Because of the ‘limited social scene around campus’
Even CBS News is confused by the logic of this.
Three female students at Yale University who claim they were sexually harassed at fraternities are seeking a court order that would force those fraternities to admit them as members.
The theory of their lawsuit is that integration of the sexes within Greek life will mitigate the “dangerous environments in which sexual misconduct thrived.” It sounds like a version of the stereotype that women seek out relationships with bad boys because they like a project and want to fix them.
Women are currently forced into these dangerous environments because of the “limited social scene around campus,” and sororities don’t offer the same career connections, CBS News reports.
Asked by correspondent Meg Oliver why they want to join organizations in which unknown individuals “grinded” against them at parties, the women cited lack of (lucrative) options:
“A fraternity party wasn’t any of our first choice, but it was kind of the only choice for the first couple of months at school,” [Anna] McNeil said.
“It speaks to the way that fraternities dominate the social culture at Yale,” [Ry] Walker said, adding, “Those are the places that are open late at night. And those are the spaces that some of our friends are hosting parties in.”
“Fraternities offer a vast network of privileges to their members. They offer connections, they offer help networking,” [Ellie] Singer said.
The lawsuit against Yale and nine fraternities, which called the claims “baseless and unfounded,” is seeking class-action status. It wants to end “separate but equal” practices in Greek life, even if that means destroying Greek life altogether. McNeil admitted her lawsuit is pursuing the “gender-integration model” because it’s “more feasible” than demanding Yale ban Greek life.
You don’t need to be a CBS News legal analyst like Rikki Klieman to pose this question:
“If I am someone who goes into a party at the only place available for me to socialize, which is a fraternity, and I am being groped and sexually assaulted and in an environment that I think is unsafe, why do I want to join the fraternity? Why don’t I want the fraternity banned?” Klieman said.
MORE: Universities are punishing students for belonging to single-sex clubs
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