Letters
March 4, 2005
To my fellow Colgate Alum and Fraternity Member,
I am totally against what they are doing. I stopped giving to Colgate three years ago when they let two underclass women talk them into dropping Red from Red Raiders, a term that had no connection to Native American Indians.
Colgate is so full of political correctness now that I don't recognize the place any more. Now they wish to destroy the Greek alternative. I matured and grew into adulthood by the challenges I experienced and overcame as a fraternity member. Self-governance was a worthy challenge and prepared me for a life in educational administration and later local government service both elected and appointed.
I was house manager my three years at TKE. I fixed everything that my brothers broke. It laid the groundwork for my third career as a general contractor. In addition to that earning part of my keep I worked two meals a day.
My fraternity was founded by Jewish and black students who didn't have any place to go in the late forties and the fifties. When I was a member the membership was approximately 75% Jewish and 25% Christian with 5% both Christian and black. This melting pot was a glorious experience for a conservative Catholic farm boy from Ohio.
Unfortunately the University long ago destroyed my fraternity through their heavy-handed assistance. I was a TKE, at the time the perennial leader on campus academically and in leadership positions in the Student Senate, Colgate Maroon, Salmagundi, Konosioni etc. It fell on tough times just four years after I graduated and Colgate helped it close up rather than tough out putting it back on its feet.
The challenge and independence of the fraternity was magic to me and brought me out. The person I am today could not have occurred without that experience. The college that I love and additionally can't condone right now, knows not what it is doing to that rich, rewarding and challenging life experience that comes from within an essentially unimpeded, independent but guided, rather than owned, and controlled Greek fraternity/Sorority system.
I think it’s likely the same will happen to any houses it gets its hands on. I attended the last reunion and though it wasn't my year, went with a fraternity brother to his class dinner. There, we were subjected to a speech about how good this move was for Colgate. During questions and answers, I challenged the speakers thinking and the college's position. After the dinner I was attacked, pushed and ordered out of the room because I dared to question the wisdom of the College and the facts of the speaker. Nevertheless I told the bully to take his beef elsewhere and stayed at the party with my friends.
Because my house is gone I have no vote except to withhold financial support. I now give my money annually to Camp Fiver, a summer educational camp for disadvantaged New York city youth, founded by several of my classmates from the class of ' 67 and situated outside of Hamilton in Poolville.
Feel free to forward my comments to anyone that it might help get involved or to any Colgate trustee or leader it might cause to reconsider.
Sincerely,
James V. Muzzy Jr.
Once proud member of the Class of 1967 and former member of the President's
Club.