TO THE EDITOR:
I was thrilled to read last week’s story about disc jockeys boycotting bars that commodify women with discounted admission to attract men.
A similar practice happens almost without exception at fraternity parties. Only men affiliated with the fraternity are admitted, as opposed to almost all women, many of whom are underage and looking for an easy source of alcohol. This practice commodifies women similarly to “ladies’ nights,” making easy access to vulnerable women a “perk” of being in a fraternity and perpetuating sexual conquest ideology even for GDI men.
Therefore I challenge fraternities to restrict party admission to a guest list for all attendees, not just males, or admit anyone wishing to make bad decisions on their premises.
Failing the enthusiastic receipt of this proposal by fraternities, I call upon the University to exercise its authority for once in regulating fraternity practices in party admission and alcohol distribution.
Likewise I call upon local police to finally treat fraternity parties as equal under the law with house parties, which are routinely busted for underage drinking and noise.
I have asked the DJ group to extend their boycott to fraternities, and I call upon sexual assault activist groups to go beyond condemning rape culture in the abstract and protest fraternities with admission policies that reinforce rape culture.
Finally, I call upon individual students to find something more fun to do on weekend nights and strip fraternities of the paper-thin power they hold over campus culture.
Sam Wilson ’15
