All fraternities are created equal, but some are more equal than others. So argues a professor at California’s Occidental College — one of Barack Obama’s alma maters — who militates in favor of colleges banning fraternities that “hoard power and influence.” And which frats might those be? You guess it: the one “specifically for white men.”
In a Time op-ed discovered by Campus Reform Friday and again on a recent radio show, Lisa Wade, who teaches sociology, argued that the alternative — reform — is “simply not possible.”
But Wade when addressing black frats Tuesday on Twitter.
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In her op-ed, Wade wrote:
Reform is not possible because the old-line, historically white social fraternities have been synonymous with risk-taking and defiance from their very inception. They are a brotherhood born in mutiny and forged in the fire of rebellion. These fraternities have drink, danger, and debauchery in their blood — right alongside secrecy and self-protection.
She professor attempted to justify this argument by citing the death of Timothy Piazza in February 2017 as a result of hazing in a fraternity at Penn State. She also asserted that a long history of previous administrative efforts to ban frats and that fraternities dominated campus leadership positions, citing one account alleging that they worked together to keep non-Greek students out of these positions.
“I don’t think it is a good idea to be encouraging young males to identify specifically as men over and against women in this country anymore,” said Wade in her radio interview on “The Here and Now,” adding:
We went to the moon; we gave women the vote…it is absurd that we still allow young men to put together single-sex organizations that are designed to hoard power and influence specifically for wealthy white men. On top of that, we allow them to be the most dangerous places on college campuses in ways that everyone knows are illegal.
But the professor expressed some hesitation Tuesday on Twitter when considering black fraternities.
1 It's true. I'd like to think it through and maybe twitter folk can weigh in and help ensure my position on this is informed and fair. https://t.co/8zqSsAW6rx
— Lisa Wade (@lisawade) June 20, 2017
@lisawade your argument ignores the history of Black Fraternities & sororities & their impact on their communtites https://t.co/GEuf4viTio
— Jason / ClassicBeatz (@IamClassicBeatz) June 20, 2017
3 Compared to white students, Af Ams drink less, study harder, and are more gender egalitarian.
— Lisa Wade (@lisawade) June 20, 2017
She went on to state that her students report that police officers view black frat parties as disruptive and are more lenient with parties thrown by white frats.
For sure! My students say that when Af Am frats do have houses + parties, they're seen as disruptive + cops come. White frats = more leeway. https://t.co/vhaWELrtX0
— Lisa Wade (@lisawade) June 23, 2017
“Occidental supports the right of its faculty to speak on any matter of public interest,” said Jim Tranquada, director of communications at the college told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “The college has not taken an official position on this issue.”
TheDCNF reached out to Wade for comment, but received none in time for publication.
This report, by Rob Shimshock, was cross-posted by arrangement with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
