The brothers of Beta Theta Pi agree that something needs to be done to combat sexual assault at Wesleyan more effectively. Sexual assault is sickening, perverted, shameful, and causes serious pain for survivors. Beta Theta Pi wants to work with SART and other student groups to educate students about sexual violence and bystander intervention. Wesleyan is an amazingly diverse and beautiful place with good people, and it saddens me that the campus climate is so focused on what is wrong with Wesleyan right now. All of the good people here should be working together to prevent sexual assault; we are stronger united than divided. Resolution B, if implemented in proposed form by the Wesleyan Board of Trustees and Administration, could effectively remove much of Greek life from Wesleyan. I believe Greek organizations benefit the community. I have witnessed members of the community benefit from the support of Greek organizations. Resolution B will diminish the Wesleyan student experience and disparage freedom of association rights and private property rights. It creates an “us against them” mentality that is counter-productive. Fraternities can provide safe fun and help mobilize large groups for social change. If you would like to hold a student forum on a topic you are passionate about, I encourage you to email me (mbgross@wesleyan.edu) and use our space. We want to connect with the community and work with the community to continuously build a better Wesleyan. We are not your enemy. Wesleyan University should be a place where students reserve judgment predicated on gossip, gender, sexual orientation, race, background, and fraternity affiliation. We can work together and fight sexual assault. The assumption that young educated men living together causes sexual assault is hurtful to members of our organization with girlfriends, female friends, sisters, and mothers whom we love and respect. We agree that as a community we need to educate all students on what behaviors constitute sexual assault and work towards creating a climate that deems such behavior unacceptable. I would like to see a proposal that doesn’t divide this campus and focuses on the core issue at hand. A proposal that incorporates: orientation week seminars on bystander intervention, greater consequences for assailants, better measures in place to discourage assaults, support for survivors, and reform to the reporting process. Greek involvement as allies in the fight against sexual violence will be more effective in actually combating sexual assault than Resolution B. I hope most Wesleyan students are open minded enough to respect each others’ differences and work together to stop something we all agree is wrong.

Matthew Gross
Proud Wesleyan Student
Mu Epsilon Chapter President