University of Virginia Library

Prevalent Myth

But the most prevalent myth is
that fraternity men are all Southern
gentlemen, conservative, bigots,
narrow-minded and oppressive mentors
of their fraternity brothers.
Such an approach sadly neglects the
facts. No two fraternities, and for
that matter no two people, are
exactly alike. Fraternities all have
diverse viewpoints, and their shares
of non-three- piece suit wardrobes,
and the fraternity system has
produced some of the more respected
liberal politicians in the
Student Body - Paul Hurdle, Steve
Hayes and Kevin Mannix for
examples. The IFC itself last year
urged the University to hire a black
admissions recruiter, required their
fraternities to pay their help a
minimum wage, and this year the
Committee on Fraternities is in the
process of establishing review and
enforcement procedures for cases
of fraternity discrimination.

Thus, to argue that fraternities
are monolithically conservative is to
contradict the established facts.
Fraternities are based on people,
and they are getting more and more
liberal just as students are everywhere.