Reich: College Fraternities Should Be Abolished

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/29350-focus-college-fraternities-should-be-abolished

’ve been getting angry responses to the view I expressed on Larry Wilmore’s “The Nightly Show” that college fraternities should be abolished. I still think I’m right. There are exceptions but for the most part fraternities are elitist, exclusive, and privileged. They have nothing to do with higher education. And they’re periodically mired in scandal involving hazing (such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison frat’s degrading hazing); racism (the video of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members calling for the lynching of African-Americans); sexual assault (the University of Maryland frat brothers’ pro-rape emails, and allegations of drug dealing and sexual assault in a North Carolina State frat); degradation of women (Penn State fraternity’s secret Facebook page for sharing photos of nude passed out women); destructive drunkenness (University of Michigan frat brothers destroying a ski resort in a drunken rage). The list goes on, and this is just in the last few months.

Some say “boys will be boys” and if they’re not in a fraternity they’ll do all this somewhere else. Rubbish. A much-cited 2007 study shows fraternity members are 300% more likely to commit rape than non-affiliated students (this was the third study confirming the same data.) A Harvard School of Public Health study indicates just living in a sorority house makes a woman three times more likely to be raped. Some say I’m disregarding freedom of association, and that college students have a right to hang out with whomever they wish. Well, yes, but most fraternities depend on university recognition for direct subsidies such as land or buildings and indirect benefits such as tolerance of underage drinking. Others say fraternities (and sororities) build character and do many charitable things. Yes, but so do many other college activities that don’t have the downsides of fraternities.

[MrTriumph]

1. By Robert Reich's logic, we should also abolish political parties.

If you put a measure on the ballot, I believe most voters would approve abolishing political parties.

[eridani]

2. People get raped at local Dem county and legislative distric meetings?

They may not even get raped at Republican meetings.

[MrTriumph]

3. Well, there's Donny Ray Williams for one.

I sure you can google more instances of rape, eridani.

[eridani]

4. Apparently he didn't meet his victims at a Democratic party organization event n/t

[MrTriumph]

5. Say what?

So you are saying it is permissible for Democratic party members and officials to rape women so long as they aren't women they encounter at party functions?! No, I don't think that's your point, but to be honest, I don't know what your agenda is except that you have a desire to argue.

Share your anger with someone else. I'm gone.

[eridani]

7. The OP was about an ORGANIZATION promoting rape

--not some individual fuckwad.

[GGJohn]

18. While all rape is rehensible,

the number of rapes vs. the number of frats is rather small.
Reich wants to abolish all frats for the criminal acts of a few.

[KittyWampus]

12. Do people get raped at parties in NON-fraternal parties? Do all fraternities rape people

at their parties?

[Spider Jerusalem]

6. So, dues-paying members of political parties are three times more likely to be rapists?

Political parties initiate new members by beating them, making them drink to the point of possible death, making them eat puke, making them walk barefoot through wading pools full of shit and piss? Political parties circulate flyers to their membership with pointers on "luring your rapebait"? All of these things are true of fraternities. To the point where it looks a lot more like a case of a rotten barrel than a few bad apples.

[Blue_Adept]

8. That's a piss poor understanding of the word logic.

[RobinA]

14. And

sports teams.

[woolldog]

9. Isn't Reich a Skull and Bones man from Yale?

What a hypocrite.

[Adrahil]

10. I know several ex-frat boys who renounce their former frats.

There is nothing wrong (and a lot to admire) when someone looks back on their life and says, "yeah, that wasn't a great idea."

Having said that, in my experience, not all the Greek organizations were the same. Many seemed to be like this, but others not so much.

[foo_bar]

11. link?

Even if it were true, I'm not sure hypocrisy's the right term (was Kerry a hypocrite for joining antiwar protests?), but I haven't found any evidence to support your claim-phrased-as-a-rhetorical-question.

[woolldog]

15. I was wrong

Was thinking of someone else

[former9thward]

20. Kerry was skull and bones

I am pretty sure Reich was not accepted at any frat. So now he is trying to get revenge. High school politics goes forever.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Skull_and_Bones_members

[KittyWampus]

13. He paints with such a ridiculously broad brush and glosses quickly over the fraternities/sororities

that are dedicated to service.

Maybe the answer isn't banning them outright but restricting collegial acceptance on campus to those who adhere to certain principles and behavioral standards.

If other groups want to form, let them do it off campus.

[linuxman]

16. What a load of shit

When fraternities are gone, will incidents of rape, racist songs, binge drinking, and general unsavory behavior at college parties in general justify the abolition of colleges? Newsflash: College is full of young idiots doing hurtful, stupid, foolish, racist, illegal, and generally abhorrent shit. Is every college kid doing that? No. The pathological obsession with making every frat out to be some bastion of booze-soaked rape and hazing reeks of a lack of any actual experience with college (not to mention a healthy load of sour grapes).

Broad brushes are for barns.

[X_Digger]

17. Yes Robert, let's ban people from.. associating with each other.

I mean, it's not like we have protection for free association or anything.. oh wait.

You'd think someone who's held a government post wouldn't make such a boneheaded statement.

Moron.

[romanic]

19. This is such a ridiculous idea

And one that can be easily abused. If you abolish fraternities, what's stopping a university from abolishing sororities, LGBT groups, Jewish student organizations, African American clubs, etc. Get what im saying?

Reich can get fucked with his broad brushing.