THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 1, 1995 TAG: 9504010005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
I can state with certainty that I have for a very long time enjoyed each one of Guy Friddell's columns until this morning. With equal certainty, I can state that Mr. Friddell's slamming of Greek letter organizations in general, and the fraternities and sororities of Old Dominion University in particular, is unjust and in most part unfounded.
Unlike Mr. Friddell, I hold the collegiate fraternity and sorority in high regard. Yes, like any organization, these groups have had their share of ``black eyes.'' I read in horror each time a hazing incident or some out-of-control situation makes the news. But like most news that makes the press, all we ever see about these young men and women is the bad.
We never hear about the dollars raised to support charity, or the hours pent to rebuild the homes of those who cannot fix them, or the love given reading to the kids in the local elementary school.
Nor do we hear about the lifelong friendships forged in dynamic small-group interaction. I was active in student government and outing clubs and was a varsity athlete during my years in college. But far and away the best friends I had in school then, and the people I hold dearest today, some 17 years hence, are the men and women I grew to know and love during my fraternity experience.
When I go back to homecoming, I don't go to visit my old dorm room or the practice hall where I spent so many hours with the team, I go to the ``frat house.'' Not only can I expect to see some of those I know so well, but I am welcomed as a member by young men who now hold the undergraduate position. And don't forget that as a group, it is the various alumni of these fraternities and sororities who give more dollars per capita to their college than any other organized group on campus.
I have four children - two boys and two girls. If I am fortunate enough to raise the very substantial sum to send them to college, I will encourage them to investigate, with intelligence, the Greek houses on their campus. I hope that theirs will be the kind of positive and enriching Greek-letter experience that was mine. To wish this for my children is the greatest tribute I can pay to the possibilities and promises that are the fraternities and sororities of America.
R. ALAN PETERSON
Virginia Beach, March 27, 1995 by CNB