Hundreds of GDIs rallied on Eagle Row in protest of the fraternity system’s monopoly on the lucrative friend market. The protest lasted till evening, when the protesters dispersed to get ready for a party at Sig Chi, but they have organized more protests for the future.
Leading the GDIs is Fred Willows, a freshman who created the group GDI Anonymous, a safe environment for non-Greek students to exchange advice on pre-games and optimizing room space for parties exceeding four people. Frustrated with Greek life’s tight control of Emory’s social landscape, Fred has called on all GDIs to occupy Eagle Row until the friend market is opened up to free trade.
“The Greek Cartel demands around $2,000 for 40 friends, that’s $50 a friend,” Fred explained in an interview, “To put it in perspective, I got my best friend for free, so the percentage markup on friends is over infinity.”
Sophomore Sid Flannery has taken a more entrepreneurial approach to fighiting the monopoly, using Craigslist to offer his friendship for $10 a month. So far Sid has had moderate success with his idea.
“Some people respond to the ads expecting something else,” Sid told the Spoke, “If you try this yourself, definitely meet potential clients in a location that is very, very public.”
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