Dear Editor,
I wish to comment on the article that you wrote entitled, “Not everyone is sad about the fraternity purge”. I found what you wrote to be somewhat one sided, so I felt that I should do the correct liberal arts thing and show you the other side of the argument.
A person’s identity is made up of a myriad attributes, not solely what “frat” they might be in. Of course, the fraternity with which they are associated is a part of that identity, so why not identify someone by that? It’s the same as saying, “Do you know _____? You know, the baseball player” or “Do you know _____? You know, the pianist.” As far as friendships go between those involved with Greek life and those not, I understand that they are not the same after bid day. This is because of many factors (pledging, chapter meetings, parties, etc.), but it is not impossible.
What I have found is that my good friends are the ones who have pledged with me. I even have friends who are pledging different fraternities, and those who are not associated at all. In relation to what was mentioned about our collective identity as Denisonians, I agree that it is lacking, but I don’t agree about the reasons. Each fraternity and sorority is a different chapter, specific to Denison University.
We are proud to be a part of a school that allows us to forge brotherhoods and sisterhoods that last lifetimes. Have you ever gone to a sporting event? Now there is a place for us to unite as Denisonians. Root for the men and women of our school who work hard everyday to bring glory to the Big Red. I applaud you for acknowledging what the Greek system does right, but I would expect nothing less from an intelligent student accepted by Denison. Which brings me to another point. Denison is a prestigious institution regardless of whether we have Greek life or not. No one comes to Denison solely in the hopes of getting a bid from a fraternity or sorority. At the end of this all, it seems to me that what you are most concerned about are for people to cross the line between Greek and non-Greek.
If Greek life is stricken from this campus, it will only make the line an impassible gap. Those in the Greek system will feel slighted, trying even harder to make the distinction between their once recognized fraternity and others. To get rid of fraternities all together is not the answer. The answer lies somewhere in the middle, where these two reluctant sides have not seemed to venture yet.
Sincerely,
Christian Miranda