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Become a Part of Something Bigger
Nicholas Coleman
Maintaining an aggressively negative stance towards Greek life is the easiest position for anyone to hold. This notion makes rational sense, as decades of denouncing Greeks have taken advantage of humans’ inclination to disdain from cognitive reasoning. Indeed, it’s remarkably easy to come to the conclusion that all fraternities worship alcohol — alongside their promiscuous sorority counterparts — rather than question the legitimacy of critics. National networks have long benefitted from dramatizing news of Greek indiscretion.
Greek life on many campuses does involve alcohol and there are documented incidents of hazing broadcast via YouTube. However, there are many facets of Greek life that are frequently disregarded. Nationally, there are over nine million students involved in the Greek system. Each of these individuals —despite the immense diversity — must be dependent upon alcohol, right?
Well, let’s first look at those responsible for overseeing the private sector. In the United States, nearly 85 percent of all Fortune 500 executives belonged to a fraternity. Furthermore, since the year 1910, 40 of the last 47 Supreme Court Justices were former Greeks. Seventy-six percent of congressmen and senators were once in a fraternity, in addition to nearly every U.S. President since 1825. Since 1900, nearly 63 percent of all presidential cabinet members are Greek alumni.
It’d be fair to criticize those statistics, in part because they generally pertain to fraternities. Furthermore, they have little correlation to the lives of many Americans, describing only a small segment of the population. Yet, even here at the U, the student body president himself is Greek. Furthermore, our very first female senator was Greek, in addition to the first female astronaut. Hell, in terms of space, the entire Apollo 11 crew was once a member of the Greek system. These numbers likely contribute to the 20 percent higher graduation rate of Greeks, as compared to their non-Greek peers.
Clearly, it must be the fumes of alcohol driving these students to succeed.
Another point of consideration is philanthropy, which is service done for the local community. This term is an undeniable attribute of the system. In the U.S., well over seven million dollars are raised nationally by Greek chapters for charity. Keep in mind, these are college students. Furthermore, the Greek system is responsible for over 10 million hours of volunteering each year and often forms the largest bloc of donors to universities. This particular point indicates the deeper connection to alma maters developed by Greek alumni.
This broad array of statistics is often disregarded by critics; instead, attention is diverted to the dues (or fees) associated with fraternities and sororities. Compared to the rising costs of college, one U.S. Office of Education study found that, “Less than two percent of an average college student’s expenses go toward fraternity dues.” If students don’t have the capacity to pay, often they can find help financially, as they’re aided by a broad alumni network.
Finally, in terms of hazing, scrutiny of the Greek system has led to renewed oversight by national chapters. At the U, pledges are told to report incidents of hazing directly to house presidents, who are then bound to handle the situation. If the house is found guilty of hazing new members, their national organization will initiate an investigation, purging those found responsible for violating regulations. While these rules don’t stop all chapters from acting maliciously, they certainly contribute towards a safer Greek system.
Casting Greek life as misguided is effortless, aided by isolated incidents of physical harm. The avenues through which Greeks benefit local communities is notable. These acts, combined with higher graduation rates, help to paint a positive portrait of Greek life. Abstain from simply buying into the narrative that all Greeks openly promote hazing and drink copiously. Instead, choose to question the depth of an argument that says nearly nine million people are entirely misguided. Only then can one see the bigger picture and let innate bias fade away.
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Invest in Other Social Spheres
Elyse Jost
Every student entering into higher education strives to feel a sense of acceptance, normalcy and validation. One prominent route students are presented with to achieve this sense of belonging is to join the Greek system. Fraternities and sororities on the U’s campus promote brotherhood and sisterhood, philanthropic actions to enhance the lives in their communities and beneficial, long-term networking for their participants.
The Greek system presents a seemingly wonderful opportunity: a social utopia, an equal playing ground to come together with like-minded individuals. However, this monopoly on the social agenda can prove to be equally exclusive and disheartening for those who are not involved, and also stifling and redundant for those who choose to participate.
True to form, the parties hosted by these organizations are generally looking to optimize their “girl to guy” ratio. But unless your male friends are members of fraternities familiar to the hosting frat, there’s a good chance they will not be allowed in with you. The reasoning is simple, though flawed: they want to avoid putting the ladies in attendance at higher risk, and so choose not to invite guys they have never met. On one level this is understandable. But where does this logic stand when studies have shown that men involved in fraternities are up to three times more likely to rape? I try not to generalize in life, but I’m going to assume that on Halloween, the male dancer in our friend group (dressed as a bunny in cut-off jean shorts, mind you), surrounded by numerous females vying on his behalf for his admittance, is less of a supposed “threat” than many of the students who had already been let in.
Greek parties can be a great way to meet a lot of new people fast, but who are you really meeting? Are you going to truthfully fulfill that coffee date? You’ll probably forget the random number that was stored in your phone’s notepad on accident. College parties are definitely an experience, but a different mindset is established when you surround yourself with a largely homogenous group of people, doing the same set activities and — to be honest — drinking the same crappy beer. There may be value in these types of typical college nights, but it becomes redundant and is perhaps even harmful if you don’t extend your social sphere. Find another club that interests you, find some hiking buddies, or say hi to the girl you always see at the local coffee shop. Thousands of other avenues exist to meet new, interesting people.
Not every aspect of Greek life is bad. Fraternities and sororities create great networks for future jobs, help establish lifelong friendships and make a difference through philanthropy work. However, these personal gains are not worth it when in reality, these same opportunities are available outside of Greek society and come without potentially harming the interconnectivity of social groups, shelling out thousands of dollars for admittance (and for other formal/non-formal events)and the overall stigma of surface-level relationships and values.
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