One fraternity’s tasteless jokes during its chapter meetings three years ago are being cited as a reason to shut down UCLA’s Greek system completely.
Daily Bruin reports that an outgoing student government representative posted what she said were screenshots of minutes from Pi Kappa Phi meetings in 2013.
The minutes make jokes under the heading “Racial Sensitivity” and other subjects, and “perpetuate racism and rape culture,” according to the proposed presentation by the representative:
The meeting minutes included remarks such as “Why do Mexicans refry their beans? Have you ever seen them do it right the first time?” and “We’re learning something about Afghanistan. Something something something terrorists.” Fraternity members also wrote “How long does it take a negress to shit? 9 MONTHS.” …
The documents also listed instructions about how to interact with women at a party, directing members of the fraternity to show girls where the bar is, take group shots and increase physical contact with them.
The presentation also refers to the controversial but misunderstood “Kanye Western” theme party at UCLA last fall.
The student government voted down an attempt to insert the presentation into its Tuesday night meeting.
UCLA is investigating the fraternity, a spokesman told the Daily Bruin, though it’s not clear how the school could constitutionally punish the fraternity for its members speech.
Daily Bruin columnist Aram Ghoogasian wrote that these tasteless jokes are just more evidence that Greek life is “an incubator of racism” – and that UCLA should completely shut down Greek life as a result:
Assuming they ever made an honest effort to, fraternities have never been able to shake off the racism that has characterized the system since its establishment. Even with the presence of black, Latino and “multicultural” fraternities on some campuses, many fraternities retain their invisible “whites only” signs. …
It seems outrageous that institutions with well-documented – and ongoing – histories of racism are endowed with the perks that universities and the government provides them. But then again, there are few things more quintessentially American than granting white-dominated organizations the ability to avoid accountability and responsibility for doing harm to people of color.
The Greek system is not and never was worth saving. The University needs to consider cutting it loose, allowing it to wither away and suffer the slow, agonizing death it deserves.
Read the Daily Bruin report and op-ed.
RELATED: Greek life could sue UCLA for First Amendment violation by punishing ‘Kanye Western’ party
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