I know you've seen the movie, there are dozens of them. The one about the fraternity who parties all night and sleeps all day and partakes in dangerous initiation rituals. You've probably also seen the one about the sorority whose biggest concern is sharing lip gloss and what dress they will wear to their next social.
Animal House-
Neighbors-
The House Bunny-
(Just to name a few)
There are a lot of stereotypes and over-generalizations pertaining to Greek Life on college campuses and they mostly revolve around alcohol, parties, hazing, sexuality, and superficiality. Though I can't deny the existence of parties within members of Greek Life and yes makeup and clothing may be communal within a sorority, that is not what it's about in the slightest. Being a member of a sorority or a fraternity means so much more than these things and the negative connotation that accompanies letter wearing needs to be corrected.
Like I said, I can't speak for every Greek Organization in existence and I would be naive to say that they are all a disproof of their stereotypes, however; the majority are. Let me replace your negative thoughts pertaining to Greek Life with ideas and experiences of those who are involved in it and what they experience.
In Greek Life organizations young adults are learning...
Commitment- Weekly meetings, fundraising, recruitment events, etc. are taxing when piled on top of the everyday tasks that accompany being a college student. Members learn how to be committed to a group that is more than themselves along with budgeting time to give their full selves to the organization. You are accountable to the others around you.
Friendship- I recognize the extreme cliche of sorority and fraternity members referring to each other as "brothers" and "sisters", but they truly are. The relationships and bonds that are formed based on trust, complete transparency with each other, and accountability are both meaningful and valuable ones.
Service- Most Greek Organizations must have a philanthropy topic chosen in order to provide service, advocacy, and fundraising for. Cancer, Diabetes, and Mental Health are just a few of the specific causes that organizations choose to work for. This, along with service to the college and the community that organizations must do in order to be recognized by their college, teach members how to give back.
Leadership- Greek Organizations are faculty supervised, but entirely student lead. This means that event planning, monetary distributions/funding, policy accordance, record keeping, and logistics all must be coordinated by the members. This provides extreme opportunity for members to gain real-world experience by doing tasks they will encounter in their careers and communities someday. Along with this, Greek members accept the fact that they are held to a high standard when they accept to wear their letters, a standard of extreme integrity.
Tradition- Many Greek-Life Organizations have been in existence for decades, some almost a century. This means that when a member wears their letters and represents their organization, they are representing all those who went before them. Tradition, along with creating your own legacy, is a valuable experience. That sense of community is unmatched. Along with this, there is a large opportunity for networking between current members and Alumni of Greek Organizations.
These are just a few of the things that Greek Organizations provide for their members. The positive experience that so many people have in sororities or fraternities trumps every negative stereotype that is accompanied with it. So next time you watch one of the comedic block busters about a wild fraternity or a crazy sorority, remember what these organizations are really all about.
