Owen Bennett | Editor

Just over fourteen months ago, the college community was rocked by revelations made in The University Times concerning the existence of a previously undocumented fraternity within Trinity College, namely Theta Omicron, a chapter of the north-american based organisation Zeta Psi. ‘The Frat’ as it was labeled in Trinity discourse, immediately became the subject of much public discussion and debate, with the engaged elements of the student populace near unanimous in their criticism of the body. Perceptions of sexism and elitism, traits many would consider inherent in the fraternity and sorority system of North America, evoked censure among readers of this newspaper, a popular reaction which ultimately forced the Central Societies Committee and the students’ union to lead public condemnations of the organisation and pledges to fight against official College recognition of it.

After the initial public backlash, the Frat sought to distance itself from the public consciousness, and by Christmas of this year, many students in Trinity were of the opinion that the attempt to bring the fraternity culture to the college had proven futile with those involved accepting the widespread criticism the idea had encountered. Yet, murmurings of invite-only parties at secret locations persisted and in recent months, more and more black t-shirts bearing the golden Zeta Psi inscription have been spotted around campus. Indeed, a candidate in this year’s Ents race admitted membership of the Frat, unequivocally dispelling the notion that the mysterious organisation had ceased to operate. In that context, I was compelled to delve into the operations of the Frat, to ascertain an understanding of its values and activities and explore the allegations of sexism and elitism which plague it. To that end, I have held a series of on-the-record interviews with leading members of the Frat and the chair of an advocacy group with significant grievances toward it, namely the Dublin University Gender Equality society. In what follows, I will attempt to present the case for fraternities in its founders’ words while also outlining the rationale which inform the perceptions of sexism and elitism, with the hope of offering a platform upon which the reader can pass judgement on gender-exclusive associations.

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Before one can begin to weigh up the pros and cons of the Trinity Frat, the context of its existence must be expounded. Fraternities and sororities are intrinsic elements of the ‘Greek system‘, and are essentially gender-exclusive organisations which seek to instill discipline among members and supplant academic higher education. Many fraternities and sororities engage in social entrepreneurship and charity work and place a strong focus on improving the career prospects of their members. However, as is often the case, practice need not mirror theory and many will be aware of the sexism and elitism which seems to permeate the Greek system in North America. Thus the question is, does the Trinity Frat expound the values the Greek system is build upon, and indeed, are these values desirable?

To garner an understanding of the origins and workings of the Trinity Frat, I met with Andrew Nagle, the organisation’s founder and current president, and his incoming successor, Tobie Arize. Both young men are evidently self-assured , confident yet eager to dispel the negative perceptions of their characters and the organisation they lead. Nagle quickly expounds the origins of the movement, speaking fondly of the two summers he spent working in Toronto and of how the Zeta Psi fraternity helped him settle into new surroundings and offered a “home away from home”. “It was so much different from anything I’d seen back in Dublin. Everything had a philanthropic basis, with a common desire on the part of the members to help each other out”. Nagle goes on to say that the Greek system was something which was of “great interest” to him and, after his first year in college, decided to bring the frat culture to Dublin, citing the reality that there “was nothing like it in Trinity”.

‘It was so much different from anything I’d seen back in Dublin. Everything had a philanthropic basis, with a common desire on the part of the members to help each other out’

Both Nagle and Arize are keen to emphasise the community aspect of the fraternity culture, asserting that it can offer far more opportunities to create meaningful relationships than the club and society structures of Trinity. They argue that to create such a communal bond between individuals who are not tied by a common purpose, a set fraternity structure is necessitated. “The fraternity [Zeta Psi] has existed for over 100 years, with guidelines and structures to help create the organisation we wanted”. Members for the organisation were initially hand-picked by Nagle, male students he believes “represented the values” he was looking for. When pushed to expound what these values may be, he responds “it’s hard to say, but essentially, individuals who have an interest in philanthropy and who are really involved in college.”

But surely such a process justifies the perception of elitism within the frat? This is strongly denied by both, claiming “there are no financial criteria to get in and no monthly subscription.” In an attempt to further counter the claim of elitism, Nagle tells me “we have students in the Frat who are in receipt of grants and the Student Hardship Fund”.

Moving on, they quickly outline the process by which an individual in inducted into the organisation. Prospective members who align with the organisation’s “ethos” are approached and invited to partake in a variety of social engagements with the Frat’s members. Should an individual be deemed agreeable by all members, they are then invited to become a member, and can thus avail of the benefits such a position entails. Arize informs me that any member is allowed veto a new student joining the frat. “Everybody has to get along, and in extreme cases where you may have had issues with a guy in the past, you can veto his membership. It’s just to ensure everybody feels at home.”

The mention of membership benefits takes our conversation in a new direction. Arize tells me that from his experiences in the US, “guys look forward to coming to college just to be in a frat” and it was a “bit of a shock” coming to Dublin and realising no such culture existed. He recalls his surprise at the negative coverage the Frat encountered when it’s existence became public, citing the fact that many men in the US have used the fraternity system as a vehicle to further their careers and as such, it is something every male student ought to want to be involved with. Indeed, the Frat aims to “teach you what you don’t learn in college” and to that end, the leading members have this year organised seminars for members over a wide range of areas aimed at improving career prospects, such as CV advice and interview tips. These seminars are facilitated primarily by American citizens with affiliations to Zeta Psi. Nagle confirmed that plans are in place to buy a Frat house for members “at some point in the future” but refused to elaborate on such plans as “it is currently a work in progress”. He was similarly coy on suggestions of the emergence of a sorority in Trinity, only going as far as to confirm plans to create such an organisation were under consideration.

“guys look forward to coming to college just to be in a frat”

The Frat’s activities, while obviously of great benefit to those who can avail of them, have fueled the perception of the organisation as an “old boys club”, an organisation which can serve only to perpetuate gender inequality in the corridors of powers. Throughout the interview, the fraternity’s philanthropic activities are alluded to, and it is in the attempt to rebuke the “old boys club” name tag that Nagle expands upon it. “ Philanthropy is something which is a core value in the fraternity system and it’s something we’ve focused heavily on this year. We raise more money than any other non-charity in Trinity and it’s something I’m immensely proud of”. The Frat’s charitable activities are broken down into two arms – group work and individual work. Collectively, the Frat has involved itself in initiatives such as Pink Ribbon day, Daffodil day and Movember. “We also encourage and support everyone who wants to take part in an individual philanthropic event, such as helping people organise events with VDP and other charities”. Nagle asserts that over the course of this year the Frat has collected close to €5,000 for charitable causes, and Arize pledges to go “well beyond that figure next year.”

While any organisation which engages in charitable efforts should be commended, does the alleged sexism of the fraternity culture compromise this? “The question isn’t whether a fraternity is sexist but whether you feel the Greek system is sexist. At the moment we are the only fraternity, but next year there will be a sorority in Dublin too. It is the same as the Rowing club is for men and women, but there is a men’s rowing team and a women’s rowing team”. Arize and Nagle accept that fraternities often foster sexist behavior in North America, but are keen to demark the concept of a gender-exclusive organisation from the practical consequences of its implementation. Indeed, it would appear that the leaders of the Frat see their organisation as a vehicle for celebrating the differences between genders, in a sense accepting what they see as gender-exclusive traits which should be viewed positively. To emphasise this point, Arize poses a question to me: “would you feel more comfortable using the men’s toilet or the women’s toilet?”. As they see it, when men group together as a collective a special relationship is fostered, a manifestation understood though the framework of men qua men. Moreover, they assert that this reality is at play in the sorority culture also, and the existence of both fraternities and sororities allow both men and women to celebrate their inherent differences.

To better ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of this understanding in the context of contemporary gender studies, I spoke to Oilbhe Cahill Reid, the incoming chair of DU Gender Equality society. Cahill Reid holds the belief that any gender exclusive organisation which is segregated on non-atomic grounds is necessarily sexist. “The bond between men and women separately is no stronger than the bond between men and women equally. Some of my best friends are male and I would strongly disagree with the suggestion that there is some sort of unique bond between men with other men”. She goes on to point out that “many men do not fit into the narrow criteria of what the Frat deem a suitable candidate”. Indeed, how can the Greek system’s binary understanding of gender be reconciled with contemporary understandings of identity? “If a member of the Queer community sought to join such an organisation, they would most likely be excluded, as their identity would not fit in with that which fraternities stand for”. Cahill Reid goes on to point out that this problem is inherent in sororities also, as they build on “archaic, age-old gender stereotypes.

“College is a place of self-discovery and the fraternity system can only perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes”. Cahill Reid is keen to emphasise that she is not speaking from a “closed perspective” and throughout our conversation she references her experiences visiting the Phoenix frat house while attending the Harvard summer school last year. “I don’t mind what groups of guys do in their personal time, lad culture exists, but I don’t think we should have an exclusive college society promoting it. Obviously sexism is rife in our society but I don’t think incoming Trinity students should be greeted with an organisation which codifies a sexist ethos”.

“College is a place of self-discovery and the fraternity system can only perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes”

Indeed, the advocacy group Cahill Reid leads, namely DU Gender Equality society was at the forefront to demand Theta Omicron be considered ineligible for official college recognition. To that end, a motion was passed at the students’ union council last March which bound the students’ union sabbatical officers to “publicly and actively campaign against College recognition of any fraternity or sorority”. The motion expressed the belief that fraternities are “necessarily sexist and elitist”, a viewpoint Cahill Reid shares. The Central Societies Committee, the umbrella body for all Trinity societies, is also resolute in its opposition to fraternity recognition. Éanna Drury, secretary of the body informed me that to gain recognition as an official society, a group must be “open to all individuals who are registered students and to all staff of the University. Membership of this group (Theta Omricon) is not open in this way and it therefore cannot be recognised by the CSC”. Drury went on to stress that “allegations of endemic and systemic social elitism and sexist practices have been made against the group” which, if true, would render its recognition impossible.

As such, it would appear that the vocal elements of the Trinity student population are steadfast in their viewpoints towards fraternities and sororities. One could never condone any activity on par with that associated with fraternities and sororities in the US and both Nagle and Arize appear to denounce such an ethos. In that context, the broader philosophical issue of systematic gender-exclusivity is where the crux of the issue lies. Are gender-exclusive organisations such as the Trinity Frat necessarily sexist and regressive in a college community seeking to realise gender equality? Or would a fraternity solely focused on philanthropy and improving the lot of its members be justifiable? Indeed, a further question concerns the nature of inherent gender difference and if it does really exist, whether it should be celebrated? These are questions which I feel are worth discussing and I hope this article has offered a platform for renewed discourse on the topic.