Lately sororities and fraternities have been receiving a lot of criticism. It seems that all over the country, people want to get rid of Greek life all together. People tend to believe in the stereotypes that Greek life has been portrayed as in TV and movies, and I can’t blame them because prior to rushing, I had that same poor idea about what Greek life is all about. A majority of fraternities and sororities are great groups of people that are focused on bettering their school and themselves.

Sororities and fraternities are not just social groups. They develop strong leaders, donate time and money to excellent causes, focus on maintaining good grades, are a wonderful support system, just to name a few.

Just last weekend I traveled to Washington, D.C. with six of my sisters to attend a conference on how to be a better active leader in my sorority. It was an incredible experience from learning about how to engage members of our chapter to get more involved to learning about our constitution. I gained a wealth of leadership knowledge that I can apply to my sorority as well as many other places and times in my life. And I know that the leadership abilities of our members will just continue to grow.

These groups are also very focused on their education by requiring members to do weekly study hours, providing academic assistance to those who need it, and holding their members to high academic standards. At most schools, members have to have a certain GPA to even rush a sorority or fraternity; for sororities that GPA is a 2.5. And when a member falls below their chapter’s standard GPA they lose certain privileges until they are able to bring the grades back up. Very often the overall Greek GPA is higher at universities than the overall student GPA.

Fraternities and sorority members all participate in philanthropy events, and sometimes host their own by putting together events focused on raising money, collecting supplies, or raising awareness for others. These events get members from all throughout the Greek community and the campus involved as students of all kinds are encouraged to come and participate. Greek organizations also typically require their members to complete a certain number of service hours per year helping out in their communities, on campus or back in their hometown.

Greek life provides an excellent support system whether that be financially, emotionally or otherwise. Many organizations even provide scholarships for their members to apply for, which can help pay for things related to their education. Sororities/fraternities also provide people to connect with because you likely joined the organization you did based on their values, you have things in common with the already active members. These groups will support you throughout your time with them. We have sisters attending one another's performances, watching them run marathons, sharing the articles they write... the list goes on and on. You develop strong relationships with the other members of your organization and will carry those relationships long after college.

I had a terrible idea about what being in a sorority was like before I joined. But I was so wrong and I am glad that I was. Joining my sorority (Phi Sigma Sigma) has given me service opportunities, has helped me grow as a leader and allowed me to develop lifelong friendships that I would have missed out on.