rutgers columnist links greeks’ potential for parties and charity

Comes now an interesting thought out of the daily rag at Rutgers University: the very features that make fraternities such efficient party machines are the same as make them philanthropic dynamos. And columnist Michael Locke doesn't doubt that greeks contribute vastly of their time and money to good causes. At Rutgers, anyway, greeks raise "hundreds of thousands of dollars" a year; Mr Locke takes the time to plug a few pet causes, as well as devote a paragraph to an upcoming Lambda Upsilon Lambda event (though sheepishly adding, "at the risk of sounding like an advertisement"). Yet he admits that "for most students, the only contact they think they have with greek life is during 'frat parties.' And to a degree, greeks are to blame for not being more vocal about their other activities." That's certainly true. Part of the problem is student proclivities: advertisements for a blockbuster blowout are more likely to bring around rushes than an early-morning campus cleanup. But students drawn by the latter (or better yet, both) would probably make for better pledges in any case.

Mr Locke's novel and frankly intriguing point comes from the observation that greek organizations are essentially unique in regularly offering such disparate programming, the "work hard" and the "play hard." His argument:

I believe this vigor and perpetuation of the Union/Mine Street nightlife is exactly what drives fraternities to success in their other endeavors. It is exactly the same bureaucracy that fraternities must develop in order to safely host social events which is also put to use for philanthropy, athletics and more. Outside the college fraternity, there is no other type of organization that has developed an internal government aimed to accomplish such radically different tasks. And the amazing part of it is that they succeed.

His thesis, on which he expands further with considerable flourish, is certainly worth a serious ponder, as is his almost shockingly sensible conclusion:

I guess the point is, criticizing greeks for their traditional tendency to have a good time is also a criticism of the structure that allows for hundreds or even thousands of hours of philanthropy and service to be accomplished. Sure, greeks could still commit to service and not be allowed to host parties, but if both can occur in perfect harmony, what is the harm?

Hear hear!

Rutgers Daily Targum