Fraternity members have got to be tired of all this. Tired of the allegations of hazing and underage drinking. Tired of hearing about out-going fraternity members destroying their chapter houses. Tired of the all-encompassing stereotype that frat boys are spoiled, promiscuous heathens out to buy friendships while guzzling alcohol like horses at the trough.

And they must be tired of the Arizona Daily Wildcat columnists seemingly perpetuating this stereotype during rush week ÷ or when they run out of fodder for their weekly essay.

But that is where I take pause. Now that I've been away from my fraternity for a couple years and have since picked up a pen and notepad while working for the "dark side," I find myself squarely in the middle of the battle between the media and the greek system.

Things are a little clearer now that maturity has set in. I am still a strong supporter of fraternity life and believe that it is important to the social growth of those who accept bid cards during rush week. But fellow fraternity members, the reception to the stereotypical "frat boy" lifestyle is becoming frostier by the day. This clichŽd lifestyle is not actually perpetuated by the media, but by our own actions.

When we put on our date-dash T-shirts, affix our fraternity license plate holders to our cars and tattoo Greek letters on our ankles, we are not just proudly displaying our fraternity affiliation, but we are putting ourselves up as a target for anybody to make assumptions. It is the price we pay for our pride, a price that is easily ignored.

Ty Young

But with the events of the past year, it is becoming increasingly clear that tolerance is dwindling from universities and national fraternity headquarters. The term "hazing" has taken on a whole new meaning in our litigious society. Fraternities are doling out millions of dollars in settlements to appease not just the injured, but now the offended.

The days of Initiation Week, pledge chores and under-aged drinking are coming to an end whether we like it or not. If a parent gets wind of their son in an adverse situation, their first call will be to the police. The second will be to a lawyer. While the claim can be made that college students, regardless of their affiliations, are adults and are responsible for their own actions, in the eyes of concerned parents, the fraternity is usually to blame.

What is really sad is that there are many fraternities that are trying to establish a new image. They live by the no-hazing policies set up by their national headquarters. They do not allow under-aged drinking. They conduct philanthropic events not to win an award, but to help the community. The "frat-boy" stereotype is thrust upon them by others, a reality that is etched right next to their Greek letters. Their work will continue to go unnoticed as long as there are others who continue on the beaten path.

The media, of course, plays a large role in this as well. It provides a check and balance for the Greek system. Rarely is this considered a benefit.

Every time there is an article in the Wildcat about a fraternity member causing trouble, the newsroom is flooded with complaints that our coverage is biased and unbalanced. The question is always raised about why we only cover "bad" fraternity news. Why don't we write uplifting articles about the billions of hours put into fraternity philanthropies and the sizable capital generated by charitable fund-raisers?

The answer is simple. Locking a pledge in a freezer or turning a vacant chapter house into downtown Beirut is newsworthy. Most philanthropies, while generous, are not.

It is time for fraternities to stop providing the media with newsworthy situations to report about. Take heed the legal definition of hazing. Stop supplying under-aged members with alcohol. Stop causing the problems that the media looks for with its microscope. Stop providing ammunition to fraternity naysayers.

Until all fraternity members accept the inevitable, charters will continue to be pulled, chapter recognition will continue to be lost and arrests will persist. The climate is changing on campuses throughout the nation. The only question is which fraternities will weather the storm.

Ty Young is an alumnus and former chapter president of the Arizona Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at the University of Arizona.