Legislation seeks to terminate state support for UMS Greeks

AUGUSTA — Arriving in numbers that would have cocked the eyebrow of legendary Delta House fratman Bluto Blutarsky in the movie “Animal House,” members of Greek organizations throughout the University of Maine System converged on the State House Thursday to oppose a bill that would terminate state funding of sororities and fraternities.

If the legislation was largely symbolic — as even its sponsor, Rep. Chris O’Neil, D-Saco, was inclined to admit — then the response of the opponents was anything but. More than 200 impeccably dressed young men and women representing about 700 students involved in the 21 Greek organizations throughout the university system sat quietly and politely for four hours until the Legislature’s Education Committee could review the proposal.

Odder than the Greek invasion of the Capitol was the overpowering crush of State House security personnel of a half-dozen or so. One House aide explained that the staff was simply there for crowd control, but some lawmakers were skeptical.

“Where were all these security guys when the wormers showed up with knives and ax handles?” one legislator wondered aloud.

O’Neil said he had agreed to sponsor the bill at the request of three constituents, all of whom were at the hearing to speak on the issue. The sponsor himself took no position on the legislation, although he did speak in admiring terms of the University of Maine students he met during his examination of the proposed funding ban.

“I came in here to introduce the bill — I’m a conduit,” O’Neil said. “Frankly, I recognized that it would create controversy and that I might even be a lightning rod. I was so impressed with the hospitality and civility and the honor with which the students conducted themselves.”

Supporters of the bill are outraged that the University of Maine spends about $17,000 a year for the salaries of UMaine staff to assist fraternities and sororities. The university also mows the grounds of the large houses, known locally as “fraternity row” on Orono’s College Avenue.

Susan Gold, a proponent of the bill from Saco, maintained that while Greek organizations undertake positive charitable projects in the community, they also serve as elitist and exclusionary organizations that contribute to the “party school” image at UMaine. Other criticisms of Greek life included excessive drinking, sexual abuse and violence against women, and a deterioration of academic standards.

“One reason top students don’t go to UMaine is because fraternities and sororities are part of the life there,” Gold said. “Why pay tax dollars to support a system that is clearly a hindrance in recruiting top students?”

The concerns of fraternities and sororities were stated articulately by James P. Sexton, a UMaine student and a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. For Sexton, the merits of the community service projects and dollars raised for charity by fraternities and sororities were secondary to the rights of the students themselves.

“It seems clear that cutting the funding from one specific student group solely on the basis of their association to that group is against the law, even if there are some citizens that really do not like Greeks or at least their perception of Greek organizations,” he said.

Sen. Mary Cathcart and Rep. Kathleen “Cassie” Stevens, two ranking Orono Democrats who both sit on the powerful Appropriations Committee, also rose to support the interests of the UMaine students.

“I feel personally insulted when I hear people get up and act as if our students at the University of Maine are somehow not as good as students at other colleges and universities,” Cathcart said. “They’re terrific people with an excellent record.”

“It’s misrepresentative to suggest that taxpayer money is directly funding these organizations,” Stevens said. “If mowing a lawn is going to be used as a reason why people shouldn’t be able to congregate with their friends to provide a public service, then I think that’s a poor argument indeed.”

Although other colleges in Maine — such as Bowdoin and Colby — have banned Greek organizations from the campus, the University of Maine has always enjoyed a proactive and benevolent relationship with fraternities and sororities.

“We don’t support the legislation because we think it’s misguided,” said Dr. Robert Dana, associate dean for students and community life. “No group should be painted with a broad brush stereotypically and that’s what’s happening here.”