What ever happened to the age-old quote, "No matter the letters, we're all Greek together." In past years, many colleges have adopted an unofficial and stereotypical tier system within the Greek community that has become all too prominent. It's no doubt people have their own opinions about which fraternity or sorority reigns supreme on their campus, but individual opinions have no power over the facts. When comparing the quote I mentioned at the beginning of the article to today's realities, comes the questioning of the respect we have among what should be a united Greek family. While there may be multiple stereotypes about any house, the goal is to be proud of the house you have joined, forget the opinions, and allow your community to come together. 

For those of you who do not know what a tier-system is, first off, I would like to say, lucky you. The tier system based on hearsay and rumors within the Greek community that ranks chapters from the best to the worst on campus. An opinion-based system, the tiers or rankings only create false assumptions and stereotypes about certain chapters at a school. It's a sad fact that as a Greek system that should be bound by the common love for our amazing community, we can sit here and judge others for the house they have chosen. 

Rankings are far too often determined by superficial values such as which house has the thinnest girls or who has the hottest pledge class. Websites, such as GreekRank.com, may not be trying to hurt any individual chapter, but they allow people the ability to rank chapters on popularity, looks, social life, and destroy chapters' reputations for no reason other than website traffic and a laugh. With those types of rankings, people are also allowed to praise and bash houses with offensive and unfounded comments. Why must we use outlets like this to judge a person just by the letters the wear? Why must we do it at all?

A Greek system, at any school, is united under organizations like Panhellenic, the Interfraternity Council, National Multicultural Greek Council, and others. However, instead of cultivating a family atmosphere among the Greek councils, chapters find it okay to go and bash those who share common values and bonds. Through this tier system, chapters have become superficial and stereotypical while comparing themselves to others on campus. Recruitment has a poor reputation built from stupid rumors, as being based off of looks, social status, and sometimes even wealth of those being recruited. From both ends, chapters and members are being judged for what's on the outside, and barely anything that holds the core standards and morals that our founders chartered long ago.

As a member of the Greek community, I take pride in my house. I hope we make great grades and make a difference in the community, and I hope all of you reading feel the same about your own house. If you could sit here and say that you are a part of the best house on campus, good for you. It's an honor to be proud to be a part of something bigger than yourself. The most important thing when choosing what house you want to join is to find where you feel the most at home. Forgetting stereotypes and judgements is a stepping stone to become a united Greek community. We must follow in the footsteps of our founders and councils and work together to become the united community we claim to be.