Fife: Fraternities need discussion about their purpose

There have been many times throughout the last two years when I’ve questioned why I’m in a fraternity.

It’s not that I’ve gotten tired of it, but rather, it seems every week there’s a news story that makes me question the purpose of fraternity life.

Recently, following multiple instances of fraternity-related sexual violence, Wesleyan University ordered its fraternities to become coeducational within the next three years. While UCLA’s Greek community is radically different from Wesleyan’s, the coed move does fundamentally question the structure and purpose of fraternities.

Wesleyan’s move to address the problems rampant on its campus is probably a good one. Here at UCLA, its decision should cause us to step back and think about the future of our own fraternities.

UCLA should not follow Wesleyan’s lead, but instead use that restructuring as a conversation starter to think about how the Greek community can change for the better while still preserving what makes fraternities valuable in the first place.

Thinking about Wesleyan’s new policy has forced me to justify why my house exists in the way it does, especially because Wesleyan isn’t the only university responding to problems on its campus in such a way. Clemson University suspended all 24 of its social fraternities’ activities at the end of September in response to multiple violations of the school’s student code of conduct and the death of a student who was in the process of joining a fraternity.

My own fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, closed a chapter down at California State University, Northridge because of a hazing incident. Making a fraternity coeducational is not the same thing as shutting it down – but all of these actions raise questions about the essence of fraternity life and what its future is going to look like.

What’s even more alarming than the trouble on other campuses is the national reaction from other Greek organizations. With every article describing a hazing scandal or a chapter being shut down, there’s a host of fraternity members posting angry comments claiming that people are singling them out and treating them unfairly. These comments reveal a tendency to use words like “philanthropy” and “brotherhood” as buzzwords that obscure the truly meaningful effects fraternities can have on people.

Underneath the clichés and lack of critical self-awareness, though, fraternities still serve an important purpose. I don’t want to try to defend the actions of Greek organizations that were clearly in the wrong. Instead, it’s important to focus on how the “lifelong brotherhood” of a fraternity can have real, meaningful effects on the people involved.

At their best, fraternities can give people a home when they enter college by giving them a place to feel comfortable being themselves.

In my own life, joining a fraternity gave me a foundation. I came to UCLA from Texas and was the first person from my high school to attend the university. I think most people’s first step after entering college is trying to find a group of people or an extracurricular activity where they feel a sense of belonging. For me, that came through finding a group of people that could teach me about the university and also be some of my best friends.

I’m not saying that everyone should join a fraternity; I’m suggesting that for some people the solidarity that comes with being part of a fraternity gives them a confidence in their own identity. In fact, the person who pushed me to apply for the Daily Bruin was a fraternity brother who wrote for Sports.

I didn’t know him very well, but he knew I had experience writing and debating in high school and told me Opinion would be a good fit. And this is a common experience for people in my house. Older members reach out to younger members they see potential in and encourage them to take steps to actualize it.

These sorts of experiences I’ve had show that fraternities can offer a shared space where students from various communities can connect. This connection serves as a starting point for people to figure out what is most valuable to them as a part of their college experience. More specifically, it provides a group of people who can serve as mentors to younger members struggling with things that other men have already gone through.

I agree with the criticisms of certain chapters, and I agree that Greek stereotypes aren’t totally unfounded. But what I think is more important is that it’s up to the people involved in the Greek community to recognize that fraternity can mean something more than its negative representation in media and pop culture.

There are problems in the Greek community both at UCLA and at other schools. Wesleyan thought its fraternity situation was bad enough to warrant radically reshaping the structure of its fraternities. There are still times issues like this make me question being a part of a fraternity. But I’ve also witnessed firsthand the powerful impact fraternities can have on their members.

Bridging this gap has been a large reason why I’ve continued being active in Greek life. It’s important for us as a community to continue asking these questions of ourselves in hopes of finding an answer.