6 Things You've Assumed About Greek Life

Being in a sorority places you in the middle of a number of stereotypes. From the people down the hall claiming that they smell marijuana coming from your room to the sidelong glances you get walking into the Honors building wearing your letters, I think it’s safe to say that, while Greek organizations have a lot of positive connotations, they also have a lot of negative ones. Here’s to addressing all your worries regarding myself and my sisters-to-be, as well as our male counterparts.

1)      “The only reason I went Greek is for the party scene.”

Greek organizations stand for a lot of things: lifelong friendship, moral obligations, and serving the community, to name a few. But let’s put this one into perspective. We are all in college, where freedom reigns for the most part. When a group of college students comes together with the intent of making friends, those friends will hang out. Most likely, those friends will party together. When Greek organizations become one big friend group, it means that some Greeks will probably party. Some college students party, too, but, just like in the case of sororities and fraternities, not all of them do. The point of being Greek is much deeper than the party scene it seems to emulate.

 2)      “Everyone in Greek life is stupid.”

A little known fact about sororities and fraternities is that the majority of them require study hours. They also have minimum GPAs and, as a whole, take great pride in the accomplishments and grades of fellow members. According to USA Today, college graduation rates are 20% higher amongst Greeks than non-Greeks. Greek organizations also build an encouraging, loving atmosphere that pushes their members to be the best individuals they can possibly be, and the biggest and clearest way in which this is done is through their success in college.

 3)      “Greeks are superficial.”

The irony of this statement after having spent only three weeks with my sisters-to-be is outstanding. Both fraternities and sororities spend more time on each other, and more importantly, on community service events, than anything else they do. The amount of pride that goes into each philanthropy, the amount of time that each of us dedicates to every Greek organization’s service events, and the amount of love that emulates through all of these actions should certainly create a strong argument against the idea that Greek organizations are all about one thing: their Greek organization. They stand for much more than themselves, they stand for the principles, morals, and community-building service that they believe in.

4)      “People that go Greek are only able to because their parents are rich.”

While some Greek members do come from rich households, this group is not representative of the entire population. Dues are expensive, that’s a well-known fact. And many members pay for their dues themselves. Payment plans are available based on the individual organizations because not all of us are lucky enough to have parents that will write a check. Dues themselves, at least from a sorority standpoint, consist of new member fees, insurance, house up-keep, dues to the chapter, dues to the national fraternity, technology fees, and, of course, food, as well as other charges. These monetary compensations are necessary for the sororities and fraternities to function in the way that they do, making the price of membership a bit higher than many people would expect. This by no means carries the assumption that it is easy to pay off the bill for every single member.

 5)      “Members of Greek organizations are lazy.”

This statement makes me cringe. Greeks are anything but lazy. The majority of sorority and fraternity members are required to join more than one club offered by the university in order to remain in good standing with their Greek organization. They also, as stated earlier, are required to keep a certain GPA and juggle the responsibilities that come with their individual Greek organizations. All but three US presidents have been members of fraternities, and 85% of Fortune 500 companies are run by Greek members. The facts speak for themselves.

 6)      “Greeks buy their friends.”

The most common response to this one is, “If I buy my friends, I’m not paying enough.” Greek organizations build lifelong friendships and bonds that are formed over time, and while it’s easy to think that admission to Greek life comes with instant friends, like anything else, it is what you put into it. Sure, my dues might pay for most of my cool t-shirts and a great meal plan, but my friends? They showed up on their own.