Earlier this week, hundreds of Penn students received bids to join the University’s fraternity community. In addition to the usual new member education, these recruits will undergo special workshops — held by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center, Interfraternity Council and Lambda Alliance — designed to increase their sensitivity to LGBT individuals in the Greek system.
Because fraternities have historically had issues with homophobia, we applaud the mission of promoting acceptance.
However, we are skeptical of the effectiveness of this program. A climate of acceptance is unlikely to be achieved through any mandatory workshop held by umbrella organizations.
Actual change can be better enacted through personal grassroots efforts initiated by current fraternity members. It would be more effective for the umbrella groups to devote resources toward an ongoing campaign that allows individual organizations to foster a sustained atmosphere of support.
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