One week ago, the Greek Awareness Council, a Student Union-recognized organization, decided to dissolve its regulatory powers over the eight fraternities and sororities present at Brandeis. This came as something of a surprise to me for two reasons. First, I was unaware of the existence of the GAC. Second, when I saw the reasons for the council's surrendering of its powers, I was astounded by the utter stupidity of the decision.

In addition to raising awareness about Greek life on campus, the GAC was tasked with mediating and resolving conflicts between sororities and fraternities. For example, earlier this year, a Greek organization accused another of holding a party on a night when the GAC had prohibited rush events. The GAC was unable to resolve this incident, and as a result, relinquished its regulatory powers.

Ask yourself: Do you really expect a Greek organization to sacrifice a fun night for the sake of its rival organizations? I know that I don't expect that. I cannot possibly imagine the inane conflicts this council successfully overcame, considering the incompetence that caused them to relinquish these responsibilities. After all, if the Greek Awareness Council cannot even anticipate the tendencies of its peer organizations from which the councilors are drawn, what can be expected from them?

The simple fact is that no serious oversight of Greek organizations can be expected from GAC unless it reassesses its role in representing the Greek organizations at Brandeis. According to an article in last week's Justice, "The GAC plans to promote Greek unity through events such as Greek Week, expansion of Greek life and philanthropy events." Greek Week is a great example of how fraternities and sororities should promote themselves. A week of friendly competition is completely harmless and should be a lot of fun for all involved—as is the purpose of such organizations. I find their plan to increase philanthropy among their organizations, however, to be purely disingenuous. It takes a great deal of self-delusion to believe that anyone joins a fraternity or sorority exclusively as a means of volunteering or doing charity work.

The GAC should encourage Greek organizations to portray themselves more honestly. Relatively rare incidences of date rape, hazing-gone-wrong and alcohol-caused illnesses in certain fraternities and sororities across the country have been the subject of media hype.

This fuels stigmas that force these organizations to tread carefully in order to be viewed favorably by the non-Greek public. When you see Greeks raising money for a cause, do not hesitate to help their cause if you find it to be worthy, but keep in mind the fact that they do not exist solely for community service but rather for the entertainment of those who join them. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

The problem with Greek life is not the parties, the arguably superficial friendships or their exclusive nature, but rather the fact that fraternities and sororities are forced to hide and apologize for these things. People who are looking for what Greek life entails will not hesitate to join a fraternity or sorority in the same way that those who are looking to volunteer will not waver about joining Waltham Group.

These should not be confused.

Instead of diluting their purpose by playing peacemaker and hiding behind philanthropy, the Greek Awareness Council ought to take steps to combat the stigmas holding fraternities and sororities back. The GAC should encourage responsible bartending by imposing standards on the way Greek parties serve alcohol and then following up by creating easily accessible reports.

This will help to curb drunken mishaps. The council should also develop some sort of relationship with the University's rape crisis hotline.

While Brandeis' Greek organizations are not known for these types of behavior, the increased transparency will help the student body feel more comfortable with them.

This will allow the GAC to more adequately represent its constituent fraternities and sororities.

By embracing their true role as the "fun party organizations," Greeks can preserve their identities while creating a safer and more enjoyable atmosphere for themselves and those who socialize with them.