported as enhancement to college life that provide social as well as academic opportunities. However, please take the time to educate yourself about the scholarship halls (or get to know a resident of one) before you lump us under a single, negative stereotype, especially because this action is detrimental to your own Greek system.
}
Molly McFerson Derby senior and president of Douthart Scholarship Hall