Upon arriving at Ohio State I made a simple observation: Many fraternities and sororities adorn their houses and clothing in Grateful Dead logos. I have seen hats and T-shirts emblazoned with dancing bears, skeletons, and lines from Dead songs. It puzzles me.There are specific reasons why I am confused by this phenomenon. The first on my mental list is very basic. Yes, I have attended several fraternity parties. No, I have never heard a Grateful Dead song being played. With such a large group of people wearing one band’s logo, one would assume that that group would play the band’s music. Not the case, Okay, fine. Maybe people cannot party to the sounds of Grateful Dead. One aspect followers of the Dead were attracted to was the openness the so-called family possessed. This was an openness to the way one dressed, combed (or didn’t comb) one’s hair, monetary status, and basically, one’s view on life. I have yet to encounter this freedom in the greek system. I figured maybe the reason that I never hear the Dead playing at frat parties is that they do not actually like the music, but rather the philosophy behind it. This can’t be the case though. Friends, relatives, acquaintances, all have complained to me that they received “looks” or comments by members of the greek system just for looking different. If their philosophy actually was “freedom of individuality,” would all of these victims have been looked down upon? Probably not.Another aspect of the Grateful Dead’s music was the wonderful idea of peace. This reoccurring theme was represented in both the music and the scene that surrounded it. Now, it is not my intention to portray frats and sororities as a conglomerate of violent people, but I have experienced many hostile acts in their presence. There was the time that friends and I were interrogated with harsh spit spraying screams as to who we knew in their house (it was one of the larger fraternities on campus and we were invited to attend an after-hours party by a member of the house). I remember shaking my head and looking down at one of their shirts and reading “Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile” as they generously allowed us to enter. Another time while at a campus bar, I noticed two groups of guys getting into a fight simply because they were in different frats. I’ve seen it happen with sororities also. Where are all the smiles, love, and freedom the Dead scene was supposed to encourage? In my experience, not within the greek system.Do not disregard me as a Deadhead that hates fraternities and sororities. I had only attended a couple of shows when the now defunct band was playing, and friends of mine are members of the greek system. I am only an observer. One can agree with what I have written or shrug their shoulders to it. Just think about it.
Brad Petty is a sophomore majoring in English.
