Do you hate the Greek system? Does the sight of Greek letters make you sick? Do you wish barn-dances were outlawed in the state of Illinois? On Friday, someone who apparently shared this opinion put out an e-mail bashing Greeks on campus, but forged it to make it appear as though it came from Chancellor Richard Herman.

For those of you who didn’t read the e-mail or just ignore most e-mails with the subject “Chancellor Richard Herman,” the message was about eight sentences long and hands Greeks a can of verbal “whoop-ass.”

The screed says things like: “These organizations present themselves as prestigious, yet are discriminatory, serve to perpetuate social inequality, especially with respect to the opposite gender, and promote a lack of diversity.”

In addition, it also says “It is my hope that a student’s experience on campus strengthens one’s individuality, but the Greek system emphasizes the group above all, without cause or reason. This is detrimental to the purpose of universities.”

Even though the e-mail said some strong things, it was fairly believable. It was well written and concise. Only a few things hinted toward it being a fake. First, this particular e-mail was only about a paragraph long while most e-mails sent from the chancellor are eight times that length and require you to take snack breaks. The most obvious sign of its forgery was the abbreviation “GDI” in the chancellor’s signature. GDI is a joke among non-Greek involved students; it means “God Damn Independent.” This abbreviation is used by many students who are tired of being asked what house they belong to.

In an attempt to remedy this P.R. disaster, the administration quickly responded by sending out an e-mail denouncing the fake. But since most students do not read e-mails from Chancellor Herman I would assume that the chancellor’s office has already had some responses from people who thought the e-mail was real.

Though I am not in a fraternity, I do not necessarily agree with all the points made by the masked e-mailer. I will admit that the Greek system has had some blows to their reputation around campus. With the happenings of Tacos & Tequila, “Gangsta” parties (where people dress up like African-Americans, wearing baggy jeans, do-rags and sport jerseys), and accusations of extreme hazing, I can see why someone would not want to take part of it. But I don’t denounce the entire system.

I personally do not see the appeal of being in a fraternity, or at least the way our Greek system does it. To me, it seems as though most fraternities on campus are more concerned with having enough people to be able to fill their quota so they can keep their house. And I have heard that a major part of sororities informal selection process is based on appearance of the rushees.

But even with my disagreements with the e-mail, I do applaud it for taking a moderate approach; the e-mail didn’t say that fraternities should be taken off the campus, but rather said that before freshman start rush, they need to really think about why they are doing it. I would assume that most fraternities and sororities would agree with that message.

If you are doing it just to have friends I will tell you that there are much better and easier ways to find them. If you think you need to do it to have fun because everyone is in a fraternity, I warn you that that may not be the right reason because Greeks on campus only make up around 20 percent of the student body.

But if you have other reasons, then go for it. College is about finding yourself and doing what you feel is right. You may really like it in a Greek house. It sure beats getting expelled for computer fraud.

Paul is senior in computer and political science and has a father and grandfather who were in a fraternity.