There could have been a discussion. There could have been a debate. There could have been Letters to the Editor. Instead, the Augustana community’s response to the article “Putting pledging in perspective,” published last Thursday, was vulgar comments verbally and on social media, using rhetoric such as “fag” and “pussy.”
While each chapter has its own secrets and traditions, broader experiences within pledging are important to the college experience and deserve to be discussed by the Augustana community. By not doing so, we are doing a disservice to Greek life and the campus as a whole.
The Observer encourages the campus to move forward to provide constructive and articulate responses in order to better serve those at Augustana. Insults do not help engage the community, yet discussing the adjustments to pledging and why those changes are in place could actually improve the campus environment.
We asked students to channel their complaints by submitting a Letter to the Editor; yet, we received only one letter from a student and none from the fraternities that were upset by the article.
Social media posts are much easier to publish; yet, Letters to the Editor would allow readers to sit down and really think about the article, allowing them to cultivate a valuable argument that would hopefully lead to a meaningful discussion.
The Observer does not have any malice toward Greek Life. In fact, more than half of our editorial staff are Greek. In the future, we hope to receive constructive feedback so that our campus can have a productive dialogue.