In 1776, a white man by the name of John Heath was rejected by two different exclusionary societies on his college campus. Outraged, he decided to cook up his own homemade society; one that would accept him and the leftovers of those like him (rich, male, and white.) Greek Life as we know it was only made popular when Robert E. Lee inspired his constituents to bond over their disappointment at the loss of the Civil War by resurrecting Heath’s recipe for elitist comradeship. The confederacy added its own violent twist that pervades Greek Life to this day: racist and misogynistic pride. Begrudgingly, white women were allowed to form their own tasteless substitutes almost 100 years later, and people of color were offered seating more than 100 years after that. Today, this tupperware container of privilege continues to allow its contents to ferment and contaminate the refrigerator that is higher education with the toxic rhetoric it was founded on.

 Abolish Greek Life began in the summer of 2020 at universities across the nation after several decades of assault and discrimination at the hands of Greek Life members. This movement quickly spread to Wash U; victims and allies organized protests and spoke vehemently about their own experiences. And now, as the spring recruitment cycle begins again, the stench of rot is too pungent to bear. Recently, the Student Union (SU) sent an email to the class of 2025 warning them of the nature and history of Greek Life at Wash U. Signed off by several members of SU, the message has prompted hasty responses from the Women’s Panhellenic Association (WPA) and the Interfraternity Council (IFC). In an open letter addressed to the Wash U community, accomplishments such as the administration being “in full support,” members keeping up with the average campus GPA, and maintaining pride in past efforts for reform are noted. Interestingly enough, this letter fails to include what reforms have been made, though it does list the potential addition of anti-discrimination awareness programs, providing resources for survivors of sexual assault, and having “thought-provoking” discussions as future endeavors. 

Several aspects of this letter are concerning. Bragging about university support is hardly evidence of morality; the administration is also in full support of companies that profit from and are directly involved in genocide, the fossil fuel industry, and the prison industrial complex. In addition, members being able to maintain the average campus GPA seems to be a standard for all organizations rather than a defense against claims of racism and discrimination. And while the letter leaves a bitter taste by failing to address reforms or changes that have been made, websites and social media are similarly lacking. In a joint anti-racism statement released in June 2020, the WPA and IFC reportedly began the development of implicit bias training as well as the implementation of a “$1000 inclusion fund dedicated to marginalized cohorts.” Active member fees for panhellenic and fraternity chapters are anywhere from $250-1200 per semester. With upwards of 500 new recruits this semester alone, can this be considered enough from an organization with a reputation of weaponizing money? 

Furthermore, the supposed “implicit bias training” seems unlikely to be effective. There is no incentive for active engagement, nor is there punishment for failure to attend. Given the opposition to programs like these to begin with as evidenced by the staunch denial of need for any reform at all, it is implausible that members will absorb any information, if they even attend. This exemplifies the troubling reality that campus administration ignores: students of color continue to be the targets of racist attacks and discriminatory policies within Greek Life. In 2013, a group of fraternity members photographed Black students in Bears Den while chanting racial slurs. That same year, members were also pictured in front of an American flag while pointing guns at a peer with a towel on their head in an Islamophobic demonstration. Several past members have spoken out about abuses they have experienced during their time, including being discriminated against during the recruitment process, tokenized, pressured to distance from their minoritized identities, ignored by their peers, and worse. The seriousness of the situation is only amplified by the recent destruction of “The Story Never Ends” mural by a white supremacist group, as well as rampant Islamaphobic threats made in the months after a student demonstration on 9/11. Wash U’s response to incidents such as these that blatantly jeopardize student safety, identical to that towards Greek Life, remains insincere and performative. 

At least the aforementioned initiatives are meant to be preventative; by merely providing resources for survivors of sexual assault, it is insinuated that sexual assault in Greek Life is inevitable. In 2019, the AAU Campus Climate Survey showed that 42.5% of undergraduate women experienced nonconsensual sexual contact involving physical force and inability to consent. These statistics are disturbing enough, but in 2018, a survey conducted by the WPA reported that respondents had experienced unwanted sexual contact from a member or members of every fraternity on campus. Survey creator, Rachel Lynn Braly, says she expected the survey would identify at least some fraternities with low incidences, but “the survey showed that’s a myth. There are no safe fraternities,” she says in a quote to StudLife. Currently, @MeTooWashU on Instagram is conducting their own survey, allowing survivors of sexual assault from a member of Greek Life to expose which fraternities they belonged to. The list is ongoing, but so far it includes more than ten fraternity houses. It is ignorant to think of these results as mere coincidences. Given this data and the influx of anonymous submissions on @WhyIDroppedWashU, @AGLWashU, and @MeTooWashU Instagram pages demonstrating the involvement of Greek Life in these occurrences, it is shameful that the administration has not taken these accusations seriously. If Wash U claims to be in support of survivors, why do they ignore Greek Life’s history?

Despite the evidence proving the necessity of abolition, both the administration and Campus Life have continuously shown their support for Greek Life through inaction and vocal approval. Campus Life has defended Greek Life by dismissing its role in systemic racism, failing to condemn it despite the majority of the student body being in favor of abolition, and even advocating for first-year students to rush. At a panel held by the Student Union, Campus Life’s then-executive director and current Dean of Students, Rob Wild, stated that “we all share responsibility for” the racial harm Greek Life has caused Black and minority students. This statement is not only inaccurate, it is reckless. Campus Life claims that “If students don’t want to be a part of, or have these groups on campus, they have no place on our campus.” Yet this is the extent of their support for the growing abolition movement. No further action has been taken, even after a survey from the Student Union revealed 65% of respondents called for abolition. The last point is simply cruel; it is common knowledge that first-years are the most susceptible to the violence perpetrated by Greek Life due to their inexperience and the tradition of tormenting younger recruits for entertainment. In 2015, the Task Force on Relationship and Sexual Violence reprimanded the university for failing to enforce their existing ban of all freshmen being at fraternity and sorority houses or events for at least the first three weeks of school, as freshman are particularly unsafe “from a sexual assault perspective.” Rob Wild has fiercely denied this fact, choosing instead to leave freshmen unprotected from the very organizations that take advantage of their vulnerabilities.

Is “rebirth” of such an organization rooted in discrimination and violence even possible? Despite anti-racism, sexual assault awareness, and diversity programs taking place in Greek Life houses, incidences are still reported at an alarming rate. This is no mistake; it is merely the curdling of the complex as it does what it was made to do-uphold white, nepotistic supremacy to allow for the systemic oppression and abuse of everyone else. It is only natural for those who benefit from such an institution to defend it. In a quote given to STL Public Radio, former Beta Theta Pi member and upcoming graduate, John Harry Wagner, says, “In the end, it can’t really be safe.” 

Lastly, the fact that a student organization has caused such harm within the community and been allowed to continue existing on campus is inconceivable. If accusations of this caliber were made about any other student organization, it would have been disbanded and disciplined immediately. As students at Washington University that are subject to the same rules for conduct that Greek Life seems to be exempt from, our demand is simple: Abolish Greek Life. The road to abolition is long and difficult due to protection from WashU administration, sympathizers within Campus Life, and the very same elitist gentry that Greek Life was founded by and for, but it is not far off. So far, several fraternities and sororities have been relinquished or dehoused, countless members have deactivated, and innumerable recruits have been warned away from these damaging organizations. We deserve camaraderie free from corruption, administration that protects students, and tangible action in response to student needs. When your leftovers begin to ooze, rot, and reek, do you take it out, tell it to stop decaying, and throw it back in the fridge? Or do you clean out the damn fridge?