Greek Leaders: It Is Our Responsibility
By Paul Samaha ‘17
Holding a position in the Greek System comes with a certain level of social responsibility; this applies to both fraternity and sorority leaders. I believe now is the time to educate ourselves on what some of these specific responsibilities are– not just responsibilities to our own chapter’s constituents, but to our university’s student body as a whole.
The idea of stopping cultural appropriation on The Row really came to my attention after hearing some of my non-Greek peers express their personal concerns and resentment to certain party themes on The Row. The titles of these parties range from themes like “Fiesta” (encouraging partygoers to dress up like caricatures of Hispanic men and women) to “Navahoes” (encouraging the cultural appropriation of the Native American culture with feather headdresses and traditional face paint).
You can probably find culturally offensive costumes of this sort on your typical Thursday night without any repercussions. You may also find some women wearing what is considered to be “scandalous” outfits on The Row, and these women often receive punishments from their sorority’s executive board for wearing a costume that is believed to be revealing. According to our society, a woman’s skin is more offensive than a mockery of our own Hispanic classmates.
As social chairman of my fraternity, It is my job to ensure that my fraternity has a successful social semester, filled with parties, exchanges and invites that satisfy my member’s social desires. I love my job, and I love The Row at USC. But it is important to understand that as leaders we hold a level of social responsibility to our entire student body. We should never encourage a theme that may make minorities at our school feel mocked and uncomfortable. We should never tell a woman that her own leg is more offensive than the blatant mockery of race and religion.
We cannot thrive as a Greek System if we continue to use these hazy, subjective judgements of what a chapter’s executive board thinks is and isn’t appropriate. We need to establish guidelines that everyone on the row can follow of what is and isn’t allowed. This requires a concrete set of guidelines agreed upon by both Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council of what costumes are and aren’t appropriate for all genders. I want to promote a positive culture in the USC Greek system that sets the precedent for other schools around the nation. To do this, it is imperative that we hold USC’s community and students to a high standard of social responsibility.
From this day onward I vow to create events that will in no way, shape or form make someone feel offended because of something they cannot change, and I encourage all leaders in the Greek System to do the same.
(Poster from Ohio University’s STARS campaign)
