The Daily Reveille’s editor in chief Natalie Anderson and opinion editor Hannah Kleinpeter are responding to feedback on a recent opinion column titled “Greek life a broken system, dangerous to naive new prospects” by Kyle Richoux.
Opinion columns published by The Daily Reveille reflect only the viewpoints of the columnist, and do not represent the opinion of The Daily Reveille as a whole.
A column criticizing Greek Life, written by Kyle Richoux, referred to women in sororities as “barns full of cookie-cutter cattle doused in glitter and blonde hair dye waiting to be used by frat boys for whatever debauchery their daddies can afford.” It also compared fraternities to “clubs for young rich sociopaths.” The Daily Reveille Editorial Board does not align with his statements, and we recognize their offensive nature.
We at The Reveille have employees and friends who belong to Greek Life, and we value Greek Life’s positive contributions to the campus.
Kyle Richoux has since published a follow-up column to explain his strong language and address the feedback he has received, which can be read here.
The Daily Reveille does not agree with every opinion column published, but the editors do not censor opinion columns based on whether they agree or disagree with the stance.
It is also not our goal to suppress controversial or potentially offensive opinion columns. Every employee of The Daily Reveille is required to fact-check every fact or statistic he or she reports. However, some opinion columns are derived from personal experience and emotion, and are not required to include outside facts or statistics.
In our recent editorial, we state that we are not enemies of fraternities or Greek Life. The Editorial Board defended Greek organizations’ rights to assemble on the Parade Ground when LSU President F. King Alexander temporarily changed tailgating policy following Gruver’s death. That editorial and our views on the new regulations can be read here.
The column was accompanied by an opposing column advocating for Greek Life involvement as part of a head-to-head, which can be read here.
We regret that this column has overshadowed our in-depth coverage of the events since Max Gruver’s death.