As a member of a fraternity, I recognize the severe problems that can occur with Greek Life and sexual assault at so many schools across this country. I can also tell you that it’s our responsibility as a Greek community to unequivocally say every single day, our members on this campus must strive to consistently uphold our values by keeping campus safe. I also want readers to understand that there are both men and women in Greek Life who are survivors of sexual assaults. This is why it is so reckless to simply paint all of Greek Life as perpetrators of these problems. It denigrates the survivors that we have all around us and de-legitimizes their stories, experiences, and perspectives. Yes, of course, there’s so much more we can do as a community to help support all survivors and preempt sexual violence wherever it manifests, which is why we attend annual Green Dot trainings and participate in Take Back the Night in partnership with the Women’s Center. It’s always incredible to see that so many members of our community involved in the Women’s Centers programming, both the sororities and fraternities. Satire is important in bringing light to a serious issue through humor, but when it ends up hurting survivors then it becomes misguided, unfunny, and even harmful. This being said, I really appreciate the work The Retriever does to report on the shortcomings of Title IX, by shining the light on this issues one day hopefully they can be rectified and improved.
Patrick Reid, Vice President for Recruitment for the Inter-Fraternity Council