I’d like to address a column written a few days ago by Ryan McAndrews titled “Secret life of the American college bro.” It might be shocking to McAndrews that I, as a woman in a sorority, have the mental capacity to write a letter to the editor or read a newspaper, but I feel strongly compelled to speak out.
Mr. McAndrews has received his fair share of flak in the comments section on The Post website, but had he ever actually associated with anyone in Greek life, he would have seen the social media backlash for his column has been much worse. I’ve seen and heard countless negative things about Greek life said during my time here, but McAndrews has joined an elite club of those who attempted Greek-life satire and failed miserably. This column read more like a collection of badly drafted tweets from a circa-2007 Jersey Shore cast member rather than the vernacular of the modern Ohio University student. Perhaps he’s seen too many American Pie movies or spent too much time riding this mystery bus that brings students to the bar, but this column was embarrassingly unfunny and blatantly insulting. This column could have been funny if it was based off of an actual experience the author had, but I find it difficult to believe that McAndrews has ever actually met anyone in a fraternity.
Nearly 20 percent of the Ohio University student body is Greek-affiliated; part of a group of students that is stereotyped and under more scrutiny than any other group on campus. To portray Greek men on this campus as alcoholic, rude, belligerent, unintelligent, womanizing drug users is uncalled for and unacceptable. It’s these kinds of bitter, demeaning, ignorant pieces that fuel negative impressions of Greeks all over the country, but hide behind a claim of “college humor.” Greek men and women on this campus are involved, dedicated and raise thousands of dollars for charities every year. Greek-affiliated students have a higher graduation rate than non-Greeks, and although McAndrews obviously believes the typical fraternity man has the grade point average of a can of soup, Greeks typically have a higher overall GPA than non-Greeks. I have great respect for Pat Holmes; however, I’m completely surprised that this piece of lazy journalism was given the go-ahead for publishing. From my understanding, several members of The Post staff are part of Greek organizations as well. Had this column been actually humorous, I would have found less issue with the content. However, the author most definitely didn’t “nail it,” and I’m sure if this poorly-written column stereotyped those who congregate at Casa, Jackie O’s, or The Union on the weekends, those respective groups would be equally as upset. On another note, I sincerely appreciate that McAndrews’ journalism “major” was put in quotation marks, because had he considered himself a real journalist who researched for this column at all, he’d know that real bros “get crunked” (whatever that means) at the Crystal — not at Broney’s.
Devin Bartolotta is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University.
