Editorial: Why women deserve more agency in shaping Tufts' social landscape

Content warning: This editorial discusses sexual assault.

As the inextinguishable Greek life debate continues, students have been forced to critically examine the role Greek houses, particularly fraternities, play in Tufts social life. One issue that comes up again and again is the undeniable link between fraternities and sexual assault culture. Because even if you aren’t a member of Greek life, chances are you’ve been to a frat party. And if you’re a woman who's been to a frat party, chances are you’ve felt uncomfortable.

Fraternity parties are home to much of the sexual misconduct on campuses across the country, and Tufts is no exception. One in Four, a 501(c)(3) non-profit database of sexual assault statistics, cites two outside studies that found that fraternity brothers are three times more likely to commit sexual assault than other "college men." Equally as disturbing, a 2007 study funded by the U.S. Department of Justice found that women who often go to fraternity parties are much more likely to be sexually assaulted than those who don't.

Because fraternities occupy central, sizable spaces on campus, the social scene tends to revolve around them. With that much social capital and a “home court advantage,” it is not shocking to see fraternity members abusing their power. They can decide which sorority is invited and which is not, who gets in and who gets turned away at the door. This may be based on connections, on gender and sometimes even on looks. A fraternity-centric social scene is just one more male-dominated arena that leaves women out of the conversation.

So why not have parties in sororities? When asked this question, many students will cite a “Brothel Law,” which supposedly prohibits groups of unrelated women from serving alcohol in their house, or even just living together at all, because that arrangement constitutes a brothel. No one has proven that this law persists; it may have never even been instituted at all. “As far as we can determine, no such law exists,” the government websiteMassachusetts Law Updates states, “but apparently the myth is widespread.”Boston Real Estate Law Newssuggests the fictitious law “may have its roots in sexism,” as it perpetuates rumors that help fraternities retain their place in the social pecking order.

If we want to fundamentally reshape the college social experience of young women, we should encourage sororities to throw parties. While this is not an exhaustive solution to minimizing campus sexual assault, it does shift social power away from male institutions. Journalist Alan Schwarz considered the legitimacy of sorority parties as a counter to rape culture in his  2015 New York Times article, Sorority Anti-Rape Idea: Drinking on Own Turf.  Schwarz interviewed young women who said they would feel safer and more comfortable in sorority-run parties or other events. One young woman deemed fraternities a “hunting ground,” whereas at sorority parties, she found that the women “keep an eye on each other.”

As Schwarz explains, not all sororities can throw parties at their leisure. Often, the national chapter has stringent rules banning any alcohol in the house. One way to counteract this would be for Tufts' sororities to disaffiliate from their national chapters. Sorority functions could also be outsourced to external locations, such as Tufts social spaces or off-campus venues.

Even if sororities could throw parties easily, there are reasons why they wouldn’t want to. Schwarz points to the fact that fraternity houses put themselves at risk, to a certain degree, when hosting a party — this could mean facing property damage or something much more serious, like a health scare with a peer. Sororities can skirt these issues by keeping parties out of their house. Even to throw out-of-house parties, sororities would have to add the cost of food, drinks and a venue, to their budget. By not regularly hosting these events, sororities avoid increasing already high dues.

Tufts has the means to aid this process, moving social power away from fraternities and toward sororities. The university has already announced plans to introduce nine new social spaces on campus. This could facilitate sororities and other femme organizations to throw parties outside of their regulated houses, without the financial burden of paying for a venue every time they want to host.

While the administration certainly has a role to play in reforming the Tufts social scene, the student body has significant responsibility as well. Giving women more agency in shaping social life breaks a lot of societal norms that might make alumni, parents or even our fellow students uncomfortable. But if there are students who value the change this would bring to the Tufts social landscape, they need to spearhead some sort of reform. Whether the Tufts community brings this change to fruition or not, we need to re-examine the Greek system and radically alter it. Sorority parties are just one place to start.