United States: Growing intolerance of fraternities

Yale Universitys old campus is a genteel assortment of Gothic, Gothic-revival and Georgian architecture circling a graceful lawn, with a flash of Tiffany stained glass. It was also here, in the black chill of an early autumn night this academic year, that the quiet was punctuated by a single line of young men in white blindfolds marching in the dark, each with his hand on the shoulder of the one in front.No means yes, they chanted loudly and in unison. Yes means anal. Then: My name is Jack, Im a necrophiliac. And more along the same lines, at the direction of older members of the fraternity they were hoping would accept them as new members. The sudden, loud intrusion interrupted not only the peace of the Old Campus. It ended a brief detente during which there had been few such highly publicised scandals, and has reignited the recurring debate about whether American universities fraternities and sororities should finally be banned for good after repeatedly running afoul of administrators and plaintiffs lawyers over sexism, alcohol abuse, ‘hazing (humiliating or abusive initiation rituals) and worse. To many foreign observers, one question is clear: why do US universities tolerate these groups? The number of instances of high-profile nefarious behaviour by fraternities really hasnt gone away, says James Arnold, dean of math and sciences at the College of Marin in California, whose doctoral dissertation in higher education administration was about fraternities. Arnold sometimes serves as an expert witness in lawsuits brought against fraternities. They may have ratcheted up their public relations, but they really havent changed their behaviour. Everything has just gone more and more underground, until something like this happens, he says. Following the recent Yale incident, the Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed proposing that fraternities be banned. Meanwhile, women at Yale were so incensed by the incident that they complained to the federal government about an environment they called sexually hostile, and said the university failed to respond promptly to incidents of sexual harassment. If the resulting investigation by the US department of education finds this to be true, Yale stands to lose some $500 million (Rs.2,250 crore) a year in federal funds. But fraternities have the backing of powerful alumni on whom universities depend for contributions. The Yale fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE), for instance, counts among its members both presidents Bush. It was only after the government confirmed its investigation that the university announced it would suspend the fraternity chapter from on-campus recruiting or holding activities there for five years. The announcement in May came more than six months after the Old Campus incident. Several members of DKE were also disciplined. But some in American higher education have come to the fraternities defence. Maravene Loeschke, president of Mansfield University, in Pennsylvania, is trying to add fraternities, something she admits seems counterintuitive at a time when many university presidents wish, secretly or otherwise, they could get rid of theirs. She believes that fraternity members on her campus are serious about…