To the Editor:
Re “Inside the Crisis Response at Cornell’s Chi Phi House” (front page, Oct. 12):
What does it take for a room full of educated young men to realize that a woman could be in danger? A Snapchat message advertising access to her body wasn’t enough.
The New York Times’s reporting on Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity highlights a much bigger issue. One fraternity brother entered the room after seeing the message and later told investigators that everything seemed normal. He also admitted to “bantering” about it beforehand in the group chat. What is particularly disturbing is how casually the situation was treated.
This is not just a Cornell problem. It reflects a culture in which degrading women is brushed off as a joke, sexual violence is not taken seriously enough and fitting in with a group becomes more important than doing the right thing.
As a woman at a university, I’ve constantly been reminded of the precautions I should take to protect myself. Don’t drink too much. Don’t walk alone. Watch your surroundings. But why aren’t we putting that same energy into addressing the attitudes and behaviors that make women feel unsafe in the first place? We need to stop treating sexual violence as something women are responsible for preventing and start questioning how we are raising young men.
Real change starts long before college, with teaching boys to respect women, recognize harmful behavior and hold one another accountable. This isn’t just a problem for universities to solve. It’s a problem with the values and attitudes our society continues to normalize.
Sarah Galatas Atlanta The writer is a graduate student of social work at the University of Georgia.
To the Editor:
Just because fraternity members call each other “brothers” does not mean that The New York Times has to do the same in its reporting. With numerous reports of sexual assaults at fraternities on campuses — more than in non-Greek spaces — it is abundantly clear that many fraternity members across the country do not treat women well.
Jane Doe was a sorority member, which in Greek life meant she was a sister to the brothers at Chi Phi. What brother would participate in such an abusive group chat about his sister? The undisputed behavior of the “brothers” at Chi Phi at Cornell was beastly and ugly, even if not found to be criminal. In no definition of the word did these men treat Jane Doe as their sister.
Ruth Dell Tiburon, Calif.
To the Editor:
Re “Want to Address Sexual Assault? Make Fraternities Coed,” by Michael S. Roth, the president of Wesleyan University (Opinion guest essay, Oct. 17):
I was particularly struck by Dr. Roth’s observation that at Wesleyan people who see someone in a vulnerable position are now more likely to speak up. That change may be as important as any institutional reform he describes.
For many years, as an artist and the founding president of the nonprofit Have Art: Will Travel!, working with educators and curriculum scholars, I have been exploring a related question: Can we teach people to move from being bystanders to becoming upstanders?
Through art exhibitions, student discussions and a yearly $5,000 Upstander Award recognizing people who intervene on behalf of others, I have seen how important it is not merely to condemn harmful behavior but also to make intervention itself visible, discussable and valued.
Dr. Roth’s experience suggests that upstander behavior is not simply a quality some courageous individuals happen to possess. Institutions can help create cultures in which people feel both empowered and responsible to act.
Universities should ask not only how they can prevent people from causing harm, but also how they can prepare the rest of us to refuse to stand silently by when harm occurs.
Linda Stein New York
To the Editor:
Re “Where Was the Courage at Cornell?,” by David French (column, Oct. 14):
Debates rage about what causes events similar to what happened at Cornell. Mr. French got it right; it’s what didn’t happen at Cornell that matters.
Even young men whose brains are said not to be fully formed until around age 25 can be challenged and encouraged by their college to do the right thing when bad things happen. As Mr. French points out, the courage and decency to say “Stop” wasn’t present, which he ascribes to a lack of virtue.
In ancient Athens, virtue was a constant theme of discussion in the agora of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. We need more of that kind of discussion at our colleges — perhaps in a class of ethics, which I suggest ought to be an undergraduate course requirement. Such a class should link discussion about personal and group responsibility, care, respect, diligence and even brotherly love.
Conrad Eberstein Glen Allen, Va.
Voters vs. Oligarchs
To the Editor:
Re “Avalanche of G.O.P. Cash Keeps the Party Competitive Despite Its Problems” (news article, nytimes.com, Oct. 16):
Millions of voters can outvote billions of dollars of American oligarchs’ propaganda. Let’s hope we do.
Martin S. Kaplan New York
The post A Matter of Values, at Cornell and Beyond appeared first on New York Times.
