As a proud member of a sorority and a very active student on my campus, I for one am frustrated with Greek affiliated students being a constant scapegoat.
For those who like to say college is only about getting an education, I strongly disagree. College is about growing as a person and discovering who you really are. It's about getting in touch with things you feel passionate about and getting involved with the right organizations and people who share your passion. Sure it would be easy to merely go to class and maintain a 4.0 grade point average. But where does that ultimately get you?
That is not what the real world is about. It's about juggling a million things at once and striving to find balance. As a leader in my sorority, I also maintain leadership positions on my campus in the Student Government Association as well as the Greek Senate. I see first hand that members of sororities and fraternities raise thousands of dollars each year for various philanthropies and dedicate a countless number of hours to community service.
Every fraternity and sorority is different. We have different values and different beliefs. However, as soon as one organization makes a mistake, all Greeks are bunched together and labeled as bad. The headlines never mention the specific organization- they only say fraternity and sorority. Do not get me wrong- by no means do I agree with what some organizations do. Things such as forceable drinking that in some cases has led to death is horrible and should absolutely not be tolerated. Yet, these cases are unfortanly the ones everyone remembers, and all greek organizations ultimately suffer.
The time has come to remove the targets from the backs of Greek affiliated students. The majority of us love our organizations, our campus', and our surrounding communities. The next time you think of throwing a label at us, check out some of the statistics. Look at how well Greek students do once they graduate. Even the majority of United State's Presidents have been in a fraternity. We are more than just people looking to have a good time. We are leaders- in our organizations, on our campus', and in our communites- and it is time we receive that recognition.
What college are you going to?
The most prominent "Greeks" here have fairly earned their labels.
..The rich boys who drink all the time.
..The girls that think they're better than everyone else and probably won't amount to more than their money can buy..
I know that there are honorable greeks out there, but they should make themselves a lot more prominent in their colleges.
My brother is in a frat. i do agree with you. many prominent people have come out of sororitys and fraternitys, but i do think that it is more tempting to have a party life style in a greek organization which could impede on your school work.
I don't know. Maybe its because the Greeks on my campus can't have houses, only lounges which are located in the dorms, but it is just as easy for non Greeks to party. And partying and doing well in school isn't mutually exclusive. There is a fraternity on campus that is certainly known for throwing parties and drinking, but they have also gotten academic fraternity of the year for the last three years and are well represented in student government.
Like what you've read? Well, then here's more:
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tricia0711