College Fraternity Profile: Bones Gate

[Abishai100]

College fraternities and sororities comprise the 'Greek Life' for students at various American colleges and universities such as Dartmouth College (Hanover, Hampshire) and Seton Hall University (South Orange, New Jersey).

Fraternities/sororities have come under the national radar (and critical gun) recently, since American policies towards education recently favor a research-oriented student experience.

Today, colleges and universities are all 'wired,' offering students access to the World Wide Web, and as with most libraries, all inventories and catalogs are now online.

Greek organizations represent the more classical student ways of life at colleges and universities. Like the more formal Freemasons of the United States, Greek organizations offer their members lifetime connections and networking conveniences as well as a social 'mystique.'

Dartmouth College (where I attended), for example, has a rich and storied Greek history, with numerous fraternities and sororities that recruit eager young students every year. Participation norms and rituals vary by organization (or 'house'), and membership is usually formalized by induction and then membership fee charter enrollment.

I was part of the Dartmouth College fraternity, Bones Gate, a localized chapter of the national Delta Tau Delta fraternity, which includes notable members such as Ramsey Clark (U.S. Attorney General), Tim Boyle (Columbia Sportswear president), Jack Laughery (Hardee's Restaurant chairman), Winston Groom (Forrest Gump author), Matthew McConaughey (Hollywood celebrity), Drew Carey (comedian and TV star), Stephen Gaghan (film director), David Schwimmer (actor), John Denver (singer), John Elway (Hall of Fame NFL quarterback), and Marcus Lutrell (Navy SEAL and author of Lone Survivor).

The criticism that fraternities such as Bones Gate receive is that they cater to students seeking alcohol for recreation and favor a non-academic 'party atmosphere' at colleges and universities. There has also been criticism that the kind of student life these social organizations favor are conducive to social ills such as alcohol abuse and date-rape (or the objectification of women).

Because fraternities such as Bones Gate are ritual-positive and membership exclusive (you have to be granted admission), they create social environments in which cultural norms are tested or even strained. Inductees may feel pressured to get female dates from sororities for fraternity parties (or 'formals'). However, they also create lifelong friendships which may prove fruitful for community building scenarios.

Bones Gate is a multi-cultural fraternity that is not too old but has built up a reputation for being the 'benign Animal House' of Dartmouth College. Every Homecoming Weekend and Green Key Weekend, Bones Gate throws one of the largest parties on campus, and its annual signature 'Tea Party' offers guests a traditional homemade 'brew' called a Cutter, of which honestly, I don't even know the ingredients (and I was the Bones Gate Rush Chairman in 1998!). Treatment of women at Bones Gate is relatively very civil and surprisingly progressive, and Bones Gate's interaction with the prominent sororities of Dartmouth College such as Sigma Delta and Kappa-Delta-Epsilon has been positive.

If I write something in a newspaper such as, "Tom Cruise, Kurt Russell, and Tom Hanks, all American celebrities, were inducted as honorary Bones Gate members for Dartmouth's tricentennial," people will revel in the casual democratic tone of such a socially-spirited notice! That is both the allure and the social 'Narcissism' of fraternities (and sororities) such as Bones Gate.

The question is, "Should policy-makers address the anarchy created by Greek organizations?"

I personally enjoyed my experience at Bones Gate at Dartmouth College and consider the bonds I made as lifelong cheers, and I also think fraternity life made me more conscious of social norms.








Bones Gate (Dartmouth.Edu)

Dartmouth College Greek Organizations (Wikipedia)

 

[DGS49]

View from the other side of the fence: Most middle-class American college students are - and have been for generations - struggling to meet the financial demands of college, to minimize their costs (which can be a significant burden on parents), and to get their degrees as quickly as possible. They are often working part-time jobs either on campus or at home on breaks, and have neither the time nor the EXTRA money that it would take to pledge a fraternity. For at least 60% of the college community (my guess), the decision of whether or not to join a frat/sorority is about as relevant as whether a Rolls or a Bentley is the better option.

Although many Frats make allowances for a few "minorities" and normal people, they are basically populated with spoiled rich kids who haven't a care in the world, and whose place in the world is pre-ordained through having been born into families who can provide a "full ride" to college, and have scores of business and other connections to make sure their darlings never have to experience want or strife - other than self-imposed.

The criticism of Frats about drunken parties is superficial and irrelevant. They are vestige of the WASP good-old-boy network that politicians rightly deny ever being a member of, because they know that the population despises that network and everything it represents.

Remember the Duke Lacrosse thing? Ever wonder why the American population was so quick to assume the lacrosse players were guilty of something? Same deal. Resentment of elites.

 

[Abishai100]

The Race Party

I agree that fraternities may be relics of 'clannish behaviour,' but they do serve as totems of social organization, so when a fraternity (or sorority) does something disorganized, everyone notices, and so it seems there is some kind of system of 'self-checking.'

However, I also agree that the vitality and beneficiality of the Greek system requires wise guidance.

There is something in human nature that caters to an idealism towards 'festive playspace-construction,' and even if fraternities (e.g., Bones Gate/DTD) are unsupervised 'dollhouses,' we can think about why 'social playgrounds' such as Facebook inspire dialogue regarding 'self-determined pulpits' (e.g., Modern Family).

Bones Gate at Dartmouth College served as a campus totem of 'liberal classicism' while I was there, but now I think about why/how various American celebrities (e.g., Tom Cruise, Jeff Goldblum, etc.) would be terrific 'Bones Gate spokesmen.'

Would you be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate (in the USA) who you knew was an integral member of a prominent Greek organization?