Stepping into college might feel a little scary. It is like stepping into a whole new world. With a bunch of unfamiliar faces and a whole new environment, it is a chapter of our lives where we discover new things and explore who we are. College is also the time of our lives where we build relationships with our colleagues, schoolmates, and co-members in organizations. It is the time where we make lifetime friends who we consider as our brothers and sisters which makes them a big part of our college lives.
In certain countries, building relationships with people whom you would consider as your brothers and sisters are made by joining fraternities and sororities. This culture was eventually brought in the Philippines and is still practiced in many universities today.
Many young men and women turn to these organizations to build connections and meet new people whom they would consider as family – their brothers and sisters. While both fraternities and sororities are present in universities all over the Philippines, the culture of fraternities is more prominent than of the later.
The main goal of these fraternities is to establish brotherhood within the members of the organization. While this is the aim of almost all fraternities in the Philippines as well as other countries, many members of these fraternities turn to unlikely acts that debunks the whole idea of brotherhood. This includes violence, harassment, and the promotion of misogyny and hypermasculinity.
Just in September 2017, a first year law student was killed due to hazing as he applied to be a member of a fraternity. Horacio Tomas Castillo III died after he underwent brutal and inhumane physical initiations in the hands of his supposedly future brothers. This hasn’t been the first issue that involved death due to fraternity hazing, and won’t be the last if people in authority will tolerate this violent practice.
Many promising young men lost their lives due to fraternity hazing – a violent act that was meant to prove one’s commitment and loyalty to the organization. Horacio is one of these many young men whose dreams died with them and is one of the sons that belong to families that will never be whole again.
Though fraternities are institutions that supposedly have noble and respectable ideas, with the events happening today, fraternities are slowly becoming groups of barbaric men. Internally, these fraternities promote feudal hierarchy within its members, with the head and the rest of the executive board of the fraternity become the law above their members. These men absorb the actions as well as values practiced within the organization, making them lose their sense of individuality as they are consumed by the supposed brotherhood they were promised. Most of the time they are exposed to violence (hazing, fraternity wars etc.), misogyny and macho feudal mentality.
Recently, another issue sparked controversy as screenshots from a private group chat of a certain fraternity was exposed to the public. The conversations include comments that involve misogyny, violence, harassment, sexism, racism, and homophobia. Many were disgusted with the statements as it speaks inhumane acts such as rape, violence against women and members of the LGBTQ community.
Screenshots from a group chat of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity of the University of the Philippines were leaked and published on Facebook. A number of organizations from the university expressed their sentiments over the leaked messages, including the UP Women in Law organization. “Regardless of the verity of these messages, they represent a very real evil that thrives not just in our college, but in the university: the archaic and unfounded mentality that men have claim over women and their bodies, and the implication that women are restricted to act in a certain manner by virtue of their gender alone.” the statement said.
Eventually, the fraternity broke its silence over the leaked messages and released an official statement that said: “The student members of the Fraternity take these accusations very seriously and will not tolerate members espousing such backward, misogynistic, and discriminatory views.”
With the recent release of the statement, the investigation regarding the leaked messages still continue.
Women, members of the LGBTQ community, and Muslims still face challenges, discrimination and harassment today, which sometimes are made by members of such fraternities.
I’d like to believe that the purpose of fraternities and sororities are for the greater good. But with the recent events that involve violence, harassment, sexist and racist remarks, and discrimination among women and the LGBTQ community, the fraternity system had become an institution that forms young men to practice violence and the macho feudal mentality. With everything that is happening in the world today: war, violence, discrimination – the last thing we need are young men who practice the same culture.
The brotherhood formed in these fraternities are slowly becoming brotherhood based on false loyalty and power. It is far from the brotherhood that we know of. Brotherhood does not necessarily mean two individuals are related by blood, instead it is built through a special bond that does not involve violence and hatred. Brotherhood and sisterhood involves a connection that is based on support and most of the time – love. We encourage our brothers and sisters to be better people not only for themselves but also for everyone else in society. Most importantly, brotherhood and sisterhood can be found elsewhere.
Regardless of the present fraternities in the Philippines as well as other countries in the world that practice the wrong values, it is important that we teach and enlighten the youth outside these organizations to be better individuals. Media, learning institutions, and families must teach young men and women to respect one another and make them understand that we are all equal – regardless of gender, race, or age. It is time that we stop tolerating acts such as violence, harassment, or even the simplest sexist remark that we hear from others. Educating one another is important. We can learn from one another to be better people, or even more – a better society.
