LETTER: Involved Students

A few clarifications need to be made regarding Bruce Forman's mention of the Greek Week 1991 T-shirt design as a lead-in to his column concerning the fairness of the fraternity settlement process (DP 1/20/92). Forman failed to mention the real reason Tricia Phaup disapproved of the initial T-shirt design; it was because it portrayed Benjamin Franklin holding an overflowing beer mug. The purpose of Greek Week is a celebration of the Greek system at Penn; a system that is made up of the Bicultural InterGreek Council, the InterFraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council. To commission a T-shirt that portrays alcohol, and thus indirectly endorsing such activity, is prohibited by the BIG-C and the Panhellenic Council. When these legimate concerns were expressed, Forman's primary concern was that the T-shirt would not sell if the beer mug was not left in the design. Yes, over 1300 T-shirts were sold, and yes, "not a peep was heard from anyone," most probably because the problems with the initial T-shirt design were debated over and resolved. In this particular example, the student community did exercise their rights and fulfilled their obligations to insure the standards of the fraternity and sorority system at Penn. Bruce's call for students to assert more governing responsibility is admirable, but, at the same time, he fails to to recognize its current existence in his own activities. I find it absurd to think that he likens the "difficult" task of deciding on the appropriateness of a T-shirt design as an indication of Tricia Phaup's ability to dispense fair fraternity punishments. The "difficult" task of deciding on the appropriateness of the Greek Week 1991 t-shirt was not left for the Director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs to ponder at length over, but was left to the capable hands of students to decide through the democratic process of majority rule. Forman asserts that "students are the foundation for campus life; without us, the University ceases to exist economically, socially and conceptually as an institution." I might go a step further to add that socially responsible students are necessary for this University community to thrive and succeed. If there are members that are unable to live up to the Greek community's and the University's standards, then their presence is detrimental to the existence of a safe and productive community. I agree with Bruce on the point that students should be more involved in the judicial process at Penn. I also believe that the leadership programs sponsored by the office have been successful in motivating and encouraging many of the Greek student leaders in realizing the importance of peer governance within the Greek system. With the assistance of Tricia Phaup and OFSA, the Greek Peer Judicial Board was created with this spirit of peer responsibility in mind. Forman's innaccurate description of the composition of the Fraternity and Sorority Advisory Board reveals his failure to mention the importance of student representatives from the three umbrella groups in their role as peer judges. The FSAB is made up of members of the faculty, administrators, Greek alumni, a non-fraternity member of the Undergraduate Assembly and, most importantly of all, Greek student representatives from each of the three umbrella Greek organizations. Forman's incorrect citation of the make up of the hearing board lends one to wonder if he himself is aware of the workings of the fraternity settlement process. Perhaps he should save himself from drowning in this "nasty stew of self-interest and bureaucracy," and turn his energies to the pursuit of reforming the judicial process at Penn in an effort to insure this fair application of justice and equity. MAUREEN HERNANDEZ College/Wharton '92 Panhellenic Council President, 1991-92