The greek community at Alabama prides itself on a great number of things. We boast a higher GPA than the average student, we have one of the largest, if not the largest greek communities in the nation, and generally, we enjoy telling people that greek life creates a classier, more well-rounded individual.
Given the events that occurred at Mallet on Wednesday morning, however, it seems impossible that we are “classier,” or even remotely more well-rounded than the average person. In fact, there’s little doubt in my mind that the greek system has had a negative influence on the characters of many of its members.
Many fraternities were founded by men looking to promote the highest forms of citizenship within their societies. They existed not only as social outlets, but also as groups dedicated to their college and surrounding environment. As a result of this fact, many fraternity creeds explicitly include phrases about living a life dedicated to the service and well-being of others.
It appears, though, that the message of service is lost on many members of the greek community. At some point, the greek community at Alabama lost its way, and instead of fostering a stronger college experience for everyone, both greek and non-greek, we’ve started down an entirely different path.
There is no justification for the behavior that was displayed outside of Mallet that Wednesday morning. Even if you do think Mallet is strange or different not that many members of the greek community actually know anything about Malleteers, since most have never tried to get to know any of them does it somehow make it okay to treat their members as some sort of different species? For those of you who might have to think about it for too long, the answer is an emphatic “no.”
Does anyone actually feel better about themselves after all of this happened? If you do, you ought to check your moral fiber, because it’s probably wearing pretty thin. The actions these boys took are downright deplorable, and in most aspects, I agree with Ms. Robert’s assessment of the situation. We, as a community, cannot stand idly by as individuals within the greek community are attacking members of the Alabama community as a whole. I’d like to say that we are better than that, but, until we see some change in the system, it’s pretty clear that we are not.
At this point, the Alabama greek community is faced with a choice. We can either choose to meander down a path of foolishness and hatred, or we can step up our game, turn around and hold our members responsible when they participate in actions that not only reflect a lack of human decency, but also cause very real harm to individuals that can’t defend themselves. The choice is ours. Which road will we take?
Zach McCann is a senior majoring in philosophy.
