c/o Rosy Capron
It’s not just radical student groups who can use banner drops for activism. Two large banners were hung outside of DKE today, promoting a pro-fraternity message: “Frats Not Fiction” and “276 High Street: DKE Owned/Operated For 147 Years…And Counting”.
It is not clear if this was done by current students or perhaps returning alumni. Either way, it is clearly timed to get attention during Homecoming, when there are many alumni, though not necessarily a whole lot of students, on campus.
In addition to these signs hanging from DKE, a small plane flew over the football field during the Homecoming game, carrying a banner that read “Wes Picks Our Bros? Fascism. Look it up.”
c/o Katherine Lu
This tactic isn’t quite as low-budget and grassroots-y – these flyover signs can cost around $500. Though both actions carry similar messages, there is no definitive connection between the two.
Also, in case you’re interested, Merriam-Webster’s definition of fascism is a “political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition”.
Please weigh in with thoughts on these banners, and any info if other similar actions occurring during Homecoming.
To All Citizens of the Commonwealth of Wesleyan
Delta Mu Tau, the fraternity to end all fraternities, demands that the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity leave the premises of their house for appropriation and re-administration on November 1st, 2014. This day will from now on be celebrated in our Commonwealth as Liberation Day! We members of Delta Mu Tau, alongside the Wesleyan Parliament, have deemed the actions of President Roth not adequate at moving our commonwealth forward. We demand that all institutions on campus that support elitism, classism, misogyny, and exclusiveness be erased from the face of our commonwealth. As of today we members of the Delta Mu Tau will take decisive actions against any movement that seeks to reinstate, or empower, any institution that is a peril to the liberty, safety, and progress of our commonwealth. Our remodeling will start as follows. After all members of the Delta Kappa Epsilon are outside their former home we will dismantle their sign. We shall remove the letters Kappa and Epsilon and replace them with the letters Mu and Tau. Then we will make the house our new center for political and social actions where all students from all walks of life will be welcomed. Finally as Delta Mu Tau members we assure the members of our commonwealth that we will not promote any of the ill behaviors that were once accepted at the Delta Kappa Epsilon house. We will make sure to make this space accepting and safe to all students, particularly those who already suffer from neglect in our commonwealth (low Income students, students of color, etc). As of November 1st Delta Mu Tau demands that Delta Kappa Epsilon members leave the premises of the house for a new age of progress to begin. If our dictate is not adhered we will be forced to use release the Knights of the Commonwealth to enact this policy. Our Knights will have the permission of parliament to enact our dictate.
One Commonwealth, One people, One society!
Sincerely,
The Lord Protector
Founder of Delta Mu Tau and Sponsor of the Wesleyan Parliament
How does one become a “Knight of the Commonwealth?”
Dear Citizen,
Thank you for your inquiry. In order to become a Knight of the Commonwealth you must participate in activist events for social justice. For instance several citizens obtained Knighthood when they participated in the NYC Climate march on September 21st, 2014. However you do not have to be involved in anything that big to become a Knight of the Commonwealth. You could organize your own social activist actions or you could simply do some sort of political statement. For instance back in the Spring of 2014 Delta Mu Tau members spray painted South College with the phrase “Need Blind Now”. These members were elevated to the title of Knighthood. Once you have obtained Knighthood your responsibilities include: Mass agitation of students, mass civil disobedience, and protection of the Commonwealth by all means necessary. I hope this answers your questions.
Sincerely,
The Lord Protector
Founder of Delta Mu Tau and Sponsor of the Wesleyan Parliament
You should take a step back and literally FUCK YOUR OWN FACE!
What is the definition of co-ed housing? Given the number of genders does “co-ed” include all genders or just “males” and “females”? If just males and females, why? Who makes the determination of what gender each person is and how is this done?
dude shut the fuck up
Perfect answer.
in RothSpeak “Shut the fuck up” is “Wesleyan. This is why.”
In 2014 out of 23 reported incidents, 8 resulted in a campus hearing. Half of those hearings resulted in “responsible” findings by the admin, 3/4 of which led to suspension or dismissal from the University.
In 2013 out of 17 reported incidents, 10 resulted in a campus hearing. Half of those hearings resulted in “responsible” findings by the admin, and 100% of those found responsible led to suspension or dismissal from the University.
In 2012, 100% of reported incidents led to suspension or dismissal.
For such a tolerant and diverse community, there certainly is a lot of vitriol being spewed at a small group of kids. And no one is looking for anything other than fairness that everyone here purports to support.
^^upvoted their own comment
I’m sorry. I’m old. Is it bad Disqus etiquette to up-vote one’s own comments? I wrote it, I agree with it, so I thought I’d vote for it.
Wesleyan still discriminates against poor students and it doesn’t support the ones that are on campus, just wanted to say that!
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT
try Washington and Lee pals. love the irony of fratboys as a persecuted minority.
We don’t want your kind here. And you don’t see any irony in this? Nice touch throwing in the derogatory epitaph.
as long as “your kind” means those who discriminate their campus living spaces, this comment is not ironic at all. what year did you graduate, 1955?
“if you’re so tolerant how come you don’t tolerate intolerance??”
-the young republicans club at my high school and also ‘Concerned Alum’
I’m old. What does that have to do with it?
So you’re saying all the floors in all the dorms are coed? Females and males can live wherever they want in any dorm? Wesleyan discriminates already and I’m OK with that given that I do believe there is a difference between men/males and women/females. And please don’t come back at me with your sophomoric “how are men and women different” as you did with someone else on this thread. I’m fully aware of the difficulties that males and females face who are dealing with gender identity issues. I’m sure DKE isn’t perfect, but they are following through on the implementation of Resolution D which passed by an overwhelming 27-1 WSA majority including PSafe access, education by nationally recognized experts, offering assistance for the Rho EP sorority to have their own living space, etc. A prime example of the intolerance you were so witty with above is the derision directed at the education sessions by those who didn’t attend and lauded by the 400+ undergrads who did.
^upvoted their own comment
I’m sorry. I’m old. Is it bad Disqus etiquette to up-vote one’s own comments? I wrote it, I agree with it, so I thought I’d vote for it.
Wesleyan discriminates against poor students and doesn’t support the ones that are on campus. I think this frat issue is important but I think we should be moving forward to address other injustices are being committed against other students on campus that the administration has been incapable of solving or even engaging students and community members on.
Just checked. Washington and Lee is ranked higher than Wesleyan. Good leadership by Roth focusing on eliminating frats. Focus on the important things. He wouldn’t want to focus on the unimportant aspects like academic standing of the university, sexual assaults, or the endowment. But he does have a VP of Equity and Inclusion.
michael roth absolutely has a fascist outlook on how to govern wesleyan, has ever since 2011
maybe spend your money on, say, anything else.
if you didn’t like the little airplane you’re really gonna hate the blimp.
Middlesex United Way is fundraising right now! *end shameless plug*
This entire situation is repugnant. If there are institutions that are codified to only allow white people in then there would be an extraordinary uproar and everyone would lose their shit. But because sexism, patriarchy, misogyny is so saturated into every facet of our society, no one thinks twice about it. Everyone takes it as “natural” and just a historical, traditional thing. Sexism, in the context of all discriminations, is marginalized
Why is it that when we think of all-male fraternities we do not see how totalizing and blatant form of discrimination it is?
If we replaced males for white people, i.e. you can’t take away the place where I can create a bond of whiteness with other white people (bother hood)! See, how problematic it now becomes? How about… you can’t take away the house where all the 1%-ers can connect with the other 1%-ers! Oh, let’s try this one, you can’t destroy the only place on campus where I can relish in my straightness with other straight people!
Would you want men in feminist spaces? Men in female-dominated spaces?
These institutions are voluntary clubs. People like to gather with people like themselves, especially at college age. We have women’s groups here – for example, Rho Ep – that allow women to gather and forge effective bonds while helping each other through femininity’s trials and travails. Fraternities ought to play the same role for men – men at college age have struggles of their own.
We men like to say “man up” and “be a man”. I think that networks like DKE, so long as they do not engage in practices which jeopardize the community’s well-being (Exhibit A: Beta, on whose better days Martin Benjamin recently waxed poetic in the Argus), can foster bonds in which men can help each other answer the question of how to be men.
The main issue here is not inclusion, but SAFETY. Let us not play politics – gender politics or otherwise – with safety on campus.
why is discussing inclusion “playing politics”? also, what does “how to be a man” even mean? how did you miss so much in the constant dialogue of your alma mater? its baffling.
Playing politics: the “my way or the highway” attitude that far too many of the debate’s participants have engaged in.
oh come on jason thats enough of this talking about talking. participate in the discussion or not at all. pro-frat kids constantly distracting from the conversation by accusing “everyone” of poor debate ethics. whatever.
and it is my opinion, proof in the pudding and all, that this “male bonding” does not lead to stronger character- it leads to lack of empathy for women and more deeply entrenched conceptions of gender roles, all of which plays into both inclusion and safety.
But…you don’t spend any time with these people. You just judge them from afar.
that’s not true. many of “these people” i have never interacted with but i know countless people in fraternities all over the country and have friends who were in fraternities at wesleyan, and i am also drawing on comments from friends who have witnessed these things in their own fraternities, even at wesleyan, in the comment to which you replied.
Shouldn’t have an equal opportunity to spend time with these people? That IS what this is about….
and to follow the race analogy – “would you want whites in non-white spaces?”
Men in feminist spaces: honey, the point of feminism is gender equality. So yes, we do want men in feminist spaces. Or else, the weight and labor of lifting oppression would rest solely on the oppressed.
Men in female-dominated spaces: what female dominated spaces? I feel like you’re insinuating traditionally feminized spaces like nail-salons or kitchens. Which, again, is the point of gender equality. So spaces aren’t gendered. So spaces make everyone feel safe regardless of self-expression.
Additionally, spaces that cater to less-privileged groups are not seen as places of social power. Whereas spaces that are designated for privileged groups, are. In your mind, do you think there should be a house for only white people because they “have struggles of their own?”
Next, I honestly am stunned that you’re a recent grad from Wes and use the term “man up.” This only proves how toxic privilege-only places are. To “man up” is stating that in order to toughen up you have to be a man. Telling a man to “man up” forces all men to fall strictly within society’s idealized version of masculinity. Telling someone to “man up” is harmful to the entire society, woman, man, person, human beings. “Man up” is a direct assault on gender equality.
Educate yourself on the term “man up.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqX34V5UmoQ
“…can foster bonds in which men can help other men answer the question of how to be a man.” Please tell me what does it mean to be a man? Do you have to have a penis? Do you have to be heterosexual? Do you have to “fuck bitches, get money?” Do you have to be “masculine?” Do you have to be strong? Emotionless? Bread winner? What exactly does being a man mean to you? Not being a woman? By outlining specific guidelines for what it means to be a man you create oppressive gender binaries. If being a man means being a strong then what does being a woman mean? [the answer is the opposite: to be a woman would mean to be weak]
Let’s talk about safety. In what world is it safe to have oppression? Enlighten me.
Second commentator: when did I ever said DKE people are 1%-ers? I think you missed the point where I pointed out privileged/power groups. Nor am I saying that DKE is full of white, wealthy males-because I know that is not true. Giving people of privilege/power to relish in their privilege/power is to perpetuate oppression. It gives people who have privilege/power more privilege/power by restricting access to everyone who is not privileged and powerful.
Being white or straight is not something to “scorn.” Oppression is the true “target of my rant.” Having a space that is specifically catered to privileged groups is to continue oppression.
Yes, I would love more than anything to get along with everyone. That seems like a beautiful idea and one that I hope to see actualized in the future. But in order to “get along” with everyone, everyone must be on a socially even playing field. How is that ever going to happen when there are gender/race/class/sexuality/religious/anything else hierarchies? Giving one group of power does not facilitate a world where everyone can “get along.”
By “female-dominated spaces”, I was not referring to the kitchen or the nail salon. I was referring to spaces like WesBAM, the Monologues, the Wonen’s Conference, Rho Ep meetings (they really should have gotten a house). Even FGSS courses! ( I probably should have taken one, but I thought that the presence of a male would make it awkward.)
And we all have different conceptions of “man up” – accept responsibility, be accountable, embrace challenges. Some are toxic, while others may encourage us to say. In a way, “man up” can be the male version of “get ’em, girl” or “you go, girl”.
I say all of this as a man who has struggled with the uber-masculine form of manhood. I am not tall, muscular, bulletproof, macho. It can sometimes be awkward!
And I have heard all of the debate, even participated in it. On a broad note, I would hate to see quick and radical actions from the far left infiltrate the public discourse. Some of the strong language here may be seen outside of our little bubble as fighting words. I have thus tried to be as diplomatic as possible.
That said, it pains me as a man to realize that many of my fellow men have jeopardized the safety and well-being of women. We put too many damsels in distress?! What happened to chivalry and respect?
I would like to think that it does not have to do with masculinity – believe me, I have seen it at its worst. Middle school, high school, pop culture, college. My gender has to figure out smarter, more beneficial ways to be men.
how about you just be people instead and stop othering people who don’t or can’t join your club?
Willing to bet you will find less 1%-ers at DKE than most other places on this elite, privileged campus. Most of these brothers are working their way through school. You clearly know very little about the target of your rant. Maybe you should take the time to meet the people that you are trashing. Not all the brothers and alums are white or straight. Although I am not sure why being either white or straight subjects anyone to scorn. Why can’t we all just get along?
i get what you’re saying but FemPhi wasnt arguing that all DKE’rs are straight white 1percenters. FemPhi was making an analogy— what if, like frats are clubs for just boys, there were clubs on campus just for 1percenters, just for straight people, or just for white people?
Hey there person,
an analogy is this:
a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification
In terms of structure, comparing sexism and racism is not gonna work. Physiologically, there is no difference between people of different races. The concept of race is genuinely a social construct which is why the notion of a group bonding over their “whiteness” would be so egregious.
However, the fact you have to start living with is that there is a very fundamental difference between men and women which lies in the extra chromosome. Men and women are not the same, fact. On that grounds it becomes a lot more understandable that a group would claim finding solace in identifying in sisterhood or brotherhood.
Furthermore, this is no sort of bash at any trans-gender or people who identify as different genders or people with various sexualities because all of those things are in fact social constructs too. But frats and sororities don’t identify in those terms, only in gender.
So in short, your patronizing comment is in fact misguided and ignorant and I now don’t like you.
how are men and women different? you MUST tell us that if you are going to make the claim.
These frats got to go!
embarrassing.
Wtf does “wes picks our bros” even mean?
The administration now feels free to dictate the gender of your friends or house mates. You may be old enough to choose the most powerful leader on the face of the earth yet Mr. Roth and the administration don’t trust you to pick the right “kind” people to live with. Males, in particular, are incompetent. These are the same males welcomed to Wesleyan just a few months/years ago.
lol hokay
It does so in all other residence halls and program houses here, womanist house has men. And really as opposed to the votes of everyone else in the club dictating who your mandatory friends are with your vote meaning little? I mean sure you could leave the club and pick your own friends but… then again if DKE doesn’t like the friends Wesleyan wants it to have then maybe they should just not be affiliated.
Here is my premise. If the people attending Wesleyan had chosen some other way to commence their adult lives they would work to choose their own living space and who to live with. Attending a prestigious university should not disqualify a person from making those choices.
Presumably the Womanist House is on university property so the university has the authority to make up the rules. But that said, if somebody wants to live in the Womanist House, whatever their gender, it should be up to the people who live in the Womanist House to decide if that person lives with them. Michael Roth doesn’t live in the Womanist house and it is none of his business what gender the members are. Likewise the gender of DKE’s membership is none of Roth’s business. Furthermore DKE is privately owned. Roth is attempting to further expand his authority and hoping the community won’t challenge him because frats are unpopular. This is not a good trend.
I recommend not giving permission to the institution to make these kinds of choices for you.
allowing women into institutions of power and privilege is not something fascist movements have been historically interested in. take it from someone who has googled fascism enough times to be on an nsa watch list (history theses are nothing but trouble). large-scale, expensive, intensely public displays of a simplified message, based on myths of victimization by broadly defined oppressors, on the other hand…………..
I googled merriam webster fascism and got this definition
fas·cism noun ?fa-?shi-z?m also ?fa-?si-
: a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government
: very harsh control or authority
well that’s settled good thing we only ever use the most basic definitions listed on merriam webster’s website when we try to define complex political/social movements that developed over decades and whose ideology has sparked several wars and unspeakable violence world wide
Wesleyan should probably just close down the history department because why bother when we’ve got merriam webster’s online dictionary
Funny I thought that’s what everyone was doing here – being simplistic. Let’s make an example of these kids (less 4% of the Wesleyan population by the way) to satisfy your lust for vengeance against those you don’t agree with. But it’s a safe plan. There might be one kid in there who someday might become a rich white guy so let’s stop them all now just to be sure.
Unlike marxist or socialist dictatorships the fascist state nominally allows the existence of private property so long as it used to advance the regime’s agenda. Some students are permitted to have “program housing” because they will advance the administration’s vision. Others, like Rho Ep, are denied. Roth will ‘allow’ DKE to exist if they will promote his ideology. Otherwise ‘Frats must go.”
Hitler summed it up nicely. “The state should retain supervision and each property owner should consider himself appointed by the state. It is his duty not use his property against the interests of others among his own people. This is the crucial matter.
Goodwin’s law alert
As soon as you juxtapose roth with hitler you have no legitimacy.
Actually according to Godwin’s law, the whole thread goes south. Time to start a new thread.
That’s funny given that the subject was the definition of fascism. I thank you for reading it.
Private organizations don’t have to be democratic (or folllow the 1st amendment, for that matter), bros. ~Look it up~
Exactly. It can emulate a fascist organization instead.
Frats not fiction? I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT YOURE SAYING
this is what’s being referred to:
http://wesleyanargus.com/2014/10/17/frats-not-fiction/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=frats-not-fiction
that banner is like a facebook comment
Only about as fascist as Obama; so, no.