Should You Go Greek? (Part 1): Commonly Asked Questions

***I’d first like to say how surprised I was to see two eerily similar posts to this subject spring up the day I decided to write these two pieces. I almost put off writing them for fear of repetition, but noticing both of them (Brittany Tai and Caroline Hughes) were for sororities, I thought “I gotta write something from the guy’s perspective.”

1. Why did I Pledge?

My friend was in the fraternity already and he would say that although he was always running around, he had a great time doing it.  I waited a year, and pledged my sophomore year in the fall.  I did not pledge my first year, partly because I was negatively influenced by another fraternity on campus (I will not say which) and partly because I thought it would be all too much to take in during my first year in college.  I tried to take things slow and get my feet wet first socially before jumping into the ocean that is fraternity life.  It wasn’t something I wanted to do right off the bat, and no one should feel rushed to rush.

2. What made me choose the one I chose?

Again, my friend influenced that somewhat.  He introduced me to a couple of his pledge class brothers and other brothers as well.  I also chose them because they were not showy and had a respectable balance when it came to what a fraternity should be.

I pledged the semester after the on-campus house was taken away from us.  It was something I just had to look past and its something that really makes you question, “What is a fraternity?”  During these types of situations, you really find out the true aspirations and qualities of the organization you are about to join.  The short and sweet of it: I never missed the house.  Sure it would have been nice to have one, central place for the brotherhood, but a house doesn’t make a home.  A home is wherever a group of people who care about each other get together.  So, in a way, I did have a fraternity home, it was anywhere we had events, anywhere we ate meals, or even anywhere we partied.  That is what is great about my fraternity.

So, coming into it, I only knew one member well, but I feel now that if I call on any one of these guys, they’d have my back in a heartbeat.  This is said a lot, but from firsthand experience and many hours of getting help from brothers in class, watching my pledge brothers pick me up during events, or seeking advice from my big, I can say this is truly a brotherhood of quality men. And good things come to good people, because we’ve been awarded a new house next semester.

For “Should You Go Greek (Part 2): 5 Real Reasons Why I Don’t Regret Doing So,” see http://blog.uloop.com/2012/07/should-you-go-greek-part-1-5-real-reasons-why-i-dont-regret-doing-so/