Dear editor,
In response to the counterpoint on “Does Greek life belong at SFU,” from the semester’s first edition of The Peak, I found that both Mr. Arjan Mundy and Ms. Katrina Trask missed the point. Squabbling over the theoretical merits of Greek life is an endless and fruitless discussion.
Firstly, SFU’s ‘ban’ on Greek life doesn’t really matter, at least not in a practical sense. This supposed ban is symbolic, as SFU’s complete lack of enforcement on the school’s current frats and sororities would imply. The reference point that people use for this prohibition was a statement made by the SFU council to state the outcome of a school-wide referendum in 1966: “Fraternities and sororities are not desirable on this university campus.”
To effectively ban fraternities and sororities from physically or even virtually existing, SFU would need to take extraordinary measures, many of which would surely invade students’ privacy. While one may dislike the goings-on of Greek organizations, their existence at SFU is now matter-of-fact.
The frats and sororities at SFU only want two things. The first is for SFU to lift whatever invisible ban has been placed on them. The second is to be able to book some rooms in the Maggie Benston Centre. This second request requires the Simon Fraser Student Society’s (SFSS) involvement, as Greek life requires SFSS recognition as either a club or a constituent group to be allowed to book rooms.
However, the SFSS has a policy mandating that membership to all clubs be inclusive, and this acts as a regulatory hurdle for the official formation of Greek organizations. But fraternities and sororities would be exploiting the very same loophole that many SFU clubs are already exploiting; while membership into the club would be inclusive, participating in the club’s primary activities would be exclusive.
The spirit of this anti-exclusionary policy is also being violated by the Women’s Centre, a constituent group, where I, as a self-identifying male, am not allowed entry (most of the time). So while the spirit of the ‘every club must be open to everyone all the time’ policy sounds good, it isn’t practical — we obviously shouldn’t crack down on the Women’s Centre.
Finally, nobody’s forcing you to join a frat or sorority. People join gender-exclusive organizations like Men’s and Women’s Centres for social support much the same way students join Greek life. The notion of gender-exclusivity actually contributes value to these institutions; isn’t brotherhood the whole point of joining a fraternity?
Greek life is inherently gender-exclusive and that’s largely why people join in the first place. And let’s remind ourselves of something here: fraternities and sororities are not criminal or illegal, they do not impose their opinion or will on others, and they are not motivated by hate. As they don’t violate any of these three stipulations, it really isn’t necessary to forbid Greek life from existing.
Sure, many people don’t like the type of person who would join a frat or sorority, and maybe I’m one of them. But this is beside the point. The SFSS does not make the world a better place by using red tape to block Greek organizations from booking rooms. And labelling these groups as illegitimate while awkwardly trying to prohibit their existence is neither an effective nor feasible plan.
Sincerely,
