One group's actions shouldn't reflect on whole Greek system

Betsy Veach
DM staff columnist

There are many negative stereotypes surrounding Greeks, as well as the entire Greek system in general.

Snobbery seems to be the biggest complaint against Greeks here at Ole Miss.

Granted, this stereotype didn't just pop out of nowhere; I'd be lying if I tried to say that there isn't some truth to it. Sure, certain Greeks are guilty of snobbery at times.

Everyone knows that there are some who look down on others who are not in their particular sorority or fraternity. But, the key word here is "some." Not all Greeks are guilty of elitism. Just like sorority girls are not all ditzy blondes with dark tans in mid-January, either.

We unfairly tend to allow the poor character and unwise actions of a select few to tarnish the image of an entire group.

Recently there has been a bit of a scandal surrounding the DEKEs. It looks as if they got caught with some dirty pictures on their Web site.

Naughty boys they are, and they should be punished. But, does this select few represent the Greek system in its entirety? Does it even fairly represent all DEKEs? I don't think so. There are some who seem to think that it does, though.

The Greek system has been accused of not being "committed to making Ole Miss one of America's great public universities." This statement couldn't be further from the truth. Every year, Greeks donate thousands of dollars to charity. They encourage their members to involve themselves on campus. They are represented in the ASB, SPB, honors college and judicial council, just to name a few groups.

A few Greek students getting themselves into trouble should not shed a negative light on the Greek system as a whole. It's unfair, it's closed-minded, and it's prejudiced.

Some have gone so far as to suggest that Greek organizations be moved off campus. That's a little drastic if you ask me.

There are over 20 sorority and fraternity houses on this campus. Individual organizations own these homes, and they're not cheap. In order for the university to move the Greeks out, they would first have to purchase the houses from them.

I don't know about you, but I'm guessing Ole Miss has better things to spend its money on.

I'm interested to know what would become of all of those empty buildings. Maybe we could convert some of them into soup kitchens for all of the Greeks who would find themselves homeless.

But seriously ...

I enjoyed my years as a part of the Greek system. I'm not blind to its faults, though. Believe me, I am well aware of the negative side of Greek life. But, I refuse to buy into the idea that the Greek system is stunting the growth of this university.

Every Ole Miss student wants to see Ole Miss become better (even the students with Greek affiliations).

Just because some boys got together and put some pics on their Web page does not change that.

Betsy Veach is a senior majoring in English from Slidell, La.