The Kappa Sigma fraternity on the campus of West Virginia University found itself the topic of much news coverage last week.
Two separate incidents at WVU have severely damaged the reputation of the greek system at the university itself.
A freshman fraternity member was found unconscious and not breathing inside the Kappa Sig house on campus. He died Nov. 14. Although a cause of death has not been issued, it is believed to be alcohol-related, police said. This incident came just days after all greek organizations were ordered to halt all activities.
The previous week, 19 fraternity brothers from a different house were arrested after a fight broke out in the middle of the street, according to NBC.
We at the Indiana Daily Student Editorial Board believe that the issues at WVU reflect all aspects of college life and that the greek system is not necessarily to blame.
Given the severity of the two situations, WVU moved to suspend all greek organizations and activities.
But punishing entire greek system for the mistake of one house is not the answer.
This isn’t a problem for the university to fix. This isn’t a problem for just the greek system to remedy. It’s a problem for all students.
This could have happened here at IU, or anywhere else for that matter, just as easily.
It’s a serious problem that, of course, needs to be addressed, but w hen examining the issue at hand, it is not a greek problem. It can be simply boiled down to immaturity and irresponsibility.
We’ve all seen the movies. We know how college students are portrayed. Partying and drinking are undeniable parts of college culture.
Students drink, and many do so while underage. Students sometimes engage in immature behavior, and sometimes that behavior ends in tragedy, be it fatal or not.
In greek organizations alone, NBC reported there were at least four deaths last year in the United States.
Something needs to be done. One student death is too many.
These kinds of suspensions, and similar punishments, as shown at WVU, are not effective. If they were, then these news stories would be few and far between.
We believe that a university must always step in when a death occurs and discipline, or at least keep a close eye, on the organization the incident in question stemmed from.
But it seems that after the incident has blown over and these universities move on, its authority is defied.
It’s pathetic that deaths and serious medical scares aren’t enough to bring about what select greek organizations and college students everywhere lack: maturity.
The 19 fraternity men arrested at WVU displayed inexcusable immature behavior.
We live in a time when there is more knowledge available than ever before. These young men should never have put themselves in this position, knowing the dangerous effects of binge drinking and knowing the stupidity of drunkenly fighting in the middle of ?the street.
Yet we’re still reading these headlines.
We need to be more responsible. We need to use the knowledge at our disposable to make careful and mature decisions. We need to find a balance between fun and maturity so we can have a good time but never have to bury one another.
Until this occurs, the news will continue to be plagued by horror stories of pledging mishaps, mass arrests and alcohol and drug-related injuries and fatalities.
We are all students, and it is up to all of us to keep our campus and each other safe.
Grow up, be responsible, be mature and give yourselves something to be proud ?of again.
