Coming into college at The University of Texas, I expected that the stereotypical divide between those who join Greek organizations and those who do not would exist. I was not prepared, however, for just how deeply this mentality was entrenched in people on both sides. 

Both Greeks and non-Greeks are at fault for this. On the one hand, non-Greeks frequently stereotype those who are in fraternities. I can't believe how many times I have told someone that I just met that I was in a fraternity and have gotten dirty looks. 

I think it is fair to say that a large percentage of non-Greek students see those in fraternities as misogynistic, perpetually drunk a**holes. Although this may be the case for some, I have many friends throughout the different fraternities at UT that do not fall into that category. There are simply too many different personalities in the Greek system at UT to put everyone into a single negative stereotype. 

Girls in sororities are stereotyped in the same manner. A lot of non-Greeks on campus see them as rich daddy's girls who are not very academically inclined. This is despite the fact that the UT Panhellenic Council's average GPA is much higher than the average female's GPA. Many successful alumni of sororities have gone on to be successful doctors, lawyers, businesswomen, and politicians.

Clearly, the aforementioned stereotypes are not true. But this article is not just about defending the Greek system. Many of us our also guilty of enforcing those stereotypes against others.

I have heard countless times people stereotype those who aren't in the Greek system as weird, anti-social people who would rather play League of Legends in their dorm room than interact with people. This could not be further from the truth. UT's campus is almost 80% non-Greek and out of those, there are student government leaders, political activists and plenty of social butterflies. These people may have simply just not been interested in joining Greek life, unable to afford dues, or they found other clubs and hobbies that they fit into.

As I have pointed out, the stereotypes that are assigned to each group are usually untrue. Both Greeks and non-Greeks are proud of their organizations and things that they have accomplished. In the 20 years after you get out of college, it won't matter whether you were in "x" fraternity or a certain spirit group or organization. What will matter is how much you learned in college, the experiences that you had and the friends that you made.

Those are things that no matter our affiliation, we all strive for. They should bring us together instead of divide us.