On Tuesday, April 12, history was made at Ohio University in the Memorial Auditorium. For the first time, the Greek community gathered together in the same room and had an open discussion, without any influence of administration. Pure and natural dialogue with barely any restrictions or constraints. Intense passion and raw emotion heated up the room's atmosphere and tension arose. Tears, shouts, pleas, and fierce cheering were all present at the event. If you were oblivious to the context of the situation you might've thought a civil war was erupting at times. What should have been taken away from such an experience?

If you haven't already heard, the Greek community is divided in the midst of a rather large controversy. A dispute concerning inclusion (or lack thereof) and "the straw that broke the camel's back:" a spray-painted wall promoting Donald Trump and "building the wall" and a GroupMe chat with lack of support or defense. These factors together led to the cancellation of socials, airbands, field day and dodgeball for this year's Greek Week lineup of events. The cancelled activities were replaced with other events such as the panel discussion.

That being said, what I experienced Tuesday night was eye-opening to say the least. I left the building with mixed feelings, even confusion. At times during the discussion I felt so proud of my fellow Greeks, and others I felt so terribly disappointed and frankly just plain sad.

This experience really reminded me of how valuable it is to have an open mindset to other beliefs, cultures, opinions, and ways of life. There's so much more than just what you know, than just your own story. If you can't look beyond that, then you're only setting yourself back in life instead of moving forward. In order to connect with others and learn new things about our world, you need to open your mind and know empathy. This is so important especially in this certain situation, because I'll admit that I can empathize with a lot of the arguments brought up in the discussion on both sides of the dispute. There truly isn't a simple answer/solution to any of our questions or conflicts. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who found themselves confused on what to think on many of the topics and points brought to light.

In a perfect world, we'd find the perfect solution and all hold hands together in happy harmony. But here's the latest 4-1-1: this is not a perfect world and there is no perfect solution.

This dispute is much larger than Greek Week activities; in fact it is a smaller representation of what's actually going on in our country. So Greeks, I plead you this:

Let's stop arguing over who's wrong and who's right, and let's act like what we really are: a community. We all share something in common, we're all human. More than that, we're Greeks and Bobcats. That should be enough to bind us rather than divide us. Just think about the good we could do working together as a unit, pushing towards the same goal. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing whether we'll admit it or not. We just want to enjoy our time here and simply be happy in our Greek community. That's all airbands and socials are, they are times where we come together and make memories and laugh and enjoy each other's company. This should be including everyone in Greek life, no matter what.

Stay positive in this complicated time, because we are making big changes and it'll move on with or without you. Keep looking forward to make our futures brighter together. We should focus on proving to our fellow Bobcats why Greek life is so wonderful.

So pick up your heads, Greeks, because your crowns and tiaras are falling off.