Going Greek: Breaking the Myth Part One

Watch this clip first:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-86etz3cGw
This is the media's portrayal of Greek life. At some colleges, or some houses, this is how it is. However, not every college or house is like that. I interviewed Lizzy Warner, who graduated from Uni in 2009, and attends Knox College. I also interviewed Seth Bull, who graduated from Uni in 2011, and attends the Missouri Institute of Technology. They graciously agreed to answer my questions. I myself am pledging to a co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, and I will write a separate blog about that this weekend. Remember, if you are interested in Greek life, do your research. Many houses are committed to sisterhood/brotherhood, service, and school. As you'll discover, some houses will kick you out if you aren't helping the community, do excessive partying, or fall under a certain GPA. Keep an open mind, and use your common sense. Some houses are dangerous, full of the media's picture of drugs, alcohol, sex, rape, and hazing. Not all of them are like that though!

Because I got such thoughtful and well-written answers to my questions, I am doing a two part blog for Greek Life. First up is Lizzy and Sororities!

1) Why did you want to join a fraternity/sorority?
Well I kind of had the idea in my head of joining a sorority early on because my mom was in a sorority and my dad was in a fraternity and "Going Greek" didn't come with any negative stereotypes for me. In fact, I grew up almost idolizing the Greek system because I was able to see what great friends my mom had and the values those friends shared with each other. It is a lifelong friendship and even with people she didn't know but with whom she had that shared history with, they were immediately closer. Now that I am also a Pi Phi (I am a Pi Phi and Knox legacy from my mom) I can really see that becoming reflected in my own life.

2) What is pledging like?
Pledging is somewhat intimidating. Words are thrown around a lot amongst non-Greeks so to clarify "Recruitment" (we are not allowed to call it Rush any more) is when girls go through and choose which houses they want and which organizations want them in return. Pledging means that you have already accepted your bid and you are part of that organization but you have not yet initiated. If you have not yet initiated then you do not know all the secrets and are not considered a full member yet. Pledging can be intimidating not because it is scary but because you don't really know what to expect since no one can tell you what is going to happen. There are a lot of secret ceremonies involved and you are constantly learning new phrases, songs, and names of people. It is great because all of a sudden you have 50 new people who are genuinely interested in getting to know you and support you but at the same time it is a lot to take in. The pledging process, though, is much more of a relief than formal recruitment. I don't know about at other bigger schools, but that is why informal recruitments tend to have such a great turn out here.. because people are overwhelmed by formal recruitment and going from house to house and meeting so many new people all in just a few short days. That being said, I went through formal recruitment and I loved it!

3.) What would you say are the positives of being a member?
* A whole chapter of girls who, like real sisters (even if you don't hang out all the time and don't do the same things) are genuinely interested in supporting you helping you, and they alway have your back (and vice versa).
*It is a great way to meet a bunch of people you really wouldn't have met otherwise. For example, had it not been for Pi Phi I never would have gone to a volleyball game or a Terp show.
*It links you to people of all generations all throughout the country in a way where you share the same secrets and same bonds and it automatically brings you closer.
* Our alums are kick ass! It is like having a temporary mom at school. They help you with groceries and furnish the house and hang out with you when, like me, you have to be at school alone 3 weeks early!
*Artificially, we have am awesome house with a lot of resources to use. We have our own kitchen, office and office supplies, giant televisions, etc. and while that wouldn't be a reason to join it is definitely an added bonus once you have made the decision.
*You get involved with the campus and community more. There are required philanthropy hours and additionally we all like to support our sisters at the events that they attend/host so you really get involved with what is going on. It forces you to get out of your own bubble
* It keeps your grades up. We have required study hours and required GPA's to meet. We have giant study parties and prizes that we can win if we get A's or don't skip any class for a week.
* You are not only connected with people from your organization but you are also connected with Greek men and women all over the country
* It makes you become a leader. You learn how to run a meeting, make a motion, etc. You are given the tools to communicate with adults and leaders on campus and you are highly encouraged to take on a leadership role within the chapter. The role I have as Vice President of Communications and Panhel Delegate has honestly been one of the most influential roles I have taken on in that it has taught me to mature as a person.

4) What would you say are the negatives of being a member?
* Many people have bad stereotypes of the Greek system and don't understand it as a whole. I remember the first day a freshman told me he went to a kickass party at a sorority house on campus, to impress me. Sorority houses, while a common misconception, are not allowed to host open parties. It is small these like this that make it difficult, knowing it is both students and professors who don't fully respect it.
* You have to be able to have the time commitment. It isn't huge but it is what you make of it. If you choose not to attend the 1 hour chapter meetings every Sunday, yes you will be in trouble with the chapter but, additionally, you really aren't going to end up appreciating it and getting the full experience. You have to be willing to attend your sisters activities too and take time out of your day like you would for any other club or organization
*Dues. They really aren't that bad considering you pay dues once every fall term and then that covers all expenses you may have the rest of the term. For example, we had mixers and social events with other organizations. This weekend we are going bowling and eating pizza and not paying anything out of pocket because we paid our dues at the beginning of term. Nonetheless, it is still money that you can't spend. I pay my dues myself by just holding a campus job, though, and I still have a lot of extra money so it isn't as though it is a huge burden on this campus.

5.  What kind of person succeeds in a fraternity/sorority?
I am sure Seth and I will have different answers for this question. It is because Knox is just a different place in general. It is filled with such an assortment of people I feel like more than half of my chapter will tell you that when they first came to Knox there was no possible way that they thought they would ever join a sorority. Really, anyone can fit in here, you just have to be willing to treat your sorority sisters like your actual sisters. You need to be able to make time to support them, attend events together, etc. and they will do the same for you. There are definitely those stereotype of sorority girls-- the kind who wear a lot of make up and party a lot-- but in reality we have very strict grade requirements, if you party a lot you are brought in front of our standards board who have the authority to discipline you (e.g. you could go on social probation), and I am sure we have girls who, to this day, can count the number of times they have ever worn a dress. It's just about what you make of it.

6) Is there hazing? What is it like?
Fraternities say they don't haze. It is often called "brotherhood" activities, or something of the like. But because hazing has been so publicized and received such negative press we actually have very strict hazing policies. You are not allowed to take your members on a scavenger hunt, you can not mandatorily require any class (new members or seniors) to do an activity all together (even if it is doing something like playing flag football), we can't call recruitment "rush"... there are a lot of things that we are not allowed to do. And the punishments are severe, most likely resulting in the removal of your charter (i.e. your house and chapter would be removed from the campus). Therefore, all sororities that I know of take anti-hazing very seriously.

7) Many Greek "societies" do service work. What is your fraternity/sorority's cause?
I am a member of Pi Beta Phi. Our national philanthropy is literacy and we are teamed with First Book to promote literacy. What this means is that literacy is what we focus on and strive to volunteer for. We have a certain number of hours that we are supposed to dedicated towards volunteering for literacy (and for our chapter, by certain number of hours, I mean 2). Aside from that you can complete your philanthropy hours, or just for the fun of it, by doing any other volunteer activities. The best part about it is that you have so many girls who want to volunteer too that if you find something you are passionate about then it is easy to get a lot of people behind you and volunteering with you.

8) Is there anything else you would like to add, wisdom you want to give for people planning on joining Greek life?
Don't go in it with preconceived misconceptions. It is hard to do but in order to find an organization that you want to be a part of you need to make sure you would want to be a part of it, even without the Greek affiliation and the nice house. You just want to better yourself and surround yourself with people who will help you do that and make it fun along the way! I really, really encourage everyone (especially Knox students) to go through recruitment. If it isn't your cup of tea, no one will hold it against you. And I really do mean that! No one holds hostilities against the girl who showed up and realized that this really isn't something that she has time for, etc. I hold a job, work as an intern, I am overloading my courses this term and taking all math classes at that, I am charge of recruitment with Panhel, I have track training, and I am our VPCommunications and despite how busy my schedule is I know that I would never drop Pi Phi for anything and I would love if other people were able to experience the same feeling. I know that every school is different and our campus is so small, but from what I have learned being here, no matter who you are or how busy you are you should at least think about it.