I don't think that the Greek scene is as important as you say it is. (And I'm in a sorority).
However, everything else in this article is dead-on. Band Run last year was awful, but that was necessary due to planning issues and NSO and the Band's suspension. I thought it was much better this year, though. But Full Moon is awful. And despite everyone's complaints about the OSA last year, I haven't seen any change.

ugh, if the frats had been the source of the "best" social activities at stanford then i would have dropped out long ago. frats are fantastic if you're a straight, moderately wealthy, white male or a straight, moderately wealthy and moderately attractive female who likes to attend their parties to be objectified and groped to mediocre music and take a gazillion fuzzy pictures of it to be published on facebook in an album labelled SwAStEd.
to each his own, i guess, but i would also like to put it out there that the co-op social scene is fricking amazing. and how many skeezy frat boys who come to terra parties to gawk at the lesbians would agree with me? probably a good number.

this article so blatantly mischaracterizes the nature of stanford student life in only a way that members of the greek system could: by fixating on elements of the supposed 'full-spectrum' college experience that defines what it means to be greek at stanford: parties, sports, and the occasional 'service' activity.
(then again, since when does a greek house throw exotic erotic, the single most anticipated, most attended row house party of the year?) i don't deny that greeks throw the most parties, but to characterize as the foundation of stanford's social life a scene inundated with booze and bad music merely reveals that josh and mark are completely out of touch with what a huge portion of stanford students prefer to do with their free time. maybe greeks have the best tailgates because they're the only organizations on campus with money to burn on, oh wait, more booze and bad music.
as for rallying for philanthropic events, i sincerely hope the authors don't mean to imply that greek life, and not the incredible and tireless efforts of the thinkBIG organizers, was responsible for the conference's tremendous turnout. even so, it's rather easy to care about the world when others do all of the work for you. how many greek organizations participate in our biggest annual philanthropic events? will josh and mark be rounding up the troops for relay for life next quarter? did they rally for dance marathon last month? i don't mean to imply that no members of the greek scene are actively engaged in service. on the contrary, i personally know countless who are as selfless as any other student on this campus. but to suggest that greek life is a lynchpin to the success of service activities at stanford is frankly laughable.
lastly, regarding cackler, i've talked to enough people to know that i wasn't the only one both embarrassed and nauseated by the degree to which his antics were embraced by this campus. what does student life at stanford possibly gain by celebrating and encouraging that type of self-destructive behavior?
so to those in the greek community and elsewhere who decry the OSA and the administration, get over yourselves and take a few minutes to think about who your peers are and the multitude of reasons we have not to embrace your narrow view of what student life at stanford should be like.

I know Josh and Mark both well, and they were frustrated this piece ran because much of it was edited out. They were especially disappointed mention of the Stanford band was taken out. Authors aren't allowed to post comments on their own pieces, but I can explain some of the things they wanted to say but weren't included.
The point was that the school administration, in it's zeal to protect its image and minimize liability, is attacking many of the things that make Stanford fun and different. Student apathy is the result of many of the most energetic organizations around campus walking on eggshells for fear of the administration. Spontaneous, student initiated fun is inhibited at the expense of artificial school controlled events. Examples are Band Run, Exotic Erotic, Full Moon on the Quad, and the capture the flag game game referenced in the article (check out the Sept. 15, 2007 post on tusb.stanford.edu). Another problem Josh and Mark had writing this article was that people were unwilling to be quoted for fear of angering the school administrators who wield so much power over their activities.
Here are two main points the paper did not run.
(1) the Stanford band has been under crippling pressure from the school in recent years. I'm a senior and this fall was the first time they haven't been on probation since I've been a student here. Their halftime shows are edited by about five different administrators. They are not even allowed to say the words “bear” or “Cal” during halftime shows. Last year they were not allowed to perform at games because a handful of members “vandalized” the band shack weeks before it was to be demolished.
(2) Most fraternities on campus have faced probation for one reason or another over the past several years, many for dubious reasons. One fraternity on campus served half a year of social probation and performed 650 hours of community service because some of their pledges were pulling fronds off palm trees to decorate for a party. There was no alcohol, violence, or any other factor involved.
A good article about the OSA's ridiculous party policies was Darren Franich's article “Howe could it come to this?” 2/2707. Another article ran today, Rahul Kanakia's “Lawsuits are killing the vibe” 4/17/08 which argued that the university is motivated by a desire to minimize liability. I think the university's policies go beyond merely minimizing liability. There is an administrative bias against certain organizations.
The value of both Greek life and the Stanford band to the campus as a whole is that they help give student life character. A character that is uniquely Stanford's.
In response to some of the comments above, I agree that some of the praise for Greek life was over the top, and it's too bad if that distracted from the point of the article. On the other hand “Gag Me” is off base in defining “what it means to be Greek at Stanford” as nothing but alcohol and bad music. My own participation in a Greek organization has been the most positive thing I've done at Stanford. But that's because of the close friendships I've made, not parties.