2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor: "I Get the Message"
Issue date: 3/25/05 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
Dear Editor,
During the first season of Saturday Night Live, Chevy Chase used a phrase that became his trademark introduction to the "Weekend Update" segment of the show. He would begin the routine by saying "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not." It was a completely stupid statement and that made it funny. This weekend I saw a version of the same statement. It was equally stupid, but not at all funny.
It was a T-Shirt that proclaimed in big bold letters "I'm KKG and You're NOT!". I frequently hear students and faculty bemoan the lack of community at Rollins. Most people I speak with would like to see Rollins become more inclusive, to see it become a campus where students, faculty, and staff share common bonds of fellowship beyond the simple connection of living and working together. The message being sent by this particular student was completely the opposite. It says....I'm "in" you're "out". It's entirely exclusive and it highlights for me one of the worst aspects of the prevailing social structure on college campuses all over the United States. Specifically, the message that is sent, all too often, by fraternities and sororities is isolationist. It arranges people into cliques and distracts from the general overall community of the college. No matter how many public service projects they do, the ultimate message that is sent is exclusive, and elitist.
It was especially embarrassing for me to see this message because I saw this T-shirt being worn by a Rollins student at the Sunday afternoon BBQ where the campus hosted scholarship applicants and their parents. These are student candidates with the potential to enhance our campus community both academically and socially. As a visiting student I'm not sure I'd feel welcomed by that message, and as a parent I'd have reservations about sending my son or daughter into such a community.
Now that I've come to the end of this rant, I'd like to make it clear that I am not trying to single out KKG as setting a poor standard. I think other organizations are equally culpable. I also am aware that this particular T-shirt was probably printed with the intention of promoting pride in the organization. I have no objection to being proud of your group, but there are other ways you can do it. How about a T-shirt that says "I'm DZ and I give blood!" or "I'm AXP and I feed the homeless!"?
Paul Stephenson
Dept. of Biology
Rollins College
During the first season of Saturday Night Live, Chevy Chase used a phrase that became his trademark introduction to the "Weekend Update" segment of the show. He would begin the routine by saying "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not." It was a completely stupid statement and that made it funny. This weekend I saw a version of the same statement. It was equally stupid, but not at all funny.
It was a T-Shirt that proclaimed in big bold letters "I'm KKG and You're NOT!". I frequently hear students and faculty bemoan the lack of community at Rollins. Most people I speak with would like to see Rollins become more inclusive, to see it become a campus where students, faculty, and staff share common bonds of fellowship beyond the simple connection of living and working together. The message being sent by this particular student was completely the opposite. It says....I'm "in" you're "out". It's entirely exclusive and it highlights for me one of the worst aspects of the prevailing social structure on college campuses all over the United States. Specifically, the message that is sent, all too often, by fraternities and sororities is isolationist. It arranges people into cliques and distracts from the general overall community of the college. No matter how many public service projects they do, the ultimate message that is sent is exclusive, and elitist.
It was especially embarrassing for me to see this message because I saw this T-shirt being worn by a Rollins student at the Sunday afternoon BBQ where the campus hosted scholarship applicants and their parents. These are student candidates with the potential to enhance our campus community both academically and socially. As a visiting student I'm not sure I'd feel welcomed by that message, and as a parent I'd have reservations about sending my son or daughter into such a community.
Now that I've come to the end of this rant, I'd like to make it clear that I am not trying to single out KKG as setting a poor standard. I think other organizations are equally culpable. I also am aware that this particular T-shirt was probably printed with the intention of promoting pride in the organization. I have no objection to being proud of your group, but there are other ways you can do it. How about a T-shirt that says "I'm DZ and I give blood!" or "I'm AXP and I feed the homeless!"?
Paul Stephenson
Dept. of Biology
Rollins College