On a recent episode of Dare We Say, we asked if Fraternities Should Be Abolished. As if in answer to the question co-host Shawna Vercher and I posed, yet another frat house, Kappa Delta Rho at Penn State University has been shut down for three years amidst allegations “that members posted pictures of nude and partially nude women – some who appeared to be sleeping or passed out – on private Facebook pages.” This scandal has been in the news for several months, but as reported by Susan Snyder in Philly.com, “The university has now completed its investigation and “found evidence of hazing, the use and sale of drugs, underage drinking, sexual misconduct, harassment and exploitation in terms of photographs, persistent harassment of two females, photographing women in extremely compromising positions and posting these photos online.”
Though the student-led Interfraternity Council pushed for more lenient sanctions, University President Eric Barron chose otherwise. It is difficult even to repeat the behavior reported at Kappa Delta Rho, much less to contemplate the manner in which these young men behaved. The excuse of liquor impairing judgment or fraternities fostering a gang mentality do little to explain a complete lack of respect for women. As reported:
“Pledges were required to create stories with pornographic images and a “sex position of the day…”
“Members regularly posted embarrassing photos of women,” the university said, “used demeaning language to describe females; and cultivated a persistent climate of humiliation for several females.”
President Barron stated:
“This is not a fraternity that’s operating in an appropriate way. We’re making a very strong statement about sexual harassment and sexual assault. So I’m not going to go back on that stance that we’re taking.”
The fraternities’ national chapter also promised to insist on future sensitivity training for its members.
But all of this points to a larger issue. In what kind of an environment did these guys grow up where this would be remotely acceptable? And why would you need “sensitivity training” to teach you that you don’t treat women like garbage? Or as inanimate objects to be used for your pleasure? Since the behavior at Kappa Delta Rho is hardly an exception, perhaps we need to ask ourselves about the messaging kids are getting at younger ages that encourages humiliation and abuse rather than outreach, friendship or respect. What is it about the fraternity environment that seems to grow these actions like spores in a petri dish?
In case you missed it, here again is our Dare We Say episode discussing the liabilities posed by many fraternities today. While not all fraternities behave this way, too many like Kappa Delta Rho are giving others a bad name. Please watch and weigh in with your comments. We’d love to get your take on what fosters this behavior.
2 Comments
I was never in a fraternity and or sorority and never missed that experience. However, I believe that most do good things while providing a connection to others socially and by interest. To abolish them because of this horrid behavior is like punishing all your kids when one is acting horridly. I prefer the punishments and extreme sanctions while calling attention to the behavior that warranted it. Better to improve the system then obliterate it. No doubt the perpetrators will find another venue to act out to the extreme. One good aspect of this is that these behaviors, which are not new, are being addressed finally. I say have at ’em University authorities and publicly punish and scorn these monsters. Like you, I wonder how these young men were brought up and what would cause them to act so abominably.
I appreciate your perspective, Elaine. And if fraternities do good things, I’d like to hear more about what they are. All we are getting is one frightening report after another in the news, indicating that these attitudes toward women are all too prevalent. Certainly we don’t want to punish all the children when one is bad — but perhaps what needs addressing is a symbiotic culture by college administrations that provides little guidance or guidelines before it is too late. Our articles on this issue are also posing an extreme perspective to point out that Universities administrations had better develop a more hands on attitude sooner than later (and it’s already later).