Dr. Margaret Mohrmann told students last night that the Greek system should put a greater emphasis on morals and intellectualism because those traits are an integral part of friendship.
She said members of Greek houses should not limit their views of the system to just parties, alcohol and "good old boys and girls."
Mohrmann spoke in 105 Dartmouth Hall on "Ethics and Intellectualism in the Greek System." She said the purpose of fraternities and sororities is to teach the ethics of friendships, but that many Greek activities, including rushing and pledge period, work against that purpose.
Mohrmann said she believes anti-intellectualism and amoral behavior are a "contradiction of what fraternities and sororities are supposed to be."
During the speech she analyzed how friendships work in the context of Greek organizations.
College is where people can "begin the life of the mind," she said, and "if your fraternity or sorority is not insisting that reading is what college is for, you're wasting your time."
Mohrmann said if the Greek system plans to support friendships, it must increase its intellectual emphasis by providing academic support, sponsoring speakers and holding literature discussions.
She said people attend college "to learn how to read, how to drink and how to love."
"A fraternity house is not where you go to escape your mind," Mohrmann said. She said friendships should aid students' intellectual development.
She said friends should recognize their obligations to each other and drink responsibly.
"No one can grow spiritually or intellectually when their bodies are being controlled by alcohol or drugs," she said.
As a pediatrician, Mohrmann said she has seen many cases of physical and mental abuse. She said rushing and pledging cause the same harm as molestation of four-year-olds she has seen.
"People who are told repeatedly that they are worthless, tend to live up to that prophesy," she said.
She said pledges claim they enjoy hazing because it is the only way they can justify humiliating activities.
Mohrmann said "ideals of moral behavior are what we must expect of each other if we are friends" to emphasize the relationship between love and obligation in a friendship.
This responsibility, according to Mohrmann, includes helping friends find out what friendship really means.
The Co-ed Fraternity Sorority Council sponsored Mohrmann's lecture.
