Dear Penn State,

I’d like to start off by saying thank you. Thank you for all of the new friends you have introduced into my life this year. Thank you for allowing me to become more independent and experience life on my own for the first time. Thank you for taking me under you wing and allowing me to understand what it means to be so proud of a single institution. I appreciate all that you have done for me and all that you will do for me over the next few years. I promise that once I have walked that stage and stepped into the real world, I will visit you, support you and help you achieve the greatness that comes associated with your name.

However, I am currently disappointed with my recent experiences.

To me, Penn State goes above and beyond to create a family-like environment and provides a home away from home for students near and far. Just like a family, we celebrate triumphs in times of greatness, and suffer together in times of sorrow. Right now, our family continues to mourn the loss of one of our own dearest brothers. This will forever hold heavy in the hearts of the Penn State community. Since this time, things have been dreary. A dark cloud continues to hang over our family while trying to fathom this loss.

While we will continue to always keep his memory alive, we will be forced to move on. While we move on, we must find ways to correct the mistakes that happened so that they may never happen again.

With this kept in mind, I understand that new precautions and rules need to be put into place in order to ensure the safety of all students in this family. I am glad you took this situation seriously, and tried to improve the well-being of each person involved in the family that is Penn State.

However, in my opinion, you’re being a little too harsh. And not only too harsh, but taking the wrong steps in the wrong directions.

There are more beneficial things we can be doing in order to correct our past. Instead of forcing students to fulfill the typical “freshman seminar”, we should enhance this class so that we can teach the “new kids” how to actually adjust to life here at Penn State. I know from experience that it is a world they have never lived in before. Instead of making them sit through lectures from some CEO of a company they’ve never even heard of, in a class pertaining to something they may not even major in, adjust the curriculum or provide a workshop-type course in which they can not only learn the basics of living on their own, but also about the basics of college life. Let’s face it- college is different. This class should also provide real insight into the tragedies that plague our society, such as drug use, overconsumption of alcohol, and all types of assault.

Since the particular incident in question was an accident, there are many more effective precautions that can be taken to fix this portion of the situation, like improving the status of the fraternity houses. For example, carpeting the entirety of the fraternity houses would prevent the slips and falls from the wet and sticky floors that are ever present. To keep fraternity houses from becoming the saunas that usually accompany their socials, keeping windows open, fixing air conditioners, or installing some sort of fanning system throughout the house would help with the issue of some people passing out due to the high heat levels. This would simultaneously prevent people hurting both themselves or others in some form.

Again, I raise the concern of sexual assault- something everyone is just too scared to acknowledge. Assaults of all kind happen everywhere, everyday, at some given point in time. These instances are hard to deal with in any situation. I believe we need to start focusing more on this issue because of its severity toward all of the individuals involved, especially the victims. The statistics are too high- I believe that only one sexual assault is one too many. But sexual assaults are not always caused in fraternity houses alone. Please, continue to also pay attention to the issues of sexual assault and rape throughout our campus. Not only does this affect a person physically, but also forces them to carry around this burden mentally as well.

One common factor in many sexual assaults includes drugs and alcohol. When consumed in moderation, alcohol can be controlled. When consumed for the first time or as a result of giving into peer pressure, alcohol can be misused and cause major issues. We’re all adults here. If someone doesn’t want to participate in drinking alcohol with their peers, then they shouldn't feel compelled to. If they don’t know their limits, they shouldn't be tested all at once. By teaching individuals to control their actions, they’re not only helping themselves, but others as well. But this issue of alcohol comes to the individual. One person. Not their mom, dad, brother, sister, friend, relative, or neighbor. College has shown me that as much as I would like to place my entire trust in others, I can't; I must be my own advocate. In the way this world is today, we are forced to watch over our own selves and think twice about each decision we make.

I believe that correcting these issues from the start will not only cultivate better judgment and social environments at this university, but prepare us all for the adult life we will all shortly be forced into.

If more time were put into useful solutions like the ones listed above, we could make this family safer, happier, and more successful than it already is.

I have seen the effects of the recent rules the IFC and the university have put into place, and they’re not doing any good. Although the dreaded “party scene” has been stopped in the fraternity houses (aside from the allowed registered events), these parties have only moved to apartments and off-campus houses. These apartments and houses present plenty more problems and also introduce all of the people who would be present at a social into a much smaller space. There have already been incidences of people hurting themselves badly trying to maneuver throughout these gatherings. Having the party in a larger, better regulated space (like a fraternity house) would be safer. These rules are also causing anarchy due to underage people trying to get into bars and parties in the bar scene. It’s college, and we live in a country that allows people to go to war before they can take their first legal sip of alcohol. There is absolutely no way anyone could stop a party scene at a college- it happens everywhere. There are too many people on this campus to control every single one of them at a given moment in time.

Instead of beating Greek life down for all that it is not, think of all that it provides our family (and other families involved with Penn State) with. We raised over $10 million together for the kids this past year, and I think that’s something we should be proud about. We should celebrate these triumphs together- whether part of greek life, not part of greek life, or not part of a club at all. Philanthropy and leadership are just two of the important things that make this world continue to turn each day. Through the leadership opportunities presented and the community service Greek students put in, they help make the community stronger while setting themselves up for success. Not only do these students contribute philanthropically and throughout the university, the alumni contribute to our activities as well to ensure the legacy that is Penn State lives on. Without the support of our strong alumni, we would be nothing.

I also believe that not allowing students to rush a fraternity or sorority in the fall next year is not a beneficial solution to this situation. By not allowing prospective students to choose to join a group as they wish in the beginning of the fall semester, you’re taking away their ability to make friends more easily. Fraternities and sororities create an easier social setting for people to make new friends who are in the same position as they are. In a class of 600 plus people where no one speaks a word to one another, how else do you expect our family to create strong bonds with one another? From experience, I know that it is almost impossible to make your best friends in a large lecture course while you’re already scrambling to take notes and listen to the professor at the same time.

Our incoming classes are also questioning if they even want to join our family, due to the media shed on this situation the past couple of months. They also feel discouraged and disappointed that they will not be able to do something they’ve looked forward to for a while now- join Greek life. Although this may not feel important to some, joining a fraternity or sorority can help you find your place in a small niche that’s part of a gigantic community. You can easily get lost on this campus and feel overwhelmed, but sharing in a community that extends nationwide could create an escape to find a new friend, or even a best friend, that they can share their experience with and take in advice about college life and life beyond it.

Something I have always prided this university on is having smaller communities within it that make people feel comfortable. We are very diverse both through our strong academics and extracurriculars. Taking away these two communities from students next semester would make a good number of them feel lost and misplaced in our family. It would not properly show a decent percentage how much of an honor it is to be a Penn State student.

Sororities and fraternities in upholding standard with the university deserve to be able to keep the names of their chapter alive through the rush process next semester.

So I beg of you, President Barron, executive members of Penn State’s faculty, staff, students, the Interfraternity Council, and all of the community members that surround Penn State, believe me when I say I love this place. Four years just won’t be enough for me and I can’t wait to see what it’s like to come here as an alumni and feel proud that I was welcomed into this amazing establishment at one time in my life. I have already been given the opportunities of a lifetime, some of which people never attain. But please, take my plea into consideration. Please continue to help better Penn State, but also take into consideration the effects your ideas will have on our family as a whole. There are many more beneficial things we could be doing to continue to make us stronger together.

Sincerely,