In the days following my previous letter being published, I’ve been the recipient of numerous messages, emails and mentions on Twitter, all telling me I’m oblivious to the issues at hand and even stupid for saying what I said. I want to clarify myself and offer a retraction.

Following my letter being published, I started to realize what I said in my letter isn’t who I am. I had never been affiliated with Greek life while I was at SU, nor were my intentions to try and “defend Greek life.” I realize that my fear of James Franco’s words being used as a “crusade” against Greek life is highly unfounded, nor did I realize Franco and his vice president were even in Greek life until it was too late.

The reason I had the viewpoint that I did is because most of the time I spent with Greek life was at sorority philanthropy events, covering them for my classes. I had numerous friends show me what Greek life is through their eyes, giving me a slightly biased perception. I ended up forgetting that I believed in the stereotypes branded on certain houses and I forgot about my experiences freshman year, where I saw the predatory behavior of some fraternity brothers at a party. I said I wouldn’t step into another fraternity house for a party and with my interactions later on, I would forget why.

Is there a problem with the culture of Greek life at SU? Absolutely. But is it throughout every house and in every member? I don’t think so. But is banning all of Greek life the solution? No. It doesn’t address the issue at hand, and simply only pushes it “underground.” I believe education is the best first step forward, and being a former RA, I experienced that first hand.

Every RA has to take CARE classes,which are weekly group conversations that explore topics involving race, ethnicity, gender, sex, etc. During these conversations, I heard stories of experiences that I wouldn’t otherwise consider. Through this, I became more aware of issues that weren’t affecting me, but affecting my peers.

What was said in the video was terrible, and the just punishment should be handed down to those involved. I believe we should have more conversations about these issues in the open and learn from these conversations.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Castaneda, Class of 2017

Published on April 22, 2018 at 11:37 pm