Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies
OPINION

Editor in chief disagrees with Greek editorial, shifts focus to the danger of drinking culture

By Katie Taylor, Editor in Chief

It's never easy to dissent, to deviate from the accepted beliefs and traditions of those around you, whether it's political partisanship, familial religious beliefs or cultural norms. That's why I wasn't surprised Tuesday when The Miami Student staff editorial, "We don't want a bid to Greek Life: Miami would be better off without it," received a barrage of negativity from those who have dedicated themselves to the tradition of the Greek system. That is also why I hesitated to write this response.

While Tuesday's editorial did represent the majority opinion of the staff, it was not wholly in line with my own. I respect the opinions of my co-workers, my friends, but in this instance I feel the need to distinguish my views from the ones expressed earlier this week, and delve into what I believe is the most pressing matter brought up in debate.

We drink ... a lot. And when I say we, I don't mean Greeks, I don't mean Miami students. I mean college students across the nation. Revelation, I know.

We cannot just point fingers at the Greek system for a problem that would persist regardless. We come to school with this preconceived notion of what it will be. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. As a result, we are literally drinking ourselves into the hospital, sometimes even to death. We pregame the pregame, then we go to the party to drink, then we go to the bars to drink some more.

I focus on this aspect of the editorial because I don't feel it's my place to say whether the relationships made in Greek life are superficial or artificial, as the editorial argues. I know plenty of people who are very close with those they got to know, and I know plenty of people who are frustrated with the entire process. I also know that with 16,000 undergraduate students at Miami, there are plenty of other ways to get involved and plenty of other people to meet if you choose not to involve yourself in Greek life.

Regardless, at it's core the Greek system aims to create a social bond, to instill loyalty and respect within a group of peers. I am of the belief that any opportunity or experience that exposes you to new people, whether you end up becoming close or not, is a positive one, in theory. I do not wish to see the institution abolished. However, the means of creating these bonds seems to have morphed over the years into something rather disturbing, something destructive. Reform is needed, but the rest of the student body is not exempt.

Generation after generation members attempt to one-up those who came before them. More drinking, bigger parties, harsher hazing. At some point we need to stop and ask ourselves, where is the limit? And why do we feel the need to continuously push it?

Don't Fuck Your Brother - one of the many common hazing rituals in which pledges are handed a fifth of Jack Daniels or some other 80 proof liquor, assigned an order in which they must chug and told the last person has to finish whatever remains. If the brothers who come before you, many freshman with little exposure to alcohol, don't drink their "fair share," then the last guy is left with a third of the bottle to pound.

There are 17 standard drinks in a fifth of Jack Daniels, 17 shots. The size of the group participating varies. I've heard the horror stories, and I would be surprised to find a Miami student who hasn't. So my question is, who's fucking whom? Are the upperclassmen fucking the pledges by forcing the game? Are the pledges fucking themselves by partaking? Or are we, as a culture that is aware of this kind of torture, responsible by accepting it as commonplace?

I understand the rationale behind hazing, though I don't condone it. When human beings are placed under extreme, trying circumstances, we grow close to those who share the experience - those who made it out to the other side - but, when this facilitated process exposes us to real danger, beyond the control of those facilitating, then it is counterproductive. In the past, Greeks provided the same underlying social value without this level of self-destruction, so it's possible to reap the benefits, minus the alcohol poisoning. We know not all organizations take part in this, but it's prevalence is beyond understanding. Greeks need to acknowledge things have gotten out of hand, rather than push back against anyone who seems to threaten the tradition. There is value in the Greek experience, but we need to re-examine the strategies.

I don't have an answer to this problem. It would be naïve to think there is, to think tearing down organizations would solve all our problems. There is no quick fix, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't search for some answers, and recognizing the danger--the irrationality of it all--needs to be the first step.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

Read More

Trending