6 September 2007
Thursday
Another fraternity-related death is grabbing the news these past few days. As usual, we fratmen are judged collectively, not even realizing that fraternities, just like nation states of the same continent, are still essentially very much different from one another.
Senator Brenda is at it again. I doubt it if her proposal of abolishing fraternities will come to fruition --- too many fratmen among the lawmakers. *rolls eyes*
I posted this comment in a certain blog where people started bashing us fratmen and blaming us
collectively because of the death of Cris Mendez, who allegedly died while undergoing initiation rites of the Sigma Rho Fraternity of the U.P. College of Law.
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It's so easy for all of you to make sweeping statements and lump us all together in one bunch of crap. After all, it is so typical for people to fear, hate and bitch on things they don't know jack crap about. The fear of the unknown. The resentment of not ever knowing.
You said:
"The concept of undergoing initiation to prove commitment to the group still eludes me. What eludes me more is the point of their continuous existence right within school premises."
And it will forever elude you. Why must we explain our sacred rites and doctrines to the likes of you? Our continuous existence of at least 70 years goes beyond these senseless killings and deaths that are fraternity-related. It's so typical that negative news like this one gets more mileage than the positive things (at least as far as MY frat is concerned) we get from our organization.
Just because we are fratmen too, does that mean that we are also guilty? Guilty by mere association? That's bollocks!
I'm not here to validate or justify these deaths. Mind, we abhor them, and we make sure that things like these don't happen in OUR Fraternity.
I find all these deaths utterly senseless too. My fraternity - alumni and resident brods - do not in any way approve of them. Just like Sigma Rho, we are a very old fraternity rich in tradition, though unlike them, we NEVER had any frat-related deaths in our entire history.
And don't you dare call us elitist. Pot meet kettle, and boy is it so friggin black. U.P. in itself is an institution of the elite --- the intellectual elite --- after all, not everyone can INTELLECTUALLY afford to be in U.P.
In parting, don't associate us too with these street gangs with Greek-lettered names: tau gamma phi and alpha kappa rho come to mind. We legitimate fratmen don't recognize them as one of our ilk.
