Letter to the Editor: Students Split over “Disgraceful” ‘PHIGS’

A Monday editorial by GeneseeSun.com publisher Josh Williams stirred the emotions of many in the community, including SUNY Geneseo students and longtime neighbors to the PHIG fraternity house on Center Street. While we are not a public forum that regularly publishes the feelings of community members, the police investigations into alcohol poisoning on Feb. 21 and the arrest on Feb. 24 has some students in greek life coming forward with serious concerns that should be known to the community.

The following is a letter to the editor sent by Mike Stoianoff, a senior at SUNY Geneseo.

Hey guys,
First, Alex Davis was a friend of mine, and I do not like the way you characterized him in the article. He deserves better.

Second, in regards to the criticism you’ve been getting on your other points, I wanted to show my support for your argument. The recent backlash is way off base.

Yes, the Statesmen lets unders in. But it’s not nearly as popular as the IB was. On to more pressing matters…

Often times, the loudest voice gets mistaken for the majority. I think that’s the case here. I don’t want to rely too much on anecdotal evidence, but I think a lot of people at Geneseo would agree with most of what you’ve written. Phigs is a disgrace to the college.

The angry students that emailed you can dance around your points in their outrage and vituperation, but they can’t deny some of the simple facts you’ve presented, which would be enough to shut down any number of other student organizations. Let’s go over them again: “Phigs have been responsible for three highly dangerous and criminal incidents within the past five years: the drug raid, a member’s death from drugs, and now the hospitalization of an underage student from alcohol.” Plus, police chief Osganian mentioned they found a handgun in that raid, and that they’ve recently made another arrest this past January.

No big deal, right?

Yes, a ton of organizations have date parties and underage drinking takes place. Ya know what a ton of organizations don’t have? All of the above.

On the point of the hospitalized girl. Everyone knows that when you have a date party, people drink. People bring freshmen and sophomores. And it’s the upperclassmen’s responsibility to make sure the underage kids keep it together. Because it’s your party, and your name on the line.

Further, people don’t go to the hospital just because “they don’t really drink much,” or because they “thought they were drunker than they should have been,” whatever that means. Apparently, its also just no big deal to go to the hospital. And more, Deneisa obtained this demonstrably factual information from her close friend in Phigs. And he has nothing to gain here, so there’s zero chance any of that could be biased.

And, this notion that people go to the hospital “all the time” or “every weekend” is ridiculous. Is there any actual proof of that? Do the people who say this have somebody they know go to the hospital every weekend? And, even if they do, that doesn’t exactly help their credibility…who are these people who consider a Friday night in a hospital bed normal?

You guys have heard back from individuals affiliated with Greek life, or closely tied to it, and it’s not unreasonable to expect them to have each others’ back. But anyone who’s ever been on a team (especially a self-described member of a “family”) should know the following statement is BS: “Just because an individual makes a poor decision it does NOT mean that their entire organization should be held accountable.”

That’s actually exactly what it means. When you’re “a part of something bigger than yourself” you, by definition, represent that group, whether you like it or not. Reputation matters, and I doubt any new Phigs were unaware of the group’s reputation when they pledged. They had to have known of the “poor decisions” in the past. And they’ve clearly made no effort to correct that reputation.

Let me get fatherly for a second. To the angry kids who wrote letters: maybe, instead of implicitly excusing pretty much everything Phigs has ever done, you should be pushing them to be better. If being in a fraternity, or a sorority, for that matter, really means as much to you as you say it does, maybe you should behave in a way reflective of your group’s sacrosanct values of brotherhood, sisterhood, and community service.

Because that’s what Greek life’s supposed to do, right? Give back to the community?

Save for the occasional fundraising events that they’re required to complete, Phigs damages this community, and the university’s reputation, and has consistently done so since I stepped foot on this campus.

Let’s hope this suspension actually has an impact.
Mike Stoianoff

PHOTO CAPTION: (Photo/Josh Williams)

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