Most people have by now heard about the racist chant incident at the University of Oklahoma. They have also probably heard about the University’s swift response in dealing with the incident. Most people will leave it there.
I would like to believe that the incident was an anomaly. A fluke that only existed in a single chapter of a fraternity and that it wasn’t representative of a hidden problem throughout the Greek system.
It’s difficult to tell as the national organizations that coordinate the Greek system don’t carry statistics on the racial make up of these frats. By accident or by design we are left in the dark as to how integrated these groups are.
Why does it matter? It matters because first and foremost these frats (and sororities) are networking clubs. Social connections that help bind future business, political, and military leaders of tomorrow. The people who help set the agenda for the rest of the population may be found in some of these groups.
Secondly, the opinions, attitudes, lessons, and biases that they receive while they’re in these frats may affect these individuals hiring practices, social attitudes, and thinking patterns well into adult life.
Lastly, the fact that these groups are exclusionary and in some cases may be deliberately excluding people based on some arbitrary standard means that some groups may be denied the opportunities to rise that these frat members enjoy.
Look, I’m not saying that every frat in America and every frat member is a bigot of some sort. Far from it. Many fraternities are very community minded groups that really do take to heart the ideals that they espouse. They help to mold young college students into the future leaders of America. While all that is true however I think there is also no denying that some individuals and even chapters out there are trapped in outdated and bigoted mindsets. Mindsets that purposefully try to exclude others for a variety of reasons.
It’s long past the time that these type of ideas are allowed to exist, even unofficially, in these type of groups. The Greek system owes it to the nation as well as to itself to root out these attitudes and clean its house of this hidden cancer. If fraternities an sororities want to stay relevant or even just exist in the 21st century then they must leave the 19th century behind.
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