In response to Brian Novell’s March 13 opinion column, “The problem with Greeks,” I would like to state how important it is that the Greek system move away from the traditional “frat” stereotype and toward the original purpose of what fraternities were meant to be.

From what I have seen of the fraternities at Maryland, there are clear differences between those comprised mostly of “frat boys” and those comprised mostly of “fraternity men.” No single Greek house I have seen is made up entirely of “frat boys” or of “fraternity men,” which makes stereotyping an individual on the basis of the reputation of their Greek house inappropriate. Greek houses tend to be a mix of the two types, and the percentage of each type within a house tends to influence peoples’ opinions of the house and the overall Greek system.

As long as the Greek houses provide an outlet for the “frat” image, students who are looking for that type of college lifestyle will be drawn to the Greek system. When rushing, students already have in mind whether they are looking for the “frat” experience or the “fraternity” experience. “Frats” tend to provide cheap booze, a little drug use, easy access to members of the opposite sex and a generally rule-free atmosphere. This is very appealing to a large number of young men, but the benefits of this lifestyle are ephemeral and empty. Fraternities, by comparison, provide their members with a lifelong bond of brotherhood, the opportunity for personal development and the chance to make the world around them a better place.

What we as members of the Greek community need to do is promote the “fraternity” image. We need to promote personal and shared responsibility. It is vital we address the rampant binge drinking, the objectification of women and the illegal drug use, as these problems occur on an unacceptably wide scale. Each of our individual chapters is only as strong as our weakest brother, and we need to look out for each other more, whether in regards to our academics or to our social decision-making skills.

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life is whole-heartedly behind this type of transformation and I applaud its recent effort to promote the “fraternity man” image by offering educational seminars on sexual assault prevention and drug and alcohol abuse. I recently had a conversation with Bob Nichols, the assistant director in the office, while watching a fraternity-league intramural basketball game. Nichols described how the shared vision of his office is to have the best Greek Life Office in the country. With the changes I have already seen occurring, the strong student leadership I have observed within the Greek community and the capable guidance of the Greek Life Office, I believe this goal is not beyond our reach. There is a climate of reform within the Greek community right now, and as long as we keep pushing for change, the positive benefits of our efforts will eventually be realized.

This change needs to come from within the Greek houses themselves though, and not from an external source. Fortunately, there are a large number of “fraternity men” on this campus, and they have led the charge in helping to push for the reform of the Greek community’s image. Although rarely recognized within the campus community at large, some of the most eloquent, intelligent and devoted students I have met over the last five years have been Greek. Most notably, Ben Taylor, president of Phi Kappa Tau, and Sam Rank, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, have consistently impressed me with their commitments not only to their chapters, but to the greater good of the Greek community as a whole.

I would not recommend the Greek system to people who are looking for an excuse to pop their collars while playing beer pong, but I would highly recommend the Greek system to anyone who is looking to round-out their college experience and grow as an individual. Contrary to many stereotypes, Greek life actually promotes academic success. On average, Greeks have a higher GPA than the campus at large and most houses have structured study hours and a specific room designated specifically for quiet study.

Furthermore, fraternities promote character development and civic engagement in a way few other campus organizations can. Greeks were among the first groups on the campus to proactively combat sexual assault. Most sorority women have a round of recruitment specifically geared toward philanthropic programming which teaches that it is an integral part of the Greek community. It should be noted Greeks play an active role in campus affairs, and the last two SGA presidents have been Greek.

I have no doubt in the next few years the number of “frat guys” on the campus will steadily decrease, while the number of “fraternity men” will rise to fill their place. To ensure this change happens, we, the Greek community, need to make a serious and concerted effort to move away from being “frats” and move toward what the founding fathers of our respective houses imagined we could be.

David Foster is the faculty advisor for Phi Kappa Tau. He can be reached at dfoster@crim.umd.edu.