It wasn’t over when the Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor, but it is for the Gamma Chapter of AEPi at Penn. The oft quoted words of Animal House’s Brutus hang in the air as, in the wake of serious hazing infractions, the chapter voted to return its charter to the National Headquarters and go Pseudo greek, whatever that means. After being put on double secret probation, the fraternity chapter, which had a 98 year history on campus and was one of its consistenly highest achieving academically, the University had enough.
But this was no Dean Vernon Wormer and Penn is not Faber College, though it might have been the case with AEPi’s Boston University chapter, which made headlines last week as it was shut down over hazing.
Nor, it should be pointed out, is Alpha Epsilon Pi, the International Jewish Fraternity, the Delta Tau Chi of that film (of the writers, Chris Miller was in Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at Dartmouth College, Harold Ramis a Zeta Beta Tau at Washington University in St. Louis, and producer Ivan Reitman was a Delta Upsilon at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Yes, they are bastions of male objectification of the female, yes, a source of aggravation and lack of academic seriousness, yes they throw great parties (and sometimes bad ones) but they’re not all bad, and they’ve come a long way since the Animal house era and even the 1990′s. That’s especially true for AEPi, which is nationally, engaging in leadership training for college men (that phrasing does sound parochial I admit), partnering with Hillels and raising significant funds for important charities. It shouldn’t be painted with the saime brush as those undergrands at Penn. In fact, the fraternity has posted very public statements on its website and its President Andy Borans was quoted as having exerted pressure to close the chapters.
I respect that. For the Gamma and Zeta Deuteron Chapters of AEPi, yes, it is indeed over. For now…
esponda