‘Not a Cent’
Dearest Editor
Brendan Fereday hits the nail on the head in his article “Broken dreams: Reform the Greeks.” Greek life is unnecessary divisive and detrimental to Pepperdine’s social and spiritual climate. Unfortunately there are many good-intentioned Christians who join Greek life allured by its promise of fellowship and fail to see the clear barriers it poses to fostering a healthy on-campus community.
I am convinced that Greek life has become no more than a recruitment tool for the University. It’s enticing to include “5 fraternities and 7 sororities” on recruitment material because the existence of Greek life boosts the amount of applicants which in turn makes Pepperdine look more prestigious and increases its standing on the national rankings list. Sadly that’s all it boils down to.
In many ways the administration appears to be devoted to upholding the Christ-centered mission of the school. I respect much of what the University does to aid in the spiritual formation of its students. In other areas though I scratch my head.
For example the school preaches cultural and religious diversity but gives scholarships to students who are part of a particular denomination. We hear so much about the dangers of consuming alcohol yet faculty in international programs encourage students to “experience the culture” by getting wasted. The administration won’t allow the formation of a LGBT group on campus believing that doing so would conflict with Pepperdine’s Christian values but it continues to allow the existence of 12 Greek organizations that encourage unhealthy and sinful behaviors among their members. I could go on and on. There is a large disconnect between what the administration says and what it actually does.
Greek life doesn’t need to be reformed; it needs to be axed completely. It has no place on a campus with a student body of this size. Without it there would still be plenty of opportunities for Pepperdine students to that find the healthy fellowship they all crave. As long as Greek life exists at Pepperdine I will not be giving a single cent back to the school. For full article go to www.birdtaylor.blogspot.com
-Taylor Bird class of 2011
Greek System Flawed
Dearest Editor
I just read the Graphic article about the pros/cons of the Greek system. I feel like every couple years a Graphic staff member tries to express their feelings (bash) the Greek system but it is normally biased and doesn’t really look at the whole picture. What you wrote is exactly how I feel and have tried to express over the years but really couldn’t find the right words. So thank you! I wasn’t in the Greek system for a few reasons. First and foremost I was terrified of it my freshman year and didn’t want to put myself in a position where I felt judged and rejected. I didn’t want an extension of high school. In my junior and senior years I observed the benefits of community and friendships that my friends in the system were experiencing but still had a lot of issues with the inclusion/exclusion which provides the basis for the system. The “Us vs Them” mentality is my main problem with the whole thing especially at a Christian university. I think it can be a wonderful community and benefit a lot of people but there needs to be better accountability. In the end it is a bunch of flawed people trying to make the best decisions and sometimes it will work and sometimes it won’t. Thanks so much for taking time to write the article (it shows).
-Katie Waters class of 2009