The word “frat,” believe it or not, is a bad word. It implies alcohol, hazing and wild parties. It conjures up scenes from “Animal House” and “Old School.” It is a negative image that USM fraternities are trying to distance themselves from.
Members of the Greek community wonder what role fraternities will play as the University grows. Some Greek organization members struggle to recruit new members and they feel USM is not doing enough to embrace the Greek community.
Jon Gagnon, USM Student Senator and president of the Gorham chapter of Phi Kappa Sigma, said more should be done to create a strong Greek community on USM’s campuses. He said the community as a whole loses out as fraternities lose support. The administration does not to want to support them, he said, because of the associated stereotypes.
Dean of Student Life Joseph Austin disagrees. He said fraternities give students an opportunity to take part in the community and are beneficial. His explanation for the seeming lack of administrative support is because of the small size of the Greek community at USM. With just over one hundred students in seven organizations, Austin said that there was not the interest to justify a large support system. Also, Austin said, students have less and less time and the school is offering more and more organizations.
“Students are just too busy,” he said.
Adam Mirmelli, Student Senate parliamentarian and a member of Kappa Delta Phi fraternity, said that the school began to show more support in the last year or so. Mirmelli said for a while it felt like the school fought to keep fraternities from growing.
“But now, they are starting to support us.”
Gagnon said the current level of support is not enough. “It’s a struggle every year to stay open,” he said. He said not enough publicity is given to the good things fraternities do. He listed off several events the brothers of Phi Kappa Sigma have taken part in this semester, including volunteering at the Portland Soup Kitchen and taking part in the Light the Night Walk for Cancer.
Mirmelli said philanthropy was one of the main goals of Greek life and the stereotype of “frat boy” discredits it. He said fraternities do a lot for the school, such as putting on dances and being a big part of Homecoming.
Austin agrees fraternities are important to USM and he said he is doing what he can to promote the organizations.
“My role is primarily as an advisor,” he said, but he is trying to get their names out more.
Gagnon would like to see even more support. He said campus houses would be a good step. He said if the school would embrace fraternities, students would see what fraternities are all about and it would dispel the stereotype.
It may take a lot of work to dispel that stereotype. Nationwide, hazing incidents and alcohol-related deaths have plagued fraternities. According to the Portland Press Herald, one USM fraternity member was arrested in November of 2002 for attempted arson and aggravated criminal mischief after an incident at a local sorority. Gagnon said that these events, not indicative of fraternity members as a whole, have soured their image.
Austin agrees that there is an idea within the student body that fraternities fit this stereotype and that this is a misperception. He said that the school recognizes the positive aspects of Greek life, but it does not have the resources to supply houses to the different organizations.
Meanwhile, Gagnon said he worried that fraternities are slowly dying off. “The atmosphere has changed,” he said. New students are no longer looking to join, he said and recruitment must be more active in order to attract new members. Gagnon said that because of negative stereotypes, students are missing out on what could be a very positive experience.
Mirmelli echoed that statement, saying “it’d be a sad day if there wasn’t Greek life at USM.”