Wednesday, January 8, 1997
By Allison Elmore
Daily Bruin Contributor
Since the 1978 release of the film "Animal House," fraternities
have been immortalized as motley crews of beer-soaked nymphomaniacs
on a joint quest to wreak havoc upon peaceful college campuses
across the nation.
Similarly, no one can seem to forget the "valley girl" catch
phrases rushed from the mouths of the Delta Delta Delta sorority
sisters on countless episodes of "Saturday Night Live."
Such unforgettable images lead to the rise of and perpetuation
of Greek stereotypes that run rampant even at UCLA.
Frat boys are stereotyped as party animals. Conspicuously white,
they presumably do not hesitate to act out their inherent racism,
sexism and even rapist impulses.
By convention, the typical sorority girl is envisioned to be
"Daddy’s little girl." Unquestionably Caucasian, she is a wealthy
party girl, attached to her fraternity brothers at the hip. She may
even be typified as an airhead, a racist, and/or an elitist whose
opinions border on anti-feminist.
The existence of stereotypes "transcends" Greek life, says Berky
Nelson, the director of the Center for Student Programming, the
agency with the ultimate say in Greek matters.
Nelson, an alumnus of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically
African-American fraternity, said, "In our society, there has
always been a deep-seated aversion to secret organizations. Anytime
there’s an organization with restricted membership, it raises
questions."
Creating stereotypes is a "natural human behavior," said Brett
Bouttier, a third-year economics student and Pi Kappa Alpha member.
Bouttier, as the president of the UCLA Interfraternity Council,
heads the self-governing body for fraternities.
While perhaps a feature of "natural human behavior," the
perpetuation of stereotypes is often aided by the recurrence of
those events that dredge up those pre-existing labels.
Fraternities, in particular, have faced such incidents in the
past.
"Back in the 1980s, in initial contact, I found the fraternities
to be decidedly sexist and I’d also say racist," said Nelson.
During that era, UCLA exercised significantly less authority
over the Greek system than it does today. Fraternities and
sororities, then under the jurisdiction of the dean of students,
rather than the Center for Student Programming, were "kept at arm’s
length," recalled Nelson.
Fraternities tended to have free reign until members of the
administration, including Nelson, were asked to inspect Phi Kappa
Psi’s annual Viva Zapata party, entitled "in honor of" Emiliano
Zapata, a Mexican folk hero and revolutionary from the turn-of-the
century.
Proclaimed a "wetback" party, phrases such as "Hey Jose, where’s
your green card?" were overheard by Nelson and company. He also
noted "decidedly sexist" graffiti upon the walls, including a
number of dirty limericks.
According to Nelson, these "wetback" themed affairs were not
limited solely to Phi Kappa Psi. He adds that the fraternities have
done a "180" since then, due in great part to the university’s
tightened control, and the Greek system’s reforms in such areas as
racism and sexism.
Phi Kappa Psi brothers, nevertheless, found themselves embroiled
in controversy yet again, along with Theta Xi, in 1991 and 1992
with the uncovering of racist and sexist songbooks. Anonymously
released to UCLA’s women’s newsmagazine, some of the songs included
the descriptions of violent sexual acts and the mutilation of women
amidst their celebration of fraternity life.
Most recently, three Zeta Beta Tau members were arrested in June
1996 on suspicion of gang rape in a Palm Springs motel. While
charges were never filed based on the allegations, the absence of a
trial has resulted in a lack of closure. Consequently, the
reputation of ZBT remains prey to press whims.
"There’s very little that the Greek system can do about
portraying ourselves in the media or controlling media perceptions.
But we can alter people’s perceptions through our actions," said
Jason DeVries, ZBT external vice president.
The incident sparked John Du, undergraduate student body
president, to remark in the Dec. 5 issue of the New Times, "There
are substantial problems fraternities have, including sexual
harassment and objectification of women. It’s sad that it took
someone being raped to bring it out. Well, maybe you can’t say it
was a rape. But a lot of students feel that something very wrong
went on."
Whitney Jones, a fourth-year student and Alpha Epsilon Phi
member, recalled that the sorority sisters of the victim of the
alleged ZBT rape "completely supported" their sister.
However, Jones will not stand for statements that blanket all
fraternity men as rapists.
"We’re so sick and tired of this whole rapist stereotype. We’re
not going to tolerate it," said Jones, also the president of the
UCLA Panhellenic Council, the self-governing body for sororities.
"Pegging fraternity members as rapists overlooks the fact that any
guy can be a rapist. An individual rapes, not a fraternity."
Beyond the allegations of racism, sexism, even rape,
fraternities, like sororities, are also tagged as elitists.
Bouttier, however, contends that the only exclusionary aspect of
fraternities is their being comprised solely of men. Otherwise,
Bouttier maintains that every possible race, ethnicity, and
background is represented within the fraternity system.
Within Pi Kappa Alpha, in fact, the fraternity of which he is a
member, Bouttier claims that its membership resembles the diversity
of UCLA with a variance of perhaps 10 percent. "One thing we really
strive for is diversity, like UCLA does," Bouttier said. "You learn
more about other people that way."
Nelson, who once viewed the practice of racism within the
fraternities first hand in the early 1980s, asserts that "the whole
concept of discrimination is essentially defunct. I’m certain there
is racism in other Greek systems, but it’s not permitted here."
Jones maintains the same to be true of the Panhellenic system.
While she realizes that sororities have been historically racist,
Jones also recognizes their dramatic progression, along with
society’s move forward since the era she refers to as "the
backwards ’50s." Furthermore, she said that ethnicity has never
been an issue within her sorority.
Both Jones and Ellen Archibald, advisor to the Panhellenic
Council, stamp out any tags of racism with the claim that the
sorority system is in fact the most diverse group on campus, in
contrast to those organizations whose strong followings tend to
only represent and include members of a single ethnicity.
Archibald further notes that approximately 75 percent of
Panhellenic women maintain at least part-time positions outside of
class. Finally, their annual room and board costs within the
sorority houses tends to total a figure $1000 less than that of
yearly dorm fees.
Rather than viewing themselves as the perpetrators of
discrimination, members of the Greek system tend to see themselves
as the victims of discrimination.
"USAC (Undergraduate Students Association Council) perpetuates
bias," said Bouttier. "Their mentality is that anyone who is Greek
will join USAC for their own intentions." Bouttier asserts this to
be the reason that he was denied by Du a presidential appointed
position within the council. According to Bouttier, Du opted to
leave the spot unfilled rather than assign the post to Bouttier
 a United Students proponent  within a council
comprised exclusively of members of the opposing Students First!
slate.
The position Bouttier sought is now filled with candidates Du
claims are qualified. But the question remains whether Bouttier was
judged on his affiliation with Greeks. Du admits that party
affiliation might be a factor, but not Greek membership
specifically.
"If we fundamentally disagree on something, it would be very
hard to work together," said Du.
In a viewpoint published in the May 1, 1996 edition of the Daily
Bruin, a number of student activist groups including the African
Student Union, the Asian Pacific Coalition, MEChA and Samahang
Pilipino, indicated that they too believed that Greeks would seek
government positions wholly for their own intentions.
The viewpoint asked, "Will we settle for mediocre,
self-indulgent, Greek resumé builders or will we once again
demand leadership from dedicated, grassroots organizers?" The
editorial further labeled former Greek USAC members as "elitist
Greek bureaucrats who masqueraded as student government," their
sole objectives to "build their resumés and wine and dine with
administrators."
Some members of the Greek system who defy the stereotypical
racial designation of white are chastised by those organizations
representative of their ethnicity. Jones recalls one incident where
her friend, a fellow sorority woman, wore her letters to the
meeting of a particular minority group. Refusing to speak English
to her, "they immediately pegged her as a sellout," said Jones.
However, evidence exists that some minority groups maintain
supportive relations with the Greek system. According to Mark
Trang, a Theta Kappa Phi member and president of UCLA’s Asian Greek
Council (AGC), an unspoken support exists between the Asian Pacific
Coalition and the Asian Greek Council. AGC, one of the founding
members of the coalition, withdrew its membership within the last
decade to avoid "get(ting) caught up in campus politics and
platforms, since the Asian Greek Council was not founded to be a
political group," said Trang, a third-year political science and
business student.
Rather, Trang asserts that the Asian Greek Council is a return
to the Greek ideal whereby, "members can intellectually and
socially drive each other." He looks upon his four AGC fraternities
and sororities as "an evolution of the Greek identity," an
integration of Asian values and heritage with the traditional Greek
focus upon brotherhood and sisterhood.
"The Greeks (Interfraternity and Panhellenic groups) have lost
the whole idea of a Greek organization and what it means to be
Greek in the first place," said Trang.
Similarly, Michelle Johnson, the president of the UCLA National
Pan-hellenic Council, a historically African-American Greek letter
organization, refers to the mainstream fraternities and sororities
as requiring a "facelift" for the public.
Bouttier sees room for improvement in terms of becoming a more
cohesive part of campus.
"One way of bridging the campus between the Interfraternity
Council and student government is to focus on issues which we agree
on," suggested Du.