As many are reconciling with their history in Greek Life, I, as a former member of a fraternity, find myself in this same situation. The grappling with friends you once thought you had and the noted history of the society are ones that often fly through your mind. However, this really never became salient until I went through the Rush process after joining a fraternity and saw the coded language used by others. As a student from a rural area, Greek Life was a foreign concept. I did not know anybody in Greek Life and truly did not know what Rush meant. But I would soon learn what this means and the context of these actions. 

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I am currently not in the fraternity but I know many can remember the days of fraternity rush and, for some, the fear of attending events in general. The history of hazing and violence in Greek Life are real and continue to this day, despite what IFC may claim. These incidents occur on an almost unspoken level and permeate all fraternal endeavors. The locked doors of many fraternity houses shield this fact and the secrecy sworn by members deflects and downplays even the most serious situation. Within these doors occurs a range of hazing rituals ranging from degrading rituals, such as Halloween and forced costume assignments to embarrass members, to outright violence. Even the assault of potential new members who have received a bid at fraternities is common. These thoughts permeated my actions during Rush always kept me alert, even as a white man in a very white space. Also, as somebody who did not drink, the Rush scene was something of a culture shock. The abundance of alcohol, alcohol hazing, and forced-drinking was commonplace and seen in all Rush events. 

With these ideas in the back of my head, I still reflect on how these notions went out the window when I joined; however, they never simply disappeared. The cognitive dissonance I experienced as a member is one that looms over me to this day. Luckily, I joined a fraternity that did not participate in these things. However, while I paint a rosy picture of my Rush experience with this fraternity, I never truly saw the ugly face of white fraternity rush until I participated in the selection process. When I attended these events as a member, the basic meet-n-greet style of the events was normal. The conversations, some dull and some exciting, characterized these discussions. Nonetheless, some conversations you just never forget. For example, I spoke with a first-year student who shared with me that they had been alcohol-hazed and then assaulted in the fraternity’s “pledge shed” before being presented a bid. Or maybe the conversation with a Black first-year student who heard the N-word multiple times throughout a previous Rush event. These stories of those non-white, non-hetero persons in the Rush process took the blinders off for what was to come next: the coded language of closed-door selection meetings.

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The rhetoric of the fraternal selection process exemplifies the creation of these homogeneous spaces that develop areas accepting racism and homophobia. As the gatekeeping portion of this process determines who is selected and who is not, the importance of this process and those running the process cannot be overstated. The continuation of these white spaces is predicated, in many ways, on this very process of having all white bodies using their privilege and language to sustain this homogeneity. Having sat through these conversations and meetings, the coded language of being “genuine” and “good to talk to” often act as stand-ins for “this is a cool white guy” or “this white man felt comfortable enough in a predominately white space to share their story.” However, the flip-side of this coded language is where the covert discriminatino always emerged. For instance, the comment of “I just do not know if this person would ‘fit-in’” is a stand-in for “we do not think this (often non-white, non-heterosexual person) would fit in.” 

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As I sit and reflect on Greek Life today, I would argue that these spaces have no chance of being decoded and unraveled without total abolition. The pervasiveness of hazing and rhetorical isolation prevent any means of change. For years, Old Row fraternities have been structured in ways that prevent the necessity of change from ever coming to fruition. The funnelling of money from wealthy, ex-Old Row fraternity members eliminates this need and the power they contain on campus prevent the cries of foul play from ever escaping the fraternity’s doors. The vast majority of these white faces in all-white spaces is a visceral cycle and cannot change on its own. If it could, it would be done. However, I would challenge each member of Greek Life to take a stance and join the abolition of current Greek Life. I would also challenge us all to examine the reasoning behind some fraternities' silence before and after this summer. The construct of silence and secrecy plague the organizations and I would advise asking the following question: “why/how have these organizations remained silent?” Not just silence regarding support for BLM and other organizations but silence in general. In my time reflecting on this, I have discovered silence as a weapon itself and examining who is remaining silent, both in their voice and (most importantly) in the follow-ups on this, could be a critical tool in dismantling the system. 

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The placating statements from fraternal organizations seeking to avoid scrutiny function no longer as signs of allyship. Their compliance is one of acceptance with the current state and a symbol of comfortability within their privilege. The years of calling for change and restructuring have brought us to today. Today, as we sit at our residences, nothing has changed. Despite a pandemic, fraternal life rages on just in more secretive ways. Date nights have moved to random days of the week to avoid pictures of large swaths of people boarding buses. Socials have changed venues to those bars willing to accept large groups. Hazing and rush continue. We all, especially members of predominantly white fraternities, must play a role in dismantling the system that functions as a structure of inequality far beyond these four years. Reform after reform has shown that the master’s tools simply will not dismantle the master’s house. But then again, time has demonstrated that the master’s house stays because these organizations never cared to try new tools.