Freedom comes with responsibility

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about certain comic strips published in The Pitt News…. Recently, there has been a lot of talk about certain comic strips published in The Pitt News. The February 14 edition contained a cartoon entitled “Frat Man,” in which a fraternity brother was depicted as misogynistic. Not long after, another cartoon appeared mocking Pitt’s Greek community’s reaction to the publication of the hateful stereotype. Though I thought the controversy was over, it has become harder and harder for me to get through a conversation without the topic coming up.

Last fall, the first semester of my sophomore year, I became a columnist for The Pitt News. Just a few months before that, during the spring semester, I joined the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity, which is part of the Inter-Fraternity Council. Since I am associated with both organizations, I feel as if I have a relatively unique view of the situation.

The first thing I’d like to say is that I do not in any way support this negative stereotype of fraternity men, or, for that matter, sorority women. This twisted view stems from false generalizations made by ignorant people. Students involved in Greek organizations do 100 times more community service than most other people and participate in other fun and community-building activities, such as athletic tournaments, dance competitions and academic lectures. It hurts to know that when many people see a person with Greek letters on their chest they forget these things and immediately make unkind judgments about that person’s character.

That, however, is not what this column is about. It’s been interesting to see this all play out, as I have found myself sticking up for both sides at different times.

A newspaper, especially one at a college, has the responsibility to its contributors and readers to print all sorts of opinions, so I do not blame The Pitt News for the comic. And, as a quasi-journalist, I refuse to ignore the First Amendment. Freedom of speech is what allows me to write this column every week. It also gives people the right to create and publish things that perpetuate hateful stereotypes about different groups. But just because we can do something doesn’t mean we have to. I could write an ignorant column that poked fun at people of other races, religions, genders and social statuses. I could, but I won’t. I do not believe in censorship; I do believe in respect.

Many people outside of the Greek community I’ve talked to have expressed confusion as to why it really matters that we are stereotyped in a certain way. When this happens, this is the message I try to get across: Not only do these hateful prejudices hurt us personally, but they also hurt Greek life as a whole. As these stereotypes circulate throughout a population, and more people decide to listen to them without taking the time to find out the facts, membership decreases. As membership disappears, so will fraternities and sororities, along with all of the positive things they do for the school and the community.

The content of the paper characterizes The Pitt News, just as Greek life at Pitt is characterized by its members. Stepping away from the specific organizations involved, the situation looks even more ridiculous. It’s one campus organization publicly trashing another campus organization. It’s the same thing as if the men’s hockey team started a bunch of rumors that prevented new students from joining the Glee Club. That just wouldn’t happen.

It is hard for non-Greeks to understand these things, mainly because they have not been lucky enough to experience it. I have seen firsthand the special bond between brothers and sisters, and how much two or three funny-looking symbols can really mean to grown men and women. One’s house becomes an extension of one’s family, and I’d have to guess that most people would not accept bad things being said about his family.

This entire situation is more upsetting than anything else. Fraternities and sororities have made huge leaps in public relations, educating people on what it really means to be part of a Greek organization, but all of that hard work can just go to waste when something like this happens. It’s our responsibility as journalists, and people, to respect others and to think about what, and who, we may be affecting with our work.

E-mail Sam at Seg23@pitt.edu, especially if he has ever offended you, so he can apologize.