I’m in an awkward situation here. I’m often shocked when I read the Daily Stun, but I’m not sure why I keep writing about the absurdities that often grace the pages of our school’s flagship paper. At this point, they have become so commonplace that I shouldn’t be shocked. Yet I am. I know a few editors at the Stun and they seem to be reasonable people. So the only answer I have is that they just simply don’t do any editing anymore. And to complicate things even more, the article I’m calling your attention to today was written by one of the few conservatives at our Blue School, and probably the only one at the Stun (other than when the Bellin Tolls and the WackAttack!). But that’s what happens when you take an apologetic tone and say high GPA’s (2.25s, precisely) are classist and discriminatory. I hate to create a riff among conservative Cornellians, but here goes – enough disclaimers.
The article by Leigha Kemmett on fraternities creating a GPA requirement is quite ridiculous – I literally cannot find any logical path from which she drew her conclusions. To use her own words: it’s a “frankly, stupid” argument. She takes quite a malicious tone and manages to transform a thoughtful, smart decision by the IFC into a conspiratorial one – as if the frats are all gathering in a dark basement, conniving and hatching a plan to keep dumb people out of their special clubs. Kemmett believes that by frats enacting a minimum GPA requirement of 2.25 for their pledges, they are “exclusionary…elitist…[exhibiting] classism…blackballing rushees,” and ultimately not living up to their responsibility of “provid[ing] an atmosphere where young minds can blossom and expand.”
How soon we venture from reality. Let’s set the record straight here, cause obviously nobody else wants to. Men at Cornell do not join a fraternity to enrich their academic atmosphere and allow their mind to blossom. They join a frat to make good friends, enrich their social atmosphere, meet sorority babes, and allow their minds to shrivel in Keystone Light. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – many Cornellians feel this is the ultimate college experience. And sure, I have many friends in frats who I know have helped other brothers frequently with schoolwork and aided other frat members in their academic difficulties – this happens all the time. But anyone who has ever gone through pledging will tell you it’s not a place for <2.25ers. Most programs at Cornell will enforce serious repercussions if one is to fall below a 2.0 GPA. I for one know that retaining student status in over half of the engineering majors requires a GPA >2.2, and none accept a GPA below 2.0, which I believe is the case for most programs at Cornell.
Yet instead of requiring neophyte Cornellians (most pledges join in their first 3 semesters) to demonstrate some stability in their academics, Kemmett would advocate a system that allows new, inexperienced Cornellians to toe the thin line between success and crushing defeat – how exciting! What is most vexing is that Kemmett goes on in the rest of her article to highlight all the arguments one would make against her stance. Namely, the fact that if you are doing poorly at Cornell, you should seek help from TAs, PROFESSORS, OFFICE HOURS, TUTORS, HELP SESSIONS, REVIEW SESSIONS, CLASSMATES – not from foam parties, binge-drinking, and all-night mixers. Do not take me wrong – I know many, many brilliant fraternity members. But when you’re borderline failing your classes, pledging is not the solution. I can’t believe I have to be the one to point this out.
Either the author is truly confused on this whole subject, or she has some sort of inner turmoil / resentment towards the fraternity system. Unfortunately, much of her article is quite bitter and self-absorbed, making me lean towards the latter option. Not only do I disagree with her on every point, but I highly support this fantastic and responsible decision by the IFC. I’ll let you decide on some of her quotes (my thoughts in bold).
Either the IFC needs to cut the shit about frats being good for students academically, or they need to rescind this rule, to avoid continuing to govern in hypocrisy. [more great quotes like this after the jump]. Why the animosity?
Either the fraternities fail to provide a positive learning environment and use this rule solely as a PR ploy to inflate average fraternity GPAs, or fraternities are indeed a positive force in the community and are restricting their membership for another reason. A ploy…another reason…? Perhaps they’re stealing all the smart kids to design WMDs..oooo…
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This organization [IFC] clearly believes that they are not a positive influence for those students with a GPA below a 2.25. If they do believe that, then isn’t this a responsible decision?
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The most obvious reason for such a rule, as I see it, is pure and simple classism. The IFC and its fraternities have been accused for generations of being elitist, discriminatory institutions available only to wealthy, white members of the community. This GPA policy only continues this unfortunate trend by favoring those who have attended high quality, expensive prep schools or highly ranked (mostly wealthy) public schools. So only wealthy white members get GPAs > 2.25.
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Meanwhile, those with less access to such an expensive, quality secondary education are railroaded by this IFC policy… In addition to being thrown out of their comfort zone, they are cast into a classroom of intellectual know-it-alls. Why the sarcasm towards >2.25ers?
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While many students do indeed flourish, many others flounder — others such as myself. Sorry =(
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For students who have had difficulty adjusting to a new and challenging environment, it is appalling to me that they must not only suffer the indignity and difficulty of having to overcome a low GPA during their first semester at Cornell, but also having to come back to school only to be blackballed during rush week. Should they not adjust to the environment before taking on more, technically ‘unnecessary’ responsibilities?
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Freshman year, I found myself as an engineer after having chosen in high school to pursue the subject. Needless to say, given that I am now a graduating government major, engineering did not work out… I worked my ass off for that C, and earned only a 2.0 on the GPA scale for that particular class. MATLAB is easy, and I get plenty of C’s.
Fraternities are supposed to encourage academic growth, but last time I checked, they weren’t required to tutor struggling students. Greek Life is supposed to be a social scene, not a Special Ed. Department. If you can’t pull a 2.25 maybe that means you should spend more time in a library instead of adding the responsibility associated with joining a fraternity. The IFC is making a decision that it values individuals who can effectively balance their school work and social life. It has nothing to do with private high school vs. public high school or classism. Plenty of public school students perform admirably at Cornell regardless of their economic situation. This woman is clearly just upset that, had she been a male student, her GPA would prevent her from joining an institution she clearly despises, making her feel inferior. If you have the privilege of writing an editorial for the Daily Sun, don’t use the space to throw yourself a pity party.
Thanks for the comment, Anonymous: for some reason the author of the original article believes that the fraternities have a tradition of receiving failing students with the goal of turning their academic career around.
Kemmett fell asleep at the wheel on this one.
I am a fellow Sun Columnist and just wanted to chime in briefly. When i first read the article being discussed, I too strongly disagreed with its stance. Nevertheless, I would love to see this article or any by onecornell attack the beliefs and opinions of articles written in the Sun, not the principle of the Sun entertaining “absurd” and differing opinions. Although I am not a member of the Cornell Greek community, I find it widely accepted that despite the many great contributions of the fraternity system (charity, advancing education, etc.) this is not the main reason most students join one. In stark contrast, the social stigma, attractive parties and potential to meet lovely women is in reality what drives most to pledge. College first and foremost should be about getting an education. Things such as joining a fraternity are simply luxuries. I fully support the decision by the IFC to impose a gpa requirement. In doing so, the IFC is prioritizing someone’s role as a student above theirs as a potential frat member. While there are plenty of other reasons why fraternities can more justifiably be pegged discriminatory, Leigha Kemmett is surely misguided in making this issue into one of them.