Crimson Neglects Positive Aspects of MIT Fraternities

To the editors:

Your editorial about MIT fraternities, "Mistake after Mistake"(Editorial, Nov. 5) was a travesty. In addition to only showing one side of the story, it contained several pointless insults directed at MIT that lack relevance or journalistic maturity.

Your editorial contributes to the perception that MIT is a hub for binge drinking. A little homework reveals how absurd that perception is. A 1998 study by Henry Wechsler, director of College Alcohol Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health, found binge drinking at MIT to be at about half the national average, at 23 percent. The study also found that about a third of MIT students do not drink, whereas only 19 percent abstain nationwide.

The media has scrutinized MIT in the wake of Scott Krueger's tragic death. The problems that this scrutiny has revealed are not unique to the Institute. I can personally attest to instances of underage binge drinking and public urination at Harvard.

What concerns me much more than the fallacious description of drinking at MIT is the blatant and unnecessary disrespect for an institution with which your university has a long-running mutually beneficial relationship. You claim that MIT has a reputation for "technologically incompetent students." I know of no one who feels that MIT produces anything but the best and brightest.

In your demonizing of MIT fraternities, you omit the positive contributions MIT fraternities make to the community. My house runs charitable events and has never caused any disturbance to the community. This record is representative of MIT fraternities. You mention that Phi Kappa Sigma (PKS) was forced to cancel a party for the Leukemia Society of America after the firecracker incident, but neglect to mention that the MIT community had a rally to support PKS at which we raised over $10,000 to combat leukemia.

Instead of contributing to the media hype that so negatively affects the lives of MIT students (much more than fraternities actually do), you should consider supporting your peers down the river.