With hundreds of members, Greek Letter Organizations (GLO) represent a large section of the Carleton student body. Recently, there has been much fanfare surrounding the decision to create an ad hoc committee to explore the potential of extending Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) funding to these organizations.
The bulk of this discussion has focused on the perceived politics at play but has purposely failed to mention the inequalities that GLOs face. Under the banner of being overtly exclusive and expensive, they deride our mission to make better the lives of those in and beyond our community.
We are not exclusive and not expensive. GLOs welcome people of every race, religion, sexual orientation, identity, and political thought. We welcome people.
Our membership is deemed selective by authors in a misguided attempt to negate the good work we do. Most people who decide not to join after looking into GLOs opt out after finding out what kind of commitment is involved. Never has a member been dropped for wearing cargo shorts, voting Liberal, or loving someone of their own gender. Our membership fee, in a large part, goes to cover insurance costs and the cost of running the business of programming for dozens of members.
The argument was made that Carleton students shouldn’t fund GLOs because we can fund ourselves. Unfortunately, this sometimes is a large burden on our organizations that have a hard time to fund large speaking fees or set-up costs for larger-scale events. Moreover, our events— with the exception of our ritual— are more often than not, open to the public. How many times have people opposed to funding GLOs asked to attend our bed race for charity, join our Relay for Life team, or make sandwiches for the homeless with us?
Now consider this: according to a study by the University Learning Outcomes Assessment, fraternity membership is related to personal growth. The study looked at over 5,000 university men in the United States. It found that fraternity members fared better than their counterparts in several key areas of development, beginning when they joined a fraternity and building cumulatively throughout their college experience.
The data showed that members of GLOs were more likely to actively engage in community projects, engage in the political process, and actively pursue leadership roles. Finally, Greeks are more likely to develop engagements beyond the fraternity itself and learn to balance personal interests and time management.
To a select few who have a decided bias against Greeks on campus, there is little that can be done. Fortunately, the majority of those involved have a much more open mind to see that Greek life is much more than mundane. It is an input for each and every member to tap into and produce a valuable outcome— a better man or woman.
If your issue is that the ABC slate ran on a Greek-friendly platform then your issue should be with them. It just so happened that the majority of voters felt that A Better Carleton was the clear choice for the way forward. This isn’t political pandering. If you think it is, then why aren’t you speaking up against those who decided to fund a Womyn’s Centre? Clearly that must be “buying the votes of a select group.”
I am not a member of the Aboriginal Alliance Council of Carleton, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Romanian Students Association, TALON Systems Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Club, or the Wrongful Conviction and Injustice Association. I support the work of every CUSA club provided their mandate fits the requirement of the clubs and societies bylaws and could never imagine de-funding them if the money was being used in an appropriate manner. People should feel the same about funding Greeks at Carleton.
I would be more than happy to debate the merits of joining a GLO with anyone. At the risk of sounding like a platitude, it was (and remains) the best decision I’ve made in my life.
We, as a community of individual organizations, continue to represent the best investment an undergraduate student can make at Carleton. By providing a lifetime of opportunity and experience, dollar for dollar, and brother for brother, there is no better way to bolster an already great university experience.
— Justin Kaplan,
member of the Acacia fraternity (Carleton chapter)
