Site pulls ratings for Greek system
When Adam Peruta created RateMySUClass.com to allow students to rate different aspects of campus life last September, he said he never thought it would get out of hand.
After adding new links to the site where students could rate residence halls, dining halls and fraternities and sororities, the Web site had to close the links to the Interfraternity and Panhellenic councils’ ratings because of derogatory comments.
Some of the comments made on the site were racial remarks and personal attacks that included specific names of people in the Greek system, Peruta said.
‘The Web site kind of turned into a competition to see which house would get the highest ratings [within the IFC and Panhel],’ Peruta said.
‘It seemed like the houses were attacking each other,’ said Charlie Walker, the president of IFC and a junior religious studies major. ‘The comments were pretty derogatory and spread out between fraternities and sororities.’
The comments were typical of some of the stereotypes that people outside of the Greek system are accustomed to believing, such as limited racial diversity and petty behavior, Walker said.
‘It didn’t help stereotypes,’ Walker said, ‘It was a step backward.’
Matt Goodman, the vice president of communications for IFC and a junior newspaper major, agreed with Walker that the Web site gave a bad name to the Greek system.
‘People believe what they hear, and the comments on the site were very ridiculous,’ Goodman said.
Although the IFC and Panhel rating links increased the site’s traffic by three times, Peruta said he decided to take down the links after receiving numerous e-mails from students within the Greek system that presented distaste for the Web site.
‘We don’t edit anything on the site, but once the [fraternity and sorority] section got popular, we got e-mails from presidents of houses and people in houses commenting on how [the ratings] were disgusting and that it should be taken down,’ Peruta said.
Students are still able to voice their opinions about the IFC and Panhel comments on an open forum on the Web site, which Peruta said has sparked an ongoing discussion.
‘We won’t tolerate any racial comments and personal attacks. [The site] is a good resource and the people who left comments should be ashamed,’ Peruta said.
