Last week, Stun columnist Munier Salem wrote a provocative article denouncing the Cornell Greek community for being arrogant, somewhat bullyish, and generally unimaginative. The article of course was met with some serious opposition; the online version has accumulated over 30 reader comments and is still rolling.
One response from the Greek community aired in today’s Stun, titled ‘In Defense of the “Doucheoisie.”‘ Author Joseph Pantoga delivers what frat critics may deem to be a surprisingly articulate, entertaining, and what I believe to be a spot-on analysis of the Cornell fraternity scene and stereotype. He airs some of the some complaints Salem did, namely that many frat brothers have become caricatures of themselves (and ladies are no exception either, apparently).
As history has shown time and time again, stereotypes can be exaggerated very easily. They do very little but breed resentment and, especially at Cornell, continue to encourage divisiveness between the Greek system and the rest of campus. Yes, everyone has met the laughable guy who joined his fraternity for its “alumni connections” and social reputation of throwing liquor and money at only the hottest “biddies,” or the makeup-laden sorostitute frat-rat who incessantly displays the letters of her sorority to conceal her own personal insecurities. But students at Cornell only do themselves a disservice when they allow people like that to determine how they view the Greek system as a whole.
The column points out that Pantoga is a member of “hte Sigma Chi fraternity (sic).” Being from a generally well-respected and somewhat ‘fratty’ house, it will certainly be interesting to see the Greek community’s response to the article.
What I wonder is whether or not these ‘Brosef Stalins’ Pantoga mentions are in fact cognizant of their communist status. I personally think most are – it is in fact their goal, not a side-effect that leeches on somewhere during the quest for ‘awesomeness.’ The question is, do they have the desire (or capacity) to defend themselves, or will they in fact take the lazy way out and keep bro-in’ out with their stunner shades?
