Letter: UNM allows Greek system to be negatively portrayed

Editor,

I am writing in response to the article about the Greeks published in Wednesday's Daily Lobo. I think it would be nice to show the good things that fraternities and sororities do among the UNM and Albuquerque communities, but in the real world, that is not newsworthy. A fraternity was in two issues of the Lobo last week, revealing the negatives of what fraternities have done.

Stereotypes about fraternities are alive and well, mostly among the UNM administration, which seems to believe them. I am an active member of a fraternity. When I pledged two years ago, there were nine Interfraternity Council fraternities on campus. Today, there are four. UNM is trying to eliminate the Greek system.

There are three fraternities suspended, and the rest are on some sort of probation. One slipup, and they will join the suspension club. There is also Sigma Chi, which is being punished for things that happened five years ago, done by completely different members.

For the many good things a fraternity does, there will always be one incident that will get all the attention and bring the entire fraternity down. In return, Randy Boegling, dean of students, and Robert Burford, judicial affairs specialist, bring them down and suspend them or put them on probation.

I ask fellow students to please not believe the stereotypes about fraternities that the UNM administration believes. Help us to stay on campus before we are all gone.

Ronnie Garcia

UNM student