Three weeks ago, Gamma Phi Beta and Sigma Chi threw a party, and they got busted. No big deal - minor in possession citations were handed out, and the party was broken up, a typical scenario near university campuses. The students that were charged should not be thought of as criminals - their actions were not as deplorable as they were illegal.

However, these students were all greek, and that makes it different.

Once again, the greek system has shown its true colors. This time it has shown that one of its purposes is to organize underage drinking. If this had been a routine police bust at any bar in Tucson, the Homecoming-weekend arrests wouldn't have been news.

It is news because the greek system has desperately tried to change its appearance after years of unruly behavior, institutional hazing and underage drinking. Once again, it has failed. Actions speak louder than words, no matter how proactive and hopeful those words are.

This event offers the campus and the community an opportunity to debate whether or not the disciplinary process for the greek system is legitimate.

Gamma Phi Beta and Sigma Chi planned a homecoming party at the Olive R. Twist Cafˇ on Nov. 6. 120 students attended the party. Only 76 were given wristbands, indicating that they were over 21, and 23 students walked away from the event with an order to appear in court. The students charged should not be too upset - MIPs are commonplace. The students will attend a diversion program, and their record will go unstained.

However, whether or not the Gamma Phi Beta and Sigma Chi houses will receive disciplinary action has yet to be determined. Luckily for both houses, their greek peers will decide their fate.

The greek system - including the Interfraternity Council, Greek Life and the Judicial Board - is a wonderful maze of worthless bureaucracy whose only real purpose is to perpetuate the privileges the greek system enjoys.

Gamma Phi and Sigma Chi are in trouble because they broke Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol (GAMMA) rules, which were designed by the greek system for the greek system and enforced by the greek system. The rules prohibit underage drinking at on-campus and off-campus events. It also states that fraternities and sororities are responsible for checking IDs. We can assume that this is not an isolated incident and that, despite the greek system's best intentions, underage drinking is still widespread within greek events. There is no legitimate form of enforcement to make sure that fraternities and sororities follow the GAMMA rules.

IFC and the judicial board have no way to enforce their rules, and as the events of Nov. 6 have shown, the police are left with the responsibility. Gamma Phi and Sigma Chi are in trouble because they got caught; the greek system is in trouble because it is flawed at the core.

Gamma Phi Beta and Sigma Chi will stand before the Judicial Board on Dec. 5. They won't stand before UA administrators, non-greeks or any real judge by any stretch of the term, but they will stand before nine other greek members. If the greek system wants to show it has changed or wants to back up all the positive rhetoric that it has been spewing for months, it will take action against these fraternities.

If this university wants change, it must demand a reputable accountability system for fraternities and sororities. If not, it should not be surprised when these houses go undisciplined.