True Gentlemen

As a chapter adviser for a Fraternity on a major public university I was extremely interested in the content of this work. I did not expect to be drawn into the story as much as I found myself while reading the book. Hechinger did a masterful job of weaving story with teaching about the SAE Fraternity and offering both the bare truth and hope for the future. He does a fantastic job of helping the reader understand the intricate balance between the lofty promises that are part of every fraternity and sorority and the difficulty in keeping those promises on today's college campuses. The content of the book will scare the crap out of any parent and non-Greek person who reads the book. My guess is that Greeks reading the book who are alumni will have a different reaction. Many will marvel at the openness afforded to the author from SAE. Some will agree with his assessment of Greek life in general. Others who had positive experiences from their days in fraternities and sororities will argue that the author didn't focus enough on the good done by so many in Greek life or the advantages of connection after college. As someone who has been around colleges and universities since 1980 and who has only recently really been immersed in Greek culture, I found the book to be a fair treatment of what I have seen so far. I believe there is hope for reform and returning to the ideals that led to the founding of these organizations. It's not easy to change a culture, but efforts like this book to bring the truth to light will help. I think this book should be required reading for every adviser and for every person who works with Greeks on every campus.

I never went to a big college or even knew of someone in a fraternity but I was still interested in this book. I am so glad I read as it was an eye-opener to the behind the scenes nasty reality of them. Why do we allow people to get away with crimes just because of who they are. This book was powerful and sad at the same time and I highly recommend it.

A quick disclaimer: I was a fraternity man in college (not an SAE, but a fraternity which was mentioned in this book), and I currently serve on my chapter's alumni advisory council. These two facts have not created an adversarial relationship (except for a line or two in the conclusion) between this book and me. In fact, I feel that this background has bestowed upon me a greater conviction in favor of what the book is trying to accomplish. The majority of the issues addressed in this book are viable threats to the college community, and especially to the Greek system. I remember having discussions relating to several of these issues while I was president of my chapter, and trying to explain why I reacted in such a swift and harsh manner whenever violations were discovered.

While several incidents in the book are appalling, what I have not been able to shake the most is the cavalier attitude by these alumni towards the heinous acts described. I cannot imagine being so clouded by the majesty of my own fraternity to turn a blind eye to criminal and immoral activities, and then complete a vigorous campaign of victim blaming and bullying to get your way. Also, the one defense attorney in the non-member rape case infuriated me.

All fraternities are not evil, and certainly there are a majority of fraternity members across the country who are true gentlemen and an asset to their campus. However, there are too many cases in which a fraternity and its members act in a manner not becoming of a human being, and these situations should be rectified, punished, and hopefully avoided in the future. This book can help in this process. I am going to purchase this book for leaders of the chapter I advise, as well as the other members of our advisory council.