Interest in the events of the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teen, on Aug. 9 has reached communities beyond the boundaries of the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, MO.  The protests that occurred during the following week and the resulting police response have received much attention from the media worldwide, although the details of the incident are, even today, still unclear.

Several eye-witness accounts and video recordings of the scene of the event, though not the shooting itself, have surfaced. Michael Brown’s friend Dorian Johnson, who was with Brown during the shooting, described the events as he experienced them in a live interview on CNN.  Johnson claimed that Officer Darren Wilson, whose name was released by the Ferguson Police Department six days after the shooting, told the two young men to “Get the F%&K on the sidewalk,” after which Wilson pulled up next to Brown and the two engaged in a physical altercation through the window of the police vehicle, the dynamics of which remain uncertain.  It was during this altercation that the first shot was fired.

According to a private autopsy released by Brown’s parents, he was shot six times in the front of his body; two of the bullets were fired into his head.  This is consistent with reports from some witnesses who said that Brown turned to face Wilson after he tried to flee, putting his hands in the air and saying “Ok, ok, ok!”  Witness Michael Brady described Brown as curling up into a ball with his arms folded as he stumbled a few feet forward, only to be shot three or four more times.

On the same day the officer’s name was released, the Ferguson Police Department also released a video of an armed robbery of a Quik Trip that Michael Brown was suspected to be involved in, although Police Chief Thomas Jackson admitted that Officer Wilson was unaware of Brown’s suspected connection to the robbery, in which a pack of Swisher Sweets was stolen.

The controversy surrounding the shooting and as the subsequent riots and looting were influenced by the popular opinion that racism was the motivation for the shooting.  Many considered the riot control tactics used by the Police Department to be over-militarized. The rioting resulted in dozens of civilian arrests.   Although are eye-witness accounts of the shooting, as well as some video recordings of reactions to the shooting, the parallel investigations being conducted by the Ferguson and St. Louis County police departments, FBI, Department of Justice and a St. Louis County grand jury are faced with determining what happened on Canfield Drive when Officer Wilson fired six shots into the unarmed, eighteen year old Michael Brown.

In light of recent criticisms of Greek organizations and the kind of destructive groupthink behavior that can occur “in the dark basements of fraternity houses,” it is important to note the positive things that come out of these organizations. Sure, there are some problems that need to be resolved, and I in no way intend to justify the very real and very wrong behavior that can occur as a result of high concentrations of testosterone in a room; however contrary to what is apparently popular belief, these mobs of men are not, in fact, terrible people.

I find it important to note that the fine individuals that comprise Jewell’s fraternities can and do use their power for good. This often, but not exclusively, manifests itself in the form of philanthropy.

The benefits of living in and being a part of a large unit can produce some incredible philanthropic results. The parties at which, by some people’s standards, lewd and inappropriate behavior happens, primarily exist for the sake of generating lots and lots of cash-money for good causes. Where these parties may fail to promote social equality (once again, I’m really not trying to justify it), they succeed at creating real and concrete contributions to the wellbeing of our community.

KA [Kappa Alpha Order], for instance, averages 2,700 hours of community service per year and contributed over $2,500 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association last year, in addition to significant contributions to other organizations.

My fraternity, FIJI [Phi Gamma Delta], contributed $2,000 to the Kansas City chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse last fall, as well as $8,000 in the spring to ameliorate the financial burden on the family of our brother, Wesley McKellar, that resulted from his ongoing fight against cancer. LCA [Lambda Chi Alpha] holds  the annual Watermelon Bust and events such as the Lambda Chisland party to rake in the dough as well.

The most powerful forces in history have always been dedicated and goal-oriented groups of people, from the Crusades to the American Civil Rights Movement. Any one person can accomplish a lot, but that impact is exponentially magnified as like-minded individuals pursue an end together. The message here is that although Greek organizations have the ability to group together and cultivate a not-so-positive environment for some, they are also the organizations that are most suited to combatting those sorts of evils. As dysfunctional as fraternities may seem to be, they are more organized.

Philanthropy is just an example of the good that Jewell’s fraternities are capable of, and that is to entirely disregarding the internal good that members may find in their respective fraternities. I spend my words here discussing the contributions of fraternities because they have recently been the subject of some bad press, but my meaning applies equally and unqualifiedly to sororities, as well as Jewell’s non-Greek organizations. The massive philanthropic donations of time and money that the Greek system here at William Jewell provide is just a small example of the positive impact that dedicated individuals can do if they can organize and set their minds to making this campus and this community a better place.