Co ed fraternities also a campus presence
Last week’s article on the rising number of undergraduates actively choosing to participate in Greek life (“2006 best year for Greek recruitment in at least a decade“) was a positive sign that students seek something more than classes to fulfill themselves in college, but failed to reflect the wide range of organizations available.
Although traditional sororities and fraternities are a good match for some students, others find they are seeking a social organization that expands beyond the bounds of Fraternity Row or the Graham Cracker. For those students, The Diamondback article should have looked at the numbers of students choosing honors or career-based fraternities, such as Phi Chi Theta, the business fraternity, or Phi Alpha Delta, the pre-law fraternity.
These fraternities are co ed and often offer alternative options for those dissatisfied with traditional Greek life. I serve as the initiation adviser for one such honors fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, and we always try to push a range of thought-provoking activities. Although we do have parties, sporting events and big/little brothers like traditional fraternities, we also volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, work with non-profit organizations on the campus and bring in speakers for scholarship events.
Non-traditional fraternities have the close-knit bonds, excitement and even the Greek-letter T-shirts of social fraternities while still maintaining a variety and depth of activities often found outside of Greek life.
Instead of focusing entirely on fraternity and sorority members in the traditional sense, the article should have made mention of the strides these other organizations have made in membership as well. If anyone wants more information about our organization and how we are unique, I encourage them to attend a meet-night event in the Art-Sociology building this Wednesday at 8 p.m. Additionally, www.stars.umd.edu offers a list of all groups on the campus, including those fraternities whose members seek something more than what is offered on Fraternity Row.
Suzie Dundas
Initiation AdvisEr
Phi Sigma Pi
Keep papal remarks in context
Recently, the Pope gave a lecture dealing with the place of theology in academia. His main thesis was that God is rational, and therefore reason should be used in theology, and theology should take its rightful place as an academic discipline once more. One of his incidental points was that conversion should always involve reason, not force. He said what set him thinking about this was a work by a Byzantine emperor, contrasting the philosophy of Islam and Christianity, who said, “God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably is contrary to God’s nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats. … To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death.” The emperor, as quoted by the Pope, also criticized Islam’s propensity at that time for violence, in words the Pope called “brusque.”
Unfortunately, from what the media is saying, you would think the Pope had denounced Islam ex cathedra – which he most assuredly did not do. His quote of Emperor Manuel is repeatedly cited in newspapers and other media, with very few mentions of what else the emperor said, what point the Pope was making with it or even what the speech was about! The Diamondback, while reporting mainly on students’ reactions, did not mention the theme of the speech, despite it being about the relationship of universities to theology. The now infamous lines were quoted, but the Pope’s comments about them were omitted. The speech is hardly obscure – the text, at the time of this writing, was No. 6 on Google for “pope speech.” This pathetic reporting by the worldwide media only plays into the hands of those trying to foment discord, of which there is more than enough already.
So this is what I ask: Everyone, Catholic, Muslim or otherwise, please find the speech and read it. Spread it around. The more people realize the speech wasn’t about Islam at all, the less support, real and tacit, the terrorists will get from this affair.
And pray for the new Christian martyrs and for the Arab churches that have been destroyed.
Peter Gardner
Graduate student
Aerospace engineering
