By Gina McKay

The Daily Vidette
Illinois State University

May 5, 2003 - MTV's "Fraternity Life" is stirring up controversy on college campuses across the country and some of ISU's Greek organizations are in agreement.

"I often think that people misinterpret what Greek life is all about," Alpha Phi Alpha adviser Marlon Webb said.

If you look beyond the surface and see the true essence of Greek life, a lot of people's perceptions would be different."

The show, which is supposed to give a real life look into what it is like to be a part of a Greek organization, focuses on the drinking, hazing and other illegal aspects rather than positive aspects, according to co-founder of Greek101 Brett Radmin.

"It is always easier to criticize someone than to sit down and try to find something good," he said.

What MTV shows is not even remotely close to what Greek life is all about, Pi Kappa Alpha alumni Tim Kennedy said.

"If any guys in our house acted like that, we would slap them across the face," he said.

Being a part of a fraternity is also about community service and participating in events as a group, Kennedy added.

According to Webb, he is certain his fraternity would say no if MTV or anyone wanted to do a reality show on their organization.

"What Alpha Phi Alpha does is our business," he commented.

"As [a] black Greek organization, we hold our history and our tradition near and dear and I highly doubt that any of us would allow anyone to do a show about us."

By giving a skewed view to what Greek life is about, according to Radmin, MTV can potentially affect anyone who wants to be or is a part of a Greek organization.

"The show's not an accurate cross section that a person might generally expect to find in fraternity or sorority life," he said.

According to Webb, his fraternity, for instance, is involved in continuing excellence among its members as well as promoting educational, economic, political and social injustices.

The media is a big reason why people have a negative perception of Greek life, Webb added.

"There are several other programs that Alpha Phi Alpha does that have to do with educational, economic, social and political empowerment that the media never want to report on," he said.

"But as soon as they hear of a hazing incident or something negative with a Greek organization, they want to run a story."

The reality show does not have to be completely negative, Radmin said. Instead, the actions of those on the show can be used as an example to some Greek organizations.

"Fraternity and sorority members are in a fishbowl and they do not know what they look like," he said.

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