US college fraternities disband after documents reveal 'rape attics' and racist behaviour

Students organised a sit-in of the fraternity houses following the documents' release

Fraternities at a college in Pennsylvania have disbanded following a sit-in by the school’s students in the organisation’s houses.

The sit-in was the result of a leak of “unofficial minutes” from one of the school’s fraternities, which indicated a culture of misogyny and racism, in which rape and sexual assault may have occurred.

Last week, two student newspapers at the elite Swarthmore College published over 100 pages of “unofficial minutes” from Phi Psi fraternity, one of the two fraternities at the school.

The minutes are excerpted from classes from 2010 to 2016, and written in a casual, joke-heavy tone. Besides recording incidents of sexual assault committed by members of the fraternity, the documents include jokes about members of the school’s LGBTQ community, as well as students of colour. They also include references to hazing.

The documents also reference the school’s other fraternity, Delta Upsilon, in a joke about the fraternity’s house, located on campus, containing rooms for rape.

“Also how embarrassed would you be if you were in DU right now?” the minutes read. “Your parties suck, you have both a rape tunnel AND a rape attic (gotta choose one or the other).”

Both fraternities were temporarily suspended by the school’s administration following the leak, which prompted sit-ins in the fraternity’s houses by students, who did not feel the action was strong enough.

According to the student newspaper The Phoenix, Swarthmore’s students have been communally vocal about their disapproval of the school’s fraternities since 2013, when “a student referendum on Greek Life” resulted in what the school’s students refer to as the “Spring of Discontent.” Incidents including urination on anti-fraternity chalk drawings on campus are recorded in the Phi Psi documents. A group formed at the school in Spring 2017 called Organizing for Survivors, or O4S, appears to have led much of the protests following the minutes’ publication.

A Tumblr called Why Swarthmore Fraternities Must Go was also established, which allowed students to anonymously submit stories of troubling incidents involving the two fraternities.

America’s fraternities have long been known for their misogynistic and racist attitudes. In recent years, many have come under fire for their internal practice of hazing new members with extreme physical discomfort, such as heavy drinking, which has resulted in a number of deaths. Swarthmore’s sit-ins and the resulting disbandment mark a rare case in which a school’s fraternities have answered for their behaviour to those outside of the so-called brotherhood.

The progressive college’s fraternity scene was unusual in comparison to many US universities prior to the leak of the documents. Swarthmore’s Phi Psi disaffiliated with the national chapter of the fraternity in 1963 in order to desegregate its own chapter. Black members were not allowed; it is not atypical for historically white fraternities to not allow non-white members.

Current members of Swarthmore's Phi Psi chapter responded to the leak of the documents with measured shame, noting that “current members were in high school and middle school at the time of the writing of these documents.” In a statement on Facebook regarding their unanimous decision to disband, the chapter wrote “We cannot in good conscience be members of an organisation with such a painful history.”

Delta Upsilon, whose decision to disband was also unanimous, appeared to offer up the fraternity’s house on campus in their own Facebook statement, writing: “We hope that our former house will provide a space that is inclusive, safe, and promotes healing.”

On Twitter, video of the students engaging in the sit-in celebrating the news was shared by Swarthmore Voices, one of the student newspapers that broke the documents.

Valerie Smith, the president of Swarthmore, wrote a statement approving of the decision, while also noting that the school itself would continue to look into the matter.

“At this time, we have no evidence that any current student participated in the behaviours documented in the unofficial 'minutes.' An external investigator will still conduct a review,” she wrote.

In an op-ed from the Phoenix's editorial board, students suggested that they expected stronger leadership from the school.

“What the past week has made clear is that, since at least 2013, the administration has turned a blind eye to seemingly-constant allegations of violations of college policy, offering empty rhetoric instead of meaningful action,” the editorial reads. “The college brands itself as an institution committed to social justice, touting its students’ storied history of groundbreaking activism — but its actions speak louder than its words.”