LETTER: Why cultural distinction?

Editor,

A friend of mine pointed out something very odd in the article featuring the “Rush” activities of the fraternities and sororities on Page 6 of Wednesday’s issue of The Statesman. It states within the article, “Two of the Greek houses are multicultural.” Does this mean that the rest of the fraternities and sororities are not multicultural? While I do appreciate the article trying the emphasize the fact that certain clubs/fraternities/sororities are ethnically aware and appreciative of other cultures, the article reads as if it is just trying to put in a “plug” for the fraternities/sororities to be politically correct. Furthermore, it conjures up images that such fraternities and sororities may include a token African-American or Asian-American to satisfy some kind of quota to reach the goal of being ethnically diverse and thus politically correct.

I raise the question, why should it even matter? Who cares whether someone is from a separate country, continent or planet? Being an Asian-American myself, I have always despised any kind of affirmative action or similar efforts to be politically correct. Why can’t people just plainly be judged or evaluated based on simple credentials, personality and personal skills. It is important for any individual to be appreciative of other cultures as well as their own personal heritage, but semi-public institutions such as campus clubs/fraternities/sororities ought to be blind with respect to color, creed, race and religion.

Robert Igarashi