Sexual assault at colleges and universities has become somewhat of a hot-button issue over the course of 2014. Back in March, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights began a Title IX investigation into how UC Berkeley was handling reports of sexual assault, contributing to a nationwide conversation about sexual assault, consent and university policy. By the beginning of the fall semester, however, the conversation took a turn. Within the first few weeks of school, a handful of sexual assault reports shifted campus and national attention to a different subject: the Greek community. From the five individuals reportedly given “roofies” at Delta Kappa Epsilon in October to the Rolling Stone article on Jackie’s story, the Greek community has certainly felt the sharp eye of public scrutiny.
I may not be a member of the Greek community myself, but I have spent my last four years as an undergraduate navigating friendships and relationships that oftentimes have put me in the middle of the Greek community and its events. From these personal experiences, I’ve found myself returning to the question of Greek life and sexual assault and thinking about its role in enacting the earliest philosophy I learned in grade school: social contract theory. Social contract theory is a philosophical view — most frequently linked to Enlightenment thinkers Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke — in which individuals enter into a “social contract” with a body of governance where some individual rights are lost in exchange for protection of one’s body and property.
We can think of this analogously to the UC Berkeley community. Students, community members and organizations such as student clubs and Greek organizations come together to form a collective body under the “governing institution,” as Locke might say, of UC Berkeley. A consequence of this social contract, according to Locke’s philosophy, is that sometimes certain entities breach their agreement to preserve the well-being and livelihood of all. When this happens, individuals have the right and obligation to eradicate tyrannical leaders for the good of society as a whole. Here at UC Berkeley, fraternities should be no exception to fulfilling their end of the social contract. When the well-being and safety of and sovereignty over our bodies as students, and as members of the community, are taken away from us, we have the right to demand that the organizations that commit these wrongs make fundamental changes. My demands as a friend, peer and woman on the UC Berkeley campus — if met — could promise both a healthier campuswide discussion about sexual assault and the role of Greek institutions.
If UC Berkeley’s Greek community is genuine in its call for change, then each and every fraternity and sorority must teach its members consent. Misunderstanding or assuming consent is often a key factor in sexual assault. Learning strategies to intervene in sexual assault, as the CalGreeks community has promised, is helpful — but it is not the “end-all” solution. Consent requires individuals to take responsibility for their own actions by encouraging partners to check in with each other while hooking up, and respecting others’ personal comfort with physical space and intimacy. Women are taught to watch their drinks and always keep a buddy; consent is but a small burden for fraternity men to carry. But workshops cannot work alone: The Greek community must take the workshops’ messages seriously. The consent workshops themselves should be engaging and interactive, with practical information that goes above bystander intervention — they must challenge systemic ills and social misconceptions about gender and sex. Consent outside the context of sex should also be included in this workshop. If sexual assault continues to be seen as a joke to individuals within the Greek system, or if attendance is relaxed, then Greek organizations must be prepared to hold individuals responsible.
Excessive drinking needs to stop, and fraternities are in the perfect place to make this positive change on campus. For many students, fraternities are synonymous with drinking and free alcohol, especially for the under-21 crowd. According to a study in 2002 by Dr. Antonia Abbey of Wayne State University, 55 percent of sexual assaults reported by college women involve alcohol consumption by either the victim or the perpetrator (but usually both). The immense alcohol consumption that takes place in the Greek community and at Greek houses — mingled with social pressure, dark rooms, hypersexualized party themes and a general attitude of flippancy toward consent — creates the perfect environment for sexual assault. Binge drinking and excessive alcohol consumption in the Greek community or at Greek houses are no secret — just walk down Piedmont Avenue on a game day or a Friday night. This change won’t be easy, but the Greek community must develop a healthier culture of drinking, in which alcohol is secondary and not central to social activities. Band nights, group hikes and house basketball games are some activity ideas that can give people the choice to opt in without drinking.
Fraternities must stop hazing. Much of this excessive drinking is reinforced by hazing — about one-third of fraternity and sorority members in Abbey’s 2002 study agreed that excessive consumption of alcohol is part of the Greek initiation process. This archaic practice has resulted in at least 60 unnecessary and tragic deaths since 2005, according to Bloomberg News. Instead, Greek members must pride themselves in supporting one another rather than dominating or humiliating one another. “Bonding” is not excuse. There is an endless number of alternatives to hazing that could achieve the same effect. Why don’t new fraternity members organize a rigorous philanthropy program?
Traditional gender roles and misconceptions about sexual roles increase risk of the misinterpretation of signals, possibly leading to sexual assault. Social norms signal young men to anticipate feelings of aggression and power while drinking, making violent behavior — such as sexual assault — normalized in the minds of men who believe they are under the influence of alcohol. Therefore, it is necessary for Greek organizations to hold anti-oppression, power and privilege workshops.
Greek organizations must be a good neighbor to the UC Berkeley community as a whole. Red cups, fast-food containers and vomit are daily sights on “frat row.” Greek organizations need to go beyond organized philanthropy and take up the ethics of cooperation and responsibility. Not only is the trashing of Piedmont Avenue disgusting — it is a disgrace to our campus. Ever heard of the broken-windows effect? Disrespect for our physical space is thought to be tied to crime and disrespect for others — some even hypothesize it can increase rates of robbery, rape and homicide. Philanthropic organizations such as the ASUC-sponsored “Greening the Greeks” project will continue to be a futile joke until fraternities act as true stewards of our local environment.
While I may believe the fraternity brothers and all others who overlook sexual assault are morally wrong, and while I believe the current system of fraternities is historically entwined with systematic oppression and violence against women, there are some fraternity men out there trying to do the right thing. I applaud the very few fraternity men I’ve seen out there who have taken time to go to consent workshops on their own and participate in a dialogue about sexual assault that acknowledges the role of the Greek community. This does not, however, excuse the institution of fraternities from its responsibilities to not facilitate sexual assault, silence victims and haze my male peers. This does not excuse those who continue to turn a blind eye to the abuses in their fraternity either, even if they know and understand consent and oppression. It’s time we take a comprehensive and humble approach to the problems within the Greek community, going beyond suspension or calls for disbandment.
Michelle Endo is a UC Berkeley senior and progressive blogger.
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