Comments on: San Diego State University Drug Bust: don’t jump to conclusions about frats

By: Brooke

Brooke — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:19:57 +0000

I am saddened to hear that the mistake of just few members of greek fraternities have tarnished the image of fraternities and sororities all over the United States. It is very important that at this time we stand together, because we must realize that though we are only one person, our actions can reflect both good and harm upon our reputation as a greek community.
Although each chapter supports its own values, we must remember that each action reflects upon the entire greek community with our values reaching a farther than any individual fraternity or sorority. It is important to learn from our mistakes and move forward. The greek community is one of the strongest I have ever witnessed and we all know that our good deeds often go unnoticed. It is of the utmost importance to keep moving forward and prove to everyone time and time again that we are people of substance, of morals and of high acheivement standards. Do not let one bad event determine the course of history, let our good deeds prove how great we, as Greeks, really are.

By: atrs

atrs — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:53:53 +0000

The one thing that was extremely emphasized upon my joining of a sorority was that everything you do will either credit of discredit your organization. I know it may not seem fair but that is the way Greek Life is. It sucks that a member may get involved in a situation such as this. They took that pledge and we in turned pledged them with trust. They know that their actions are going to effect whether or not it is in a bad or good way their organization. This is never going to change, people will always step out of line. In any issue whether it is Greek Life to even the World News the bad is publicized more than the good. All you can do is educate your members and hope that they act accordingly and publicize the good you do as much as possible.

By: Blondey

Blondey — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:51:20 +0000

Well I’m not Greek but I do hang out with a LOT of greeks. My opinion is just because it was a greek who was the main source of all of this Does NOT mean that all greeks are like that. Thats like saying all geeks are ugly. which is obviously wrong! There are definitely some hott guys/girls that can out smart pretty much anybody! You can’t label a group! I used to think of the greek system in a bad way, but i was proven wrong when I met some friends and realized they were greek so i gave their lifestyle a shot to be around. its not bad at all! Now does that mean that all of a sudden I am in a group that is known for drugs, rape, and other misbehaving conduct? NO! It means I hang out with people who happen to be a part of a Brotherhood! I haven’t read any of these other comments so sorry if some of this seems to be a repeat.

By: SaferANDStrongerNow

SaferANDStrongerNow — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:15:09 +0000

It’s so sad to see things like this happening- not just on college campuses, but anywhere- especially since it seems to be happening with people of younger ages more recently. I guess I just wanted to give a little example of how the Greek system can change someone’s life for the better who may have been on the wrong path in the first place.

I was arrested for a DUI my senior year of college- I was pulled over, searched, put in handcuffs, booked and spent the night in jail amongst approximately 50 or so men. It was the worst night of my life. I was the first girl in my sorority to ever have something happen like that. I was embarrassed and ashamed of my actions and that what I had done may have a negative effect on my sorority.

I was found guilty and fined over $2000 by the state, and my university asked for over 100 hours of community service. But my sorority, instead of punishing me, asked me to speak about what happened that night and what had led to it. This actually forced me to come to terms with my drinking and it’s negative consequences. Instead of writing a check to make it go away, or filing papers to finish hours, the sorority made me reflect on my actions and explain to our other members the consequences that come from every decision we make. In a time in my life when I was the most worried about losing people because of what embarrassment I may have caused, my sorority sisters banned together beside me and gave me a stronger foundation to stand on. They helped me to learn from my mistakes and more importantly, have the courage to teach others from them.

I can understand why people may want to blame the Greek system. I know that in the beginning, it was easier for my family and friends outside of my sorority to point the finger at a larger organization. But the truth is that the Greek system can be life changing in the most positive way… Sometimes people would just rather have a scapegoat than believe that his or her child is capable of such mistakes. But I’m writing this to say that we are human and we make mistakes and I’m not asking to be excused for those mistakes- I’m just saying that we should hold the individuals responsible and allow them to do their own penance instead of pointing at a group because it’s easier.

I was lucky enough to be given a second chance by those who cared for me and I’m a stronger and smarter woman now because of it- That DUI would have happened whether or not I had been in a sorority- but the way I was able to overcome the incident and grow from it was a direct result of the love and care that came from my sisters.

By: UCDavis Greek

UCDavis Greek — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:40:33 +0000

As devastating as it was to learn of the drug bust at San Diego, the lowest blow came from the media’s obvious slant against the Greek System. While everyone here has brought up the wonderful points of service, community, brother/sister-hood, if the portrait we paint to our fellow non-Greek students remains that of the party attitude, perhaps we should find ways to illuminate our finer qualities in a more public light.
I love the fundraisers all of our chapters have here at UCDavis, but often the rest of the student body never learns of them. Our student newspaper never reports of any of the amazing results. Stepping away from drug bust, has anyone tried to search for a national total of all philanthropic donations made by fraternities and sororities combined? It was as though looking for a needle in a hay-stack!
Someone mentioned closing ranks within our respective chapters and looking inward for guidance and rebuilding. I suggest we may need to open our doors and allow ideas for improvements.

On a personal tangent; as a sorority member and a member of an NCAA team, I am highly offended someone would lump together greeks and athletes as toolbags or any other such degrading name. More likely than not, such an ignorant prick has at least a jersey or two of his favorite professional athlete tucked away in his closet. And it’s probably safe to assume said athlete has been victim to acussations of sexual abuse, rape, drug, slander, bribes, and any assortment of other finger-pointing.

“From the outside looking in, you can never understand it. From the inside looking out, you can never explain it.” can it be explained any better?

By: Jesse

Jesse — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:15:39 +0000

“Fraternity life is not all about partying, sex, drugs, and rock and roll as the public seems to think.”

i don’t think anybody associates frats with rock and roll. i don’t think i’ve ever known a frat boy who plays an instrument … but cocaine, definitely.

maybe you’re in a christian school or something but at universities of california, it sure seems like a lot of cocaine and hundreds of kegs goes through frat houses. i did not develop this stereotype from reality TV or something - this is personal experience after 5 years at a UC.

i’ve had frat boys try to punch their way through bouncers at my party claiming that their frat has the right to be at any party they want. we threw their punk asses out b/c we way outnumbered them but that’s the mentality i see when i visit frat houses and when they visit me.

so you’re right that not all frat boys are coke-heads and rapists, but there seems a higher likelihood that a random frat boy is a coke-head than a random non frat boy.

By: Da Boss

Da Boss — Sun, 11 May 2008 04:16:15 +0000

Frats are a joke. Full of toolbags that pay for their friends. End of story. Greek life should just disappear

By: K

Sun, 11 May 2008 01:34:04 +0000

I was in a SDSU sorority when I went there 2 years ago. In response to the comment that “…most people are drunk at these “charity” events. That is not helping the community or the school”
I just wanted to say that in my house, as well as others that I know, if a sister showed up and had been drinking, even if she smelled like alcohol from the night before, she was sent home immediately and there was a major consequence for this action. We knew that there was a time and a place for drinking and when you are at a philanthropy event that was not one of them. It took away from the focus of why you were there. Not to say that all houses followed the same ideas that we did, but I just wanted to let you know that saying that “most people” is incorrect. My sorority had over 100 members that were all sober at every charity event. I hope that this is able to give you a better feeling about the greek community and the actions we take as a group.

By: admin

admin — Sat, 10 May 2008 09:29:41 +0000

What you need to understand Joe,

The number of fraternity members that were arrested on Tuesday represent less then 1% of the entire Greek students at SDSU. THat is HARDLY a valid representation of fraternities and sororities on this campus.

You’re free to come to whatever conclusion you’d like about “frats”, but statistically, the media is blowing this completely out of proportion by claiming that the actions of less then 1% of our Greek organizations represent the views of the entire Greek population at SDSU.

Greeks are an easy target in the media. Controversy is a sellable story, and it’s important that the world realizes that the media is not telling the whole story.

be informed. know the numbers. make a decision after you understand

By: joe

joe — Sat, 10 May 2008 05:32:26 +0000

ive been at SDSU for four years and throughout those four years there, there have been a handfull of deaths and to many fights to count that most if not all have had and been affiliated with greek life. There is obviously going to be a negative vibe towards that aspect of life at SDSU, and i think that it can definatly be a negative vibe. when you have to pay endless amounts of money where a majority of that money goes towards throwing “get togethers” aka parties, its a wonder that the community will look at that as a bad thing. Sure the greek community helps out with events and throws other things to raise money, once or twice a year…. and where only a handful of the member show up and/or participate. So when a HUGE drug bust occurs on a campus and there is a tie to SIX frats i think that has to say something. and again of course there is going to be a negative look. I really dont know how to feel about the whole subject, i just think its funny that these frats are claiming ignorance towards this drug bust thing. the individual is a member or your frat or was a past member at some point these individuals who are caught selling, using, whatever with the drugs was affiliated with your particular frat. I think that this was a great thing to happen to the campus, not so much towards the greek life but just that it shows at least some school officials and local officals care about the students. And i do agree that at ANY and i mean ANY university across the country, if the DEA was to do a undercover six month invesigation there would be a signifigant amount of arrests and people put to blame, however i still feel that a majority of them would be affiliated with affiliated with greek life. not the religious frats, not the business and psychology and other fraternities, but the frats that throw parties three days a week and are continuously causing problems in the area.