One of the many reasons that I am so grateful to be attending a small, liberal arts college, is that my involvement in many different activities is encouraged. I am not confined to only participating in extracurriculars within my declared artistic field, but I am happily supported when it comes to being a part of leadership groups and social organizations as well. My sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, has been an integral part of my college experience and it has given me memories that will last a lifetime. My sisterhood connects me with other likeminded women across the country, from fellow small colleges to huge universities. I, however, am very glad to be a part of Greek Life at Rollins College in particular, and here is why…
First thing’s first, going through recruitment was SO much less stressful than it would have been at a bigger school. For one thing, we do “deferred recruitment”, meaning that our formal recruitment is early in the spring semester rather than in the fall right before the start of classes. Not only does this mean that we get to avoid a hellishly hot week of traipsing around campus to each house, but it also gives first years the ability to establish themselves within their academic departments, residence halls, and to make their own friends before committing to a huge, overwhelming, new organization. It is a much more comfortable system than that which is done at many larger colleges.
Next, because Rollins is a smaller school, it is so easy to get to know people both inside and outside of Fraternity-Sorority Life! The smaller size means that it is not super challenging to make friends with members of other Greek chapters. It is also not uncommon to find that yourself and another person, whether that be a sister/brother, a member of another chapter, or even a non-affiliated student, are involved in multiple on-campus groups together. Staying in the loop about what is going on around campus is almost effortless, and so it is easy to support other chapters’ philanthropies and attend campus organizations' events.
Also, since Greek chapters are smaller here at Rollins, it takes new members no time at all to get to know their brothers and sisters. I cannot imagine how stressed out I would be at a larger school if I was suddenly thrust into a huge, chaotic group of 100+ women that I did not know. My little introverted self would be drowning. The smaller chapter sizes and our excellent leadership make the transition into Fraternity-Sorority Life painless and even fun!
What stands out the most to me about Greek Life at Rollins College is the beauty of the diversity within our sister and brotherhoods. I have heard sad rumors that at SOME large universities, the Greek chapters are terribly exclusive and that the members of each group are conforming, carbon copies of each other. I do not believe that we are totally guilt-free of this at Rollins, but I believe that whenever you get a group of people together and they form bonds that they will inevitably discover things internally and externally that they share. That is how they find unity.
However, at Rollins, it is nowhere near the troubling extent that I have noticed at SOME big schools. Here, the representation of all walks of life and all sorts of passions that is present in each of our chapters is incredible. We have international students, people of color, members of the LGBT+ community, and men and women with a variety of the most inspiring aspirations. Edmund Lee once said, “Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.” I have undoubtedly found those people here within the FSL community at Rollins College.
