I don’t consider myself easily offended. I am not one of those persons who looks for things to complain about. But I did find myself at a loss for words last Monday night at about 11 p.m. I went outside for my before-bedtime cigarette, and there was a group of boys from a fraternity in the parking lot outside Russell Hall on the Gorham campus. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them.
Over the past year or so, I’ve gotten used to the fact that sororities and fraternities go around campus screaming incoherent things at night. So I don’t even think about it anymore, and while windows were opening in Robie-Andrews and people were making fun of them, I just sat back and tried not to let it bother me.
But this particular incident just irritated me so much, that I felt I had to say something. The boys were not near my dorm but they were yelling so loudly, I could actually make out what they were saying. “I put my hand upon her twat, she said it hit the spot.” Not only is that incredibly offensive, I feel really bad for the kids they woke up in Anderson and Woodward and even Upton-Hastings. They didn’t even have the decency to not do it at night.
Since I’ve come to school to live the dorm life, I’ve learned to put up with many things. For example, puke in the bathroom, broken doors and lights, loud people outside my room at all hours of the night. But somehow, through all of that, I’ve never really come across a group of people without any regard for their fellow students. This particular chant just reminds me of all the fraternity brothers I’ve met since I’ve been here, and how many of them are trying to dispel the idea that fraternity boys are just loud and obnoxious and only looking to get drunk and laid. Unfortunately, it is incidents like these that make me think that is all they seem to want. These particular boys didn’t present themselves in a positive light to their fellow students. And if I were to assume anything from the experience on Monday night, many fraternity brothers would be mad.
My question is why is it OK for boys to yell disgusting offensive things at 11 p.m. on a Monday night? There is no easy answer to that. A lot of people might say that it is just the way the world works, or boys will be boys. But it’s not true. Boys don’t have to act in a manner that brings disgrace to this institution. They chose to. It’s not some behavior they have no control over because they were born with male genitalia.
And I would like to know why is it considered bitching if a girl or guy complains about this incident? If I’m offended by something, I’m going to weigh my complaint against those of others. If I’m being unreasonable, someone please tell me. I just don’t think it’s very smart at all for fraternity brothers to do such a thing, especially when they are representing their group and this institution.
And I think that disgusting comments such as those made just breed an air of indifference towards the issues such as rape and assault. I’m not saying these particular boys are out raping people, but it’s the ideas that they presented that makes people indifferent to such crimes.
I’m sure a lot of people are going to be offended by the ideas I’ve presented and/or the ideas presented by those fraternity brothers, but let’s try and see things from the point of view of the students who were woken up or distracted from their studies. I’m sure they didn’t appreciate that little stunt, and as much as it was funny to those boys as they sped away in their cars, squealing tires and all, it was just as annoying and aggravating to those of us in the residence halls.