A wise man once told me, “If you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas.” Generally, I take this sentiment to heart, and I don’t tend to get involved in many contentious debates or conversations for that reason. If I agree with you, great. If not, so be it; we can go our separate ways without hindering each others’ respective experiences, for the most part.

However, recently I came across an article in The Square that was so unsettling and so outrageously provocative that it challenged my usual temperament. In fact, I have decided to temporarily discard my general inclination to ‘let it be,’ in favor of what I believe to be a necessary response to an article that deserves some condemnation.

The article in question was entitled Greek Life On Campus. As the president of a Greek organization here at Dickinson, this immediately caught my attention. With all of the gossip surrounding the status of Greek life at the moment, I was eager to hear what this writer had to say. It wasn’t long after I had read the title that I noticed the more visually subtle, and distastefully named subtitle, “Or How I Discovered Rufilin…”

The author, who will remain unnamed, begins his piece by proclaiming his relative objectivity in relation to fraternities and sororities. He states that he has never personally taken part in the rush process, however he has no qualms with people involved in the organizations of their choice. After reading his article in its entirety, I seriously question this proclamation of impartiality.

The author goes on to acknowledge the increasing amount of scrutiny that has been placed upon Greek organizations in the past few years, notably at small liberal arts schools similar to Dickinson. This is a valid point. Lots of schools have been reassessing their respective outlooks on Greek life, evaluating exactly what function it serves and asking what function it should serve to the wider community. I believe this is a good idea in some cases. If an organization or society is no longer serving a definitive purpose, or worse, serving a negative purpose, an inquiry into the activities and motivations of said organization is entirely understandable and, in some cases, necessary.

This kind of evaluation, and the pressures and responsibilities that come with critical examination and analysis of this nature is what makes the article in question all the more appalling and scandalous. In a time where ambiguity abounds at Dickinson, especially among people outside of the Greek system itself, we need as much transparency and clarity as possible. A piece that employs such a crass misrepresentation of Greek life, with confidence and supposed authority at that, is disingenuous and malicious to all students who read it.

At one point in the article, our dear friend and colleague notes the danger of assuming that all Greek organizations subscribe to the same stereotypical practices. However, immediately after making this point, he goes on to utilize the very fallacy he denounced in the first place.

The article makes a number of points about Greek life that are, as a whole, vague and mostly unfounded. I’ll spare you from my own thoughts and responses to each specific argument, but I will tell you that all of them imply bold claims that regard Greek life as a monolithic and generally homogenous body of associations. This is a big problem. We are not all the same. Every Greek organization on this campus has their own set of goals, principles and standards that guide their daily operations. To assume that all organizations are the same is to assume that the actions of one organization represent the actions of all organizations. This is a major flaw in perception.

The driving question of the article seems to be, and I’m quoting directly, “Why do we have Greek life?” What purpose does it serve? What distinguishes it from other organizations on campus? What benefits does it provide? I could go on for eleven more pages describing the positive, as well as potentially negative, aspects of Greek life. However, that is for another time, and perhaps, another article. I’ll restrain myself and mention only one point that is particularly relevant to our current circumstances:

Right now, as a student writing this article, I am engaged with the larger community. One of the many benefits of being involved in Greek life is the seemingly inherent necessity to face adversity. The constant struggle of having to deal with the distorted and misinformed preconceptions of the Greek system is part of my experience here at Dickinson, and it has helped me to become a better thinker, a better leader and a better person. This is not an isolated experience; it is my Dickinson experience.

I am not writing this op-ed as a representative of Greek life; I am writing as a Dickinsonian, and a proud one at that. I am writing as a student who earned the privilege to learn here, to engage with other enthusiastic students, and to call Dickinson my home. And as a Dickinsonian, I believe it is my duty to squash this kind of senseless defamation wherever it is found, regardless of my own personal attachment to a specific organization or issue being addressed. No one should be subject to this kind of inexplicable attack, especially not at Dickinson College.