The Light and Dark Side of Greek Life

 You take your first steps on the nicely shaven green grass that’s been paid for by your tuition money every semester; you look around and you finally exhale a long breath. Damn, you finally made it to college, you think it’s now nonstop partying, never having to listen to your parents ever again, make new friends, and live life to the fullest.

After a couple of weeks of partying three nights a week, you find yourself feeling lonely, not.  having found your clique of people to just chill and hang out with. You see a poster about Greek Life and think it may be a good idea to rush this semester, so you can find a group of people who will like you for who you are. You do some researching on the internet to see what the Greek System is like in your school and you come across a radius of opinions. Greek Life isn’t for everyone, some people adjust to it, and others don’t.

Student Articles written for Fast Webs portrays some blunt information about Greek Life. It is a good resource center if people wanted to get a generic idea about what Greek Life is about. For example, it tells people how much of a time commitment being a brother or sister might be, how much the membership dues cost per semester, and the stereotypes that come along with being associated with certain Greeks on a college campus. In addition, the website helps new potential members of the hazing policies. Each school has a different hazing policy, and it is best that every student who rushes is aware of this policy (Fast Webs).

What better ways to find out a quick summary about something you want to know about from anything other than Sparknotes? Sparknotes covers a full summary of their version of whether to go Greek or not. They provide the basic facts, similar to Fast Webs, with a shallow reference to what to do when you are at a frat party, how girls and boys are treated at these frat parties, and how to manage yourselves when you have been drinking (Sparknotes).

Unlike the two sources above, which give neutral and some positive feedback about Greek Life, they aren’t really good sources to base your decision on whether to join Greek life or not. The third source tells the reader of a biased perspective of Greek Life. A girl named Noelle tells the story of how she entered Greek Life and that when she finally crossed; she discovered that these girls had intentionally sought her out through Facebook, and other sources. They knew her name, her hometown, her major, and her hobbies before they even met her. These upperclassmen girls utilized these social networking sites and even found out about the kind of guys she hooked up. They then “proceeded to creepily insert themselves into [her] life (took [her] shopping, bought [her] drinks) in order to get [her] to join their sorority” (USA Today). Even though this is a biased perspective, and not all Greek experiences are like this, I still find this source to be more reliable than any of the other sources because someone who personally experiences Greek Life and is honest about their responses is the sole source one can trust.

In my personal opinion, deciding to join Greek Life, has been one of the best decisions I have ever made and I am happy that I found people I can truly communicate with and who all come together to fight for one cause.  Noelle believes that “friendships” that are formed through Facebook stalking and gossiping are never going to be real—and “sisterhood” is straight up impossible” (USA Today). Sisterhood is possible when two girls can come together at any point in life and pick up right where they left off; now whether that may be through Facebook chat or meeting for the first time in real life, sisters will always find each other as long as they enjoy each other’s company. And as many of the fraternity brother I know, I can proudly say that they would be nothing without each other.      

Sources: 

http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/871-to-go-greek-or-not-to-go-greek-that-is-the-question-

http://www.sparknotes.com/college/life/page13.html

http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/blog/greek-life-the-dark-side

   

Etiquette in Greek Life?

What is fair and what isn’t fair in the real world? We claim love isn’t fair when we see the girl of our dreams walk right out of our lives with someone else. We say love is fair when we defeat the enemy and save the beautiful maiden. We say war isn’t fair when hundreds of soldiers die to protect their motherland. And we say war is fair when we attain our rights and win the battle. So who determines what is fair and what is unfair?

Fairness over the internet is a controversial topic. Many people believe that posting over the internet is one’s own right, one right’s of freedom of speech. Others believe that proper etiquette should be involved when posting on the internet because the internet is available to a vast audience including children who may see things they aren’t supposed to see over the internet.

In Greek life, the internet is vastly utilized in order to promote events, attract rushees, and keep in touch with alumni. Over the internet, they have to post certain events and pictures that attract potential new members.  Whether it may be pictures from a formal or a party, other factors do come into play and red cups, beer pong tables, and people dancing like crazy appear. Once you post something on the internet, it is permanent. Lots of people may have seen it even if the picture was only up there for 10 minutes and then you decided to take it down. Potential employers, recruiting staff, and other people see the things you do, and nothing is personal. Jenny Preece argues these assumptions in her article “Online Etiquette: From Nice to Necessary” and backs it up with some real-life situations in where she believes that proper grammar and spelling skills are necessary online techniques that everyone in the community should communicate with. She announces that we should create etiquette norms that everyone should follow on the internet and that if someone breaks the norm; it becomes their responsibility to improve their etiquette skills and use proper language. It also becomes that community’s responsibility that has allowed that person to enter their society, to teach him the proper skills as well.

Being a part of Greek life, I can say that everyone has to be careful in what they post on the internet. Nobody wants to get in trouble with any of their schools and lose their chapter. In some ways, I agree with Jenny Preece’s argument, but at the same time, what we choose to post, we know the consequences as well for putting something up on the internet.  

History of Greek Life

Greek Life originated in the late 1700s when Phi Beta Kappa was established as the first Greek-letter student society in North America. They were founded on the motto “Philosophy is the guide of life” (A General History of Greek Life) and Greek was chosen as the language of the motto due to its classical education at the time. As one of the first fraternities on a college campus, wearing the Greek letters became the most prideful way to communicate to members inside and outside the society.

Back then, there wasn’t much technology that Greek societies on campus could utilize; they relied much on their letters to speak for them. In a way, I liked the old way of communication. It spoke the truth, plainly and bluntly, without anyone to modify it. Bystanders would read the letters on someone’s prideful chest, and they would say as they walked by “Wow, that person is in Phi Beta Kappa or Kappa Alpha…” Your reputation is associated with your letters, and you represent these letters; therefore your actions, throughout history communicated, will continue to communicate how your Greek society will be seen in the social and philanthropic community.    

When World War I and World War II came along, however, the Greek system ran into trouble. Most men were deported to fight in the war and women were forced into the workforce. They began to serve the needs of society and most of the Greek houses on college campuses became of use to house troops and so charters and groups died out; “many smaller organizations merged with larger ones in order to keep from disappearing entirely” (4). However, after the GI Bill was distributed, more men than ever before returned to college and pretty soon, almost forty Greek organizations, “with at least fifty members each” (4), became to form the sad tradition of hazing that is still evident in all PHA, PFC, PHC, and UGC organizations.

Technology began to play a dominate role in Greek life when the next generation became involved. After the World Wide Web was introduced, and advertising became accessible through the web, Greek organizations used other programs on computers to help them create appealing images for the upcoming rushees. Lately, lots of organizations are into designing templates and videos and using Facebook as the primary way of communicating with potential new members. Even before the freshman get to college, Greek organizations will randomly go and message these individuals on Facebook, introducing their Greek organization, their affiliations, and their philanthropic ideas. Another way to enhance their appearances is by making rush videos each semester. A rush video encompasses their colony’s history, their brothers or sisters, their principles, and even a theme to show their creativity among other organizations. Rush videos target a youthful audience who are naïve, easily manipulated, to come and join a brotherhood and sisterhood founded on blissful blessings and true character. New members just have to recognize what is truth and what is lie. Some things may not be the way they seem to be.  


Source: http://www.gmu.edu/org/ifc/faq_generalhist.htm

Why Greek You Say?

As the rush schedule for the fall semester is approaching, fraternities and sororities in college campuses nationwide are preparing for their individual events. Rush themes and parties are planned, public displays bearing letters and t-shirts, trophies, awards, pictures, and other prized possessions are displayed properly, and each member in their organization is accounted for. Now where does technology fit in with Greek life? Greek life has vastly emerged in the past 75 years, and technology itself has innovated in unique ways  during that same time. These Greek organizations have begun to use technology in an interesting way to attract potential rushees, stay in touch with alums, and present themselves publicly to the social and philanthropic community. “Image is everything” as Andre Agassi used to say and in doing so, various Greek organizations display themselves in a different light during recruitment time. They speak to people they never would have ever dreamed speaking too, they find themselves manipulating students to come and join their brotherhoods and sisterhoods, and above all, using technology in ways others outside Greek life could ever imagine.

Other than myself, there is only one more person in my family who has "Gone Greek." This person became a role model in my life from the day I was born, and I found myself wanting to be like her every minute of every day. Our Professor in class tells us to write about something we are interested in or something that is close to our hearts. I chose to write about Greek life because I am fairly new to it, am enjoying every minute of it, and because my role model lives in my heart.

This semester, my goal will be to reach out to the Greek community. I want to explore their individual talents and experiences, learn why they chose to "Go Greek", and beyond it all, I wish to learn of the different technological methods that fraternities and sororities nationwide use to captivate new individuals, mesmerize their old members, and above all, socially and publicly display and present themselves to the Greek community. I hope that these discoveries will lead me to be a better sister in my sisterhood, help my readers understand Greek life by looking at it through a different light, and hopefully interest those who never were interested in Greek life because it truly becomes a blissful life long journey and you have the blessing of sharing it with the brothers and sisters who love you for who you are just the way you are.