There’s a common tendency to excuse the male youth’s misbehavior by responding with the expression “boys will be boys.” However, in light of the recent events at Yale and Columbia University, the old adage just doesn’t cut it.
On Oct. 13 the Yale chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity had its pledges march across the university’s Old Campus where they aurally assaulted the first-year female students residing in the area with the chant “No means yes, yes means anal!” Shortly after, a similar incident at Columbia University had an all–male a cappella group, called the Kingsmen, issue an apology for posting fliers of one of its members around the Columbia campus. Beneath the photo of the member, sporting a posh scarf and pursed lips, were the words “Rape me.”
It should come as no surprise that the two events were met with a mountain of contempt from social activist groups at their respective institutions while spurring a flurry of media attention.
In public apologies, the two groups’ words almost echo each other. DKE President, Jordan Forney, called the chant “a serious lapse in judgment,” and the Kingsmen admitted the poster was “an utter lack in judgment.”
We are all guilty of making a mistake from time to time. But some should never happen.
The groups may not have given prior thought to the implications of their actions, but they did still manage to orchestrate obviously inappropriate acts.
When you belong to an organization like a fraternity, notorious for outrageous behavior, it’s easy to feel like you have more leeway in adhering to some social norms. Even the Kingsmen had a reputation for distributing scandalous flyers around their campus (according to Salon, a poster last year had a picture of an abused Rihanna, pre-breakup with Chris Brown, that read, “I’d Hit That.”)
These groups may have received publicity for their antics, but they are far from being the exception when it comes to using one’s affiliation as an excuse for misbehavior. In 2008, a hazing stunt had members of an ASU fraternity vomiting milk off the University Bridge, resulting in a car crash that injured two people. But affiliation doesn’t only apply to members of the Greek community or males.
Misbehavior is often excused for college students, youth and those who belong to a certain generation. This mindset also works to make these same individuals feel that they’re entitled to certain, expected actions.
The tendency to disassociate college with the “real world” doesn’t exactly prompt adult behavior either. College students may have it much easier in the world of academia than in the world of the nine-to-five workday, but similar standards should be upheld.
The reality is that while these individuals are college students, they’re also adults. Failing to think about the consequences of one’s actions isn’t a valid explanation in the “real world” or otherwise.
College is the place for young adults to “grow up.” But hiding behind one’s age or affiliation as a “get out of jail free” card doesn’t leave much room for mature thinking or development.
The DKE’s and Kingsmen’s behavior are public examples of what happens when students stop thinking like adults and are forced to start getting real about their decisions.
Get real at Jessica.renee.stone@asu.edu
