FISCHER: Greeks must work together

In that classic fraternity film "Animal House," Dean Wormer asks the question, "What is the worst fraternity on this campus?" Greg promptly replies, "Well, that would be hard to say, sir. They're each outstanding in their own way."

While I don't put too much stock in how one movie character views fraternities, as a whole, it seems that today's greek system does not have a particularly positive public image.

The impression given in much of the popular media, and the impression many people outside the greek system seem to have, is that fraternities represent some of the worst and most troublesome aspects of college life.

As a member of a fraternity here on campus, this bothers me quite a bit. I'm proud of my greek affiliation, and yet I often find myself receiving disapproving looks and having to explain myself when I tell people that I am part of a fraternity.

Historically, fraternities and sororities are supposed to represent the best in student life and involvement. They are supposed to help young men and women get involved and give back. To a great extent, this seems to be what is happening.

The UNL Greek Affairs Web site reports that on our campus and nationwide, greeks' average GPA exceeds the average student GPA. Last year, greeks at UNL alone logged more than 3,000 hours of community service and raised $125,000 for charitable organizations.

On an even bigger scale, although only 2 to 3 percent of people belong to a fraternity or sorority, an unusually high percentage of U.S. presidents, senators and representatives, as well as Fortune 500 business owners, have been greek.

Greek life is supposed to prepare people to be leaders, to develop them socially, academically and in some cases, such as my own fraternity, spiritually. These sorts of statistics and the many ways that greek students give back to their universities and communities suggest there really is something the greek system is doing right, that it really is shaping some outstanding individuals.

Yet, there also seems to be a dark side to greek life. Drinking has long been a problem on college campuses, and fraternities in particular are often stereotyped as glorified party houses. Unfortunately, I have to admit that this stereotype is not altogether unfounded. Studies in the past 10 years have consistently found that binge drinking, which is already high among college students, is nearly twice as prevalent among greek students as it is among non-greeks.

The correlation between fraternities and sexual violence is another dark reality that cannot be ignored. A June article from the National Sexuality Resource Center reports that, "The social science literature of the past three decades has shown that fraternity men are more likely than their nonaffiliated classmates to rape women."

It goes on, pointing out that, "Some studies have estimated that as many as 70 to 90 percent of reported campus gang rapes are committed by members of fraternities." More anecdotal research has found that some fraternities encourage sexual conquest and demeaning treatment of women.

To be fair, it should also be pointed out that many fraternities today take active measures to prevent sexual violence and to educate their members on how to avoid it.