OPINION
Page 6
The Michigan Daily
Saturday, June 18, 1983
_ - ,
Stereotyping 'U' Greeks 'absurd'
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By Katie Blackwell
Ane article that appeared in
Thursday's Daily ("Con-
fessions of a sorority dropout,
Daily, June 16) was typical of
the superficial stereotyping
the Greek system has long en-
dured. Jayne Hendel's article
was not only one-sided, but it
focused on outer appearances,
with no attempt to evaluate
sororities at a deeper level.
Hendel classified the
University's sororities as
narrow-minded, racist, sexist
(perhaps we should allow men
as pledges), anti-intellec-
tualistic identity robbers. As a
member of a sorority with
over 100 individuals, I find
these generalizations absurd.
The "anti-intellectuals" in
my house maintain an
average grade point of 3.3, a
tough thing to do when one is
continuously standing in a cir-
The Michigan Daily
Vol. XCIII, No. 18-S
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Gul*ding light
SOMETIMES THE things we think should be
the best understood are, in reality, the most
poorly understood. This Fall, the University
will attempt to draw up guidelines to specify
ethical procedures for research being done by
professors, scientists, and graduate students.
University administrators believe that
professors and students are already aware that
plagiarism, falsification of data, and theft of
other's work are inappropriate. However, these
adminstrators say, there are those who will
abuse this responsibility and that, conceivably,
there are those who are unaware that they are
acting unethically.
Opponents of such guidelines argue that the
climate of the academic community and its
unwillingness to accept as fact anything which
has not been replicated, are sufficient to
prevent cases of misconduct and fraud.
What opponents fail to realize is that inciden-
ts of fraud and deception in research cannot
happen "too rarely." The reputation of both the
author and the University are put on the line
any time a piece of research is published. And
an incident of unethical research can harm not
only the author, but also the University.
The University's Assistant Vice President for
Research, Alan Price has expressed confidence
that "peer review" severely limits the amount
of plagiarism, abuse of confidentiality, and
falsification of data that takes place. Such a
claim is baseless without specific statutes to
separate ethical and non-ethical research.
Several other Universities, including Har-
vard and Emory, have already drawn up
guidelines to standardize their reseach prac-
tices. Though the vary in their definition of
what ishacceptable and what is not. they all
provide the specific grounds on which to pros-
cute violaters.
By relying on "peer review" alone to weed
out unethical research, the University is acting
blindly. Through the implementation of
guidelines, the University will be laying on the
line what it expects of it's researchers
cle waiting to see who's been
pinned.
To remain an active member
of my sorority one must carry a
minimum G.P.A. of 2.2, two ten-
ths of a point higher than the
University demands. Moreover,
the average grade point of
women active in University
sororities is higher than that of
all women attending the Univer-
sity.
Academic interest, as well as
excellence is stressed in my
house. School comes first - the
sorority second. With a hundred
girls taking different classes;
with different majors and in-
terests; the possibility for
sharing knowledge and skills is
infinite.
The women's swimming cap-
tain, a Michigan Union activist, a
former Daily sports editor, MSA
candidatesand a varsity softball
player, just to namea few, are all
members of University
sororities. I find it hard to believe
that these people ever felt com-
pelled to compromise their iden-
tities in the name of a few Greek
letters. In fact, I find it hard to
believe that a large group of
students from this University
would sacrifice their sense of in-
dividuality in order to join the
Greek system.
In the year-and-a-half I have
been a member of a sorority, I
have never felt any pressure to be
anything other than myself. En-
couragement and interest in my
life form my sisters has only
taught me to be a stronger in-
dividual.
This feeling certainly would not
have come about if it weren't for
the great pains all sororities take
to ensure a successful rush. I can
remember the late hours spent
trying to determine which girls
would find the right atmosphere
if they pledged our house. Of
course, from appearances,
sorority rush is a three-week-long
lesson in superficiality, but it is
what goes on behind the scenes
that counts. The women them-
selves are the focus of attention,
not their small talk skills or
labels on their clothes.
Those who criticize the Greek
system are doing so from a very
narrow perspective. Perhaps
they are intimidated by large
groups of people. Perhaps they
lack the self-confidence to assert
their individuality in such a large
arena. More often than not, our
critics overlook what most
Greeks really are:"students who
enjoy parties, and are seen at
Charley's on weeknights after
spending hours in the library -
not unlike the majority of studen-
ts one finds in the hallowed halls
of the University.
One other aspect of Greek life
is also mysteriously missing
from the critics' analysis. Over
$9,000 was raised by the 1983
Greek Week held in March - all
for charity. Granted, the Univer-
sity's 32 fraternities and 17
sororities raised the money via
fun and games, (not to mention
the many hours of hard work put
in by the student organizers) but
where else could one look to find
such a large group of college
students who volunteer their
time, both as a whole and among
individual houses, to an altruistic
and fund raising activity.
It is high time those fault-
finders, as well as those who
thrive on negative publicity take
a longer, deeper look at the Greek
system. It is time to delve beyond
the Polos, the Khakis, and the
penny loafers to what lies
beneath.
Blackwell is a Daily staff
reporter.
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Wasserman
No/ fT i IMY BkP,&t\\N1@ c*!
.. . . . . . . . . .
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represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board.
Letters and columns represent the opinions of the individual
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