Fraternity controversy at Swarthmore

milgymfam · May 1

I have no idea where this post should be parked, but as a parent I was struck by a feeling of relief that my D fell out of love with Swat and in love with a school with zero Greek presence, so here it is in parent cafe.

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3634109002

Weren’t they trying to get the frats there shut down years ago?

intparent · May 1

There certainly have been protests for several years.

doschicos · May 1

Good for the students doing the sit-in. I hope they abolish Greek life which is strays far from the school's Quaker roots, IMO.

ucbalumnus · May 1

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/2018-2019 Common Data Set Swarthmore College.pdf says that 11.3% of men join fraternities and 3.0% of women join sororities at Swarthmore.

milgymfam · May 1

Wow, that’s quite the gender imbalance! Together they make up a small portion of the student body. Too small to be worth all this trouble imo.

Trixy34 · May 1

Personally, I feel that there is no use/reason for greek societies on most campuses. I would love to see them abolished at more schools. They make college shopping all the more difficult for students who do not want to rush.

ucbalumnus · May 1

https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2019/04/21/i-was-a-member-of-phi-psi-swarthmores-fraternities-must-go/ is an opinion from a student who was a member of Phi Psi from 2011-2015. He is calling for the removal of fraternities at Swarthmore.

He does mention that Phi Psi was closely associated with the lacrosse team:

Callen Rain wrote:

The group’s affiliation with the lacrosse team, a group I was also a part of, partially explains this inaction. This misguided association begins even before admittance to the school, where players on the team who were fraternity members would often bring prospective students to the house. As a result, they communicated a not-so-subtle message that the fraternity was simply a natural extension of the team, putting pressure on players to join. I noticed that players who did not join the fraternity frequently quit playing lacrosse after a year or two.

Dave_Berry · May 1

"A sit-in at a Swarthmore College fraternity entered its fourth day Tuesday as student protesters demand the banning of two Greek organizations after offensive material from one fraternity’s 'meeting minutes' surfaced in April.

The action started Saturday afternoon, and organizers say they don’t plan to leave until their demands are met. Based on the results of past sit-ins at the school, that’s not a bad bet."...

https://www.philly.com/news/swarthmore-sit-in-history-fraternities-sexual-assault-black-enrollment-football-program-delaware-county-20190430.html

yourmomma · May 1

Yawn. So statements by students in a private meeting who are no longer there are "offensive." Nobody keeps meeting minutes like that. They don't even have a Greek system -- it's like two houses, which aren't even houses. Time to go back to class.

milgymfam · May 1

There is another article in the NYT that documents current students who have told the administrators about current sexual assaults happening on campus. This is not ancient history nor a yawn.

HarrietMWelsch · May 1

A fraction of this is ancient history, much is not, and none of this is a yawn. Enormous respect to the students organizing and participating in the sit-in(s). Peaceful protest *is* a strong remaining legacy of the school's Quaker heritage and I'm glad to see it still in active practice - and yielding results.
Last night Phi Psi and DU each "decided to disband and relinquish their houses," per President Valerie Smith.

yourmomma · May 1

There is another article in the NYT that documents current students who have told the administrators about current sexual assaults happening on campus. This is not ancient history nor a yawn.

And who is committing those assaults? How many are prosecuted? There's like 12 guys in their entire greek system. If bad things are going on it's not the greek system that's the problem. And now, according to the above post the frats are gone. But the assaulters are still there.

Publisher · May 1

I think that one of the most thorough college guides ever written "Choosing The Right College" is no longer published, but it detailed some unusual practices at Swarthmore College.

HarrietMWelsch · May 1

"Choosing the Right College," the one that the NYT called "a right-wing slant on choosing the right college"? If that's the one you're talking about, it's worth being frank about that fact that it is an unapologetically conservative tome from a very conservative organization.

"Midge Decter, a neoconservative author and critic, said she was delighted by the book. ''When I was shown the book I suggested that they add a final chapter entitled 'Burn Them Down,' '' she said, laughing.

HarrietMWelsch · May 1

Here's another choice quote: "Pomona College and its president, Peter W. Stanley, are criticized for having ''acceded to the demands of the political activists'' in allowing the formation of an Asian-American studies department last year. ''Why not an Italian-American studies department or a Nepalese-American studies department?'' the authors ask dismissively."

RW1 · May 1

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/01/us/swarthmore-fraternities-sit-in/index.html . It just seems like there are problems everywhere you look; even at tiny sedate campuses like Swarthmore. There are so many non PC activities built into greek life that most universities could find themselves in trouble.

Publisher · May 1

Yes. Most thorough college guide ever written.

Great resource for both conservatives & liberals.

HarrietMWelsch · May 1

My point is that readers would benefit from an awareness of the perspective of the group deciding, for example, what might constitute "unusual practices" at any fairly liberal college.

Publisher · May 1

Choosing The Right College was written from a conservative viewpoint. Wish that the Koch brothers would step up & fund its rebirth.

FWIW I am neither a liberal nor a conservative. I hold a mix of beliefs which vary from issue to issue. I am not afraid of being exposed to opposing points of view.

ucbalumnus · May 1

Some information associated with Choosing the Right College used to be at http://collegeguide.org (now just redirects to a site advertising the organization's books), including red/yellow/green ratings about the political environment from a right-leaning political viewpoint. Left-leaning students could reverse the political ratings to match their preferences.

PetraMC · May 1

*Any* other campus organization would be dissolved after boasts of drugging underaged girls and taking them to the "Rape Attic." Would the Swarthmore Debate Team or an acapella group not be shut down asap if they engaged in these activities? I'm pretty sure they would, since it would be unlikely that rich alumni would be upset.

Choosing the *Right* College is a bit on the nose, lol.

Fraternity controversy at Swarthmore

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