Content Warning: This column contains content concerning sexual violence.
Around 4 a.m. on Aug. 24, a 19-year-old member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, a fraternity commonly known as “Fiji,” reportedly raped a 17-year-old girl.
In an official statement made regarding the current plan as the investigation continues, Chancellor Ronnie Green said that the university administration will follow the legal guidance of professionals in the investigation and that they plan to “protect the rights of all involved.” Saying that “locking them up” was not a simple solution, the chancellor explained that both students and faculty are trying to “do better” moving forward.In response, the school administration shut down the fraternity’s house and suspended them from the Greek community.
However, because an American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds, we can’t afford to leave the fate of students in the hands of an empty promise. Universities only “trying to do better” after sexual assaults and rapes are committed in their Greek systems is simply unacceptable. Administrations must create productive reform and actively punish those committing crimes.
As educators, school leaders’ first step in changing the behavior of these individuals should be reteaching them the proper ways to conduct themselves in social settings. For example, administrations could set up monthly trainings that aim at preventing sexual assault, as well as open talks with those who are passionate about the prevention of such crimes so that perpetrators are made aware of the consequences of their actions. That way, each person can actively learn from their mistakes and make the right decisions on their own, even past collegiate life.
Unfortunately, education is not enough to terminate sexual assault in Greek life. After an investigation revealed that they had “a pattern of sexually harassing conduct,” the University of Nebraska-Lincoln suspended Fiji from 2017-2020. Members were also required to attend training for alcohol and drugs, the prevention of sexual misconduct and hazing and women’s issues.
Knowing that a member chose to rape a girl, even after three years of suspension and education, is not only unsettling, but extremely terrifying. In a day and age where sexual assault and rape surviors already struggle to gain justice for the trauma they endure, university leaders must enact harsher punishments on those who continue to scar the lives of women and men on campus.
This being said, making suspension an immediate consequence of any fraternity under investigation for sexual assault or rape allegations would be a step in the right direction toward controlling this type of behavior. Members of the fraternity were given three years to take advantage of a second chance to self-reflect and do better, and still chose to make the same mistakes at the beginning of their first semester back on campus. Their actions should make even the most ardent Greek life supporters cynical of the abilities of people to change for the better.
In my case, the events at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln legitimized my worst fears moving to college. As a young woman, I am terrified of being raped or sexually assaulted, especially now that I frequently walk alone around campus. After meeting people in classes and my dorm who rushed, I thought I could have been making an overdramatic generalization about Greek life and its capacity for evil.
Unfortunately, any skepticism I had toward those involved in the International Fraternity Council system has returned with an immense amount of fear and distrust.
When it comes down to it, the root of the issue regarding sexual assault and rape in Greek life stems from a toxic, misguided culture forced onto men as they join fraternities. In 2016, one fraternity member told Dr. Emma Pierson, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, said that “fraternities seem to produce more extreme behavior because men do not want to disappoint their brothers.” Another said that “fraternities encourage sexually explicit commentary because social standing is tied to sexual prowess.”
University administrations could use the daunting force of peer pressure within fraternities as a tactic to correct social behavior. If a whole chapter’s house was shut down, or even suspended as a result of an allegation made against one member, fraternity brothers would have no choice but to self-police each other (as if it was really that hard in the first place). No matter the intention behind the sexual comments — or the tolerance toward them, for that matter — the unfortunate result is the same. In the study “The Enjoyment of Sexist Humor, Rape Attitudes, and Relationship Aggression in College Students,” researchers Kathryn Ryan and Jeanne Kanjorski found a positive correlation between the enjoyment and toleration of sexist humor, and rape-supportive behaviors and beliefs.
Unfortunately, this sort of enablement led to a woman being raped at the University of Kansas’ (KU) Phi Kappa Psi chapter. Members of the fraternity acknowledged that one of their members had sexually assaulted a girl, and yet did nothing to punish him. Currently, the university administration is leading an investigation into the allegation as the Greek house works to clean up the house after two protests, the second being dubbed the “No Means No Rally,” outside their doors.
Despite the heinous actions of individuals in their system, whole fraternities do try to benefit their community by giving back or donating to charities. In fact, FIJI was a notable donor to the Red Cross and USO in 2019, hosting different events, such as the FIJI Rivalry Run between chapters at the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin-Madison to raise money. This does not, however, pardon the members or the crimes they committed.
This year, multiple members of UI’s chapter of the fraternity face sexual assault allegations for the alleged rape of a sophomore girl.
All this considered, it is clear that the actions of only a few members of different fraternities, no matter their national group’s intent, are malicious enough to create a culture of rape and disrespect toward those around them.
The Association of American Universities’ estimation of 25.9% of undergrad women being predicted to be “unable to consent or stop what was happening because they were passed out, asleep, incapacitated due to alcohol or drugs” or brute force is terrifying.
In fact, on Tuesday, Sept. 14, a female student at Auburn University came forward to the police saying that she had been raped at a fraternity on campus. While she could not remember the assault, Auburn University Campus Safety disclosed that she “had physical injuries consistent with rape.”
To save friends, family members, roommates and hall members a potential lifetime of pain, university administrations must enforce a series of reforms explicitly prohibiting this type of behavior in Greek life.
A good first step is mandating all fraternities and sororities to educate their members every year about sexual assault prevention. At MU, the FSL Advisory Board recommends all Greek houses to not only educate their members and staff about sexual assault, but also about the consequences of their actions in relation to the rules set by the Offices for Student Accountability & Support and Civil Rights, Title IX & ADA.
With only 45% of nonconsensual sexual assault survivors believing that their schools would take a sexual assault reports seriously, it is time for college campuses all over the country to hold those guilty accountable. Administrations must pass rules and regulations guaranteeing harsh consequences for infractors. If perpetrators continue to walk away without being punished or even acknowledged by school leaders, the culture of rape and assault will never cease to exist on college campuses. The only way to put a stop to it is by head officials accepting that there is a problem and creating productive change and rules that scare wrongdoers into behaving ethically.
Whether it is at MU, KU, Auburn or any other university, promising to “do better” is no longer good enough; there must be change.
The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network is the largest anti-sexual assault organization in the United States. They run a sexual assault hotline, as well as work to prevent sexual violence, help survivors and keep those guilty of sexual assault accountable.
https://donate.rainn.org/donate?_ga=2.119201417.1675344013.1630628766-458367368.1630375455
Edited by Sarah Rubinstein, srubinstein@themaneater.com
