Recognizing courage
To the Editor: I just want to thank Dan Fishback for his honesty in the column "Keeping meaning in our words," (The Daily Pennsylvanian, 2/26/01). As a Christian and current member of Campus Crusade for Christ, I was humbled by Dan's honest rendering of his experience at Intervarsity's "Glimpses of God." I feel that I have much to learn from his courage and his willingness to reevaluate himself. Thank you, Dan, for sharing your epiphany -- it's contagious.
Jill Mogensen Nursing '01
Build brotherhood To the Editor: I am dismayed at the claim that Beta Theta Pi is leading the way towards a better fraternity system ("Fraternity tries to be different," DP, 2/23/01). As a freshman, rush was not only a time of free food and beer, but a time of discovering what you want in a fraternity. All of the organizations I looked at offered community service, strong academics and true brotherhood. While part of the fraternity system is definitely about being social, this does not preclude organizations on this campus from doing good deeds. I signed my fraternity bid not only because of a standard to act as "Gentlemen, Leaders and Innovators" in "the great joy of serving others," but because of the promise of true brotherhood. Fraternities aren't only about academics and community service, although these ideals often shape outsiders' impressions of the organzations. Greek organizations, rather, offer a group of people who are much more than just friends; they offer friends who are actually family. It is inaccurate to say Beta is the only organization on campus practicing these high ideals and that all members of Beta will end up being friends. Perhaps Beta should concentrate on building a brotherhood rather than just a friendship, instead of pretending to be the only holders of the ideals that already permeate the Greek system.
Matthew Lattman Wharton and Engineering '04
A broad generalization To the Editor: The DP has always been an open forum for students to voice concerns about their community. I applaud Alphonzo Stein for drawing attention to less overt forms of racism ("Racism blowin' through the Ivies," DP, 2/23/01). His telling anecdotes effectively introduce the problem of subliminal discrimination. However, his commentary is debased by the use of grand generalizations that implicate every non-minority student of this behavior. He presents personal and related accounts as fact, intimating the truth of unproven claims. Asserting that the "Ivy League imposes cutting edge racist techniques" is, at the very least, reckless. A minority student who replied to Stein's informal ethnography stated, "I don't really feel accepted. When I go to a frat party, it's like 'What's she doing here?'" For every example of social exclusion, I hope I can cite a counterexample of positive interactions at Penn that transcend race, ethnicity or religion. Dubbing the Ivy League home to "21st century bigotry" is inaccurate and insulting. Stein offers no solutions or suggestions to combat racism, and while there certainly is no simple panacea, his characterizations of all black students as feeling "not wanted" and all white students as "progressive racists" act only to reinforce the undesirable status quo. I don't doubt the veracity of Stein's claim that many students are "either unaware [of] or unbothered" by the alienation that various minority students face, and Stein does well to follow Bob Dylan's model of drawing attention to social problems. Although we've come a long way, racism still plagues us insidiously, at Penn and elsewhere. However, Stein's sweeping statements are dangerous, and may actually alienate those who most need to heed his words.
Micah Liben College '03
