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.
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Good job finding a contrast of good and "bad" sites and providing the links. Interesting. I now have a much better idea of what you mentioned in class about "following" a person before they are recruited. Clearly, the one girl from you example who trashed the practice was NOT comfortable with the stalking. Does that make her site "bad," however? It's not inaccurate because it's her personal experience. However, it clearly represents only ONE person's view.It would be interesting to test that article to see how influential or persuasive it is for those contemplating Greek life...
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