OPINION: Much needed reform to Greek chapters at UI

As a member of a sorority here on campus, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in a house and would recommend it to anyone interested. I believe Greek life can be a very beneficial experience and open a lot of doors.  

However, those in Greek life know that it is hard to look past some of its outdated rules, which prevent many people from joining. One of these examples is the treatment of sororities vs. fraternities, aka men vs. women. This is most obvious within the party scene, especially its stance on alcohol and drug use.  

For as long as Greek life has existed, women in sororities are prohibited from drinking or having any form of alcohol in the house, even if they are legally able to drink. These rules are strict and frankly unrealistic. Many girls resort to stashing their alcohol in places outside the house, or leaving it with a friend who doesn’t live with them.  

None of these same rules apply to the men in fraternities, who can drink in the comfort of their own home, assuming they don’t live in a dry house. These rules are strange. When I lived in the campus LLC’s last year, even their rules were not as strict, allowing those who were 21 to possess liquor if it was in regulated amounts. The severity of these rules leads to many women leaving the sorority once they get older, in an attempt to gain more freedom. The women leaving is a yearly factor that causes their chapters to lose money, pushing harder and harder for new members. 

Although the issue of sororities not being able to drink may seem like a ridiculous and shallow topic in times like these, I believe it goes deeper than that. According to Sage Journals, women in Greek life are 3.14 times more likely than non Greek women to be a victim of sexual assault while intoxicated. They are also 2.72 times more likely to be the victim of any type of sexual assault, sober or not.  

If a woman is in Greek life, it is commonly known to be a ‘risk factor’ for future sexual assault or rape. Now this could be for a plethora of reasons, such as the party culture in Greek life, but I believe it has a good deal to do with the issue of women being unable to drink safely in their own homes. 

Sorority women must constantly go elsewhere to have a good time and unwind, putting themselves in potentially unsafe situations by going to a stranger’s home. This also leads to many sorority girls having to depend on fraternity men in order to have a social life.  

When freshman girls enter Greek houses, they’re usually inexperienced, naive and desperate to “let loose” and finally have a good time away from home. Since they are unable to safely drink with their older, more experienced sisters, they form a dependency on the men in fraternities to form social bonds. 

My experiences with the Greek men at the University of Idaho have been overwhelmingly positive, but as I’ve gone to many campuses, there is always at least one fraternity that has a bad reputation, one that other Greek men are quick to make a note to stay away from. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to hear this warning until it is too late.  

Women, when put in unknown places with intoxicated strangers, are at their most vulnerable and not always able to make it out safely. Even in my short few months within the Greek party system pre-COVID-19, I have seen multiple sorority girls stranded at parties by themselves or put in unsafe situations. 

Throughout the past few months on campus, you’ve most likely noticed that the COVID-19 cases within Greek life are rising. Once again, it correlates over to people being unable to safely drink and bond with their roommates in their own home, having to go out and socialize in order to do so. While this is in no way a valid excuse, it is a very probable cause of the increased cases.  

Overall, the Greek system has work to do. We can no longer depend on century old rules simply because “it’s always been that way.” Greek life is facing new challenges with the COVID-19 era, and if it wants to survive, it will have to adapt. Removing outdated and impractical rules is a step in the right direction. This action will make both sorority women and the campuses around them safer.