Will Ferrell Suggests A Ban On Fraternity System

Will Ferrell may be a former frat guy and professional bro, but his loyalty to the fraternity system has its limits. During an interview with the New York Times at SXSW, the SNL comedian and so-called "frat patron saint" weighed in on the recent University of Oklahoma fraternity scandal involving members of the school's Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter who were caught on video singing a racist song. According to the Hollywood Reporter, interviewers asked Ferrell whether or not "fraternity membership is still a worthy consideration for a college student," in light of this and other recent fraternity scandals at various other universities as well as Ferrell's own fraternity experience.

Here's what the Get Hard star had to say: "The incident in Oklahoma — that is a real argument for getting rid of the system altogether, in my opinion, even having been through a fraternity," Ferrell said, "Because when you break it down, it really is about creating cliques and clubs and being exclusionary."

Ferrell's answer points to a growing dialogue about whether universities should allow fraternities, given the Greek system's culture of rampant sexual assault and racism explored in the recent movie The Hunting Ground. One in five women are sexually assaulted on college campuses, and fraternity brothers are reportedly 300% more likely to rape.

Sounds to me like It's time to seriously question, if not completely abolish, this antiquated, harmful institution.