Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault and rape.
Ask anyone who knows me and they could tell you how very much I detest frat parties. They are the nexus of all I despise: crowds, liquor and exorbitant noise. I find fraternities themselves cliquey and weird. I don’t want them around me; I don’t especially want them at my college at all. So, obviously, I never thought I would be making this argument: they should be on campus.
In 2021, a faction of nine fraternities calling itself the Durham Intrafraternity Council broke away from Duke following the placement of restrictions that delayed rush to sophomore (rather than freshman year) and restricted eligibility for selective living sections to upperclassmen. Married to the unveiling of QuadEx, this appears to have been part of an attempted institutional divorce (or, at least, separation) from Greek life; one which has been a topic of much student criticism. Indeed, four years later — three weeks ago — DSG passed a resolution supporting reaffiliation of the estranged frats, demarcating a new endeavor to bring our boys home…