By Jason Meketa
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 6, 1998

Brotherhood too often ignored

To the Editor:

This letter is written in response to the editorial by Ezekiel Buchheit on fraternities ("Frats: What is and should never be," Mar. 30). I appreciate Ezekiel's honesty in his admission of his lack of knowledge of the fraternity system. His biased portrayal leaves out the benefits that fraternities were established for.

Ezekiel told a story of apparent lack of true brotherhood or friendship about his friend Asa'd. The other side of the coin is easy to overlook because in our society we are more prone to focus on the negative. how much attention is brought to a story such as this? Last spring, I was involved in an auto accident at four in the morning. I was taken to the emergency room, although no serious injuries occurred. One fraternity member was notified of the accident and my well-being. When I was released at six in the morning, fifteen members (out of a total membership of 40) were in the waiting room to see how I was. If that is not friendship and brotherhood, then I do not know what is. This was not a random act, but a common example of our brotherhood.

We live in a world of stereotypes and negative portrayals. For many individuals, fraternities serve as a family away from home. The recent trend of negative press on fraternities in the Daily Wildcat concerns me, because it overlooks the positives that cannot be seen by people who have never been a member of such an organization.

Jason Meketa
Computer Engineering senior
Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity