GREEK Life isn't all about an elite, select breed... Apr 19 '00    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet As a college student for the past eight months at one of the larger universities in the country, let alone the world (PENN STATE, baby! :-) ), I have seen a large quantity of people dive headfirst into Greekdom...sometimes it seems like falling more than diving, but on the overall, those who choose to get into Greek life have made the right choice. I may have had an out-of-the-ordinary experience in that field, as in the past two semesters, I have seen at least 13 students from my floor (of 60 people) alone decide to directly partake in Greek life. Now, not all of these people are brothers/ sisters, but a vast majority are. Now, be honest, in a lot of peoples' minds, those who choose to join Greek organizations are of a different "breed"...let me show you how this is false. Greek Myth 1) All frat brothers are the same: Absolutely false. If you go to a tiny school, the chances that you see a lot of overlapping personalities do the same thing, all pledging fraternities or sororities, because they may fit a stereotype. What you must do is look at a broader scale as you would find here at Penn State where 60 fraternities exist(not all with houses, mind you). If you generalize, you will make faulty assumptions. 2) I could never be a brother: I have played with this idea in and out of my head, as a victim of Fiction point one...do I fit the "brotherly" type. Well, I now see that there is no such thing. Here, you see people who are turned on by the thought of Greek life by motives other than one often presupposes. There are other more socially-enriching reasons, such as a feeling of belonging, brother/sisterhood, future professional connections, resume builder, character builder, the list could go on. If you see yourself as a strong individual who has no qualms about dedicating time to a Greek organization which can yield these qualities, you don't need to fit stereotypes to go through the process. 3) Only rich people can be Greek: Ummm...no. We're students, I mean unless you own your own domain name that has gone public with an IPO, you aren't rich, no way. Greekness does not require a fat wallet, I mean, yeah, it helps come dues time, but on the whole, what drives your Greek eligibility is your personal strength, your "wealth of character", if you will. Greek Reality 1) Hard workers succeed: As in real life, you want something bad enough, i.e. brother/sisterhood, you can acheive it. Simply put, you are taught through Greek pledge programs to earn what you want, that, much like in life, you won't be handed things unless you assertively strive for your goals. 2) Learn to trust: Most important, and undoubtedly a life lesson, is how to trust another person. You learn how to earn someone else's trust, and how to trust someone else, very important social skills to have especially for people who will be in the business world as most students are aiming to be. This also improves one's social network enabling a better quality of life. 3) Manage time & life efficiently: You are also forced to learn how to control one's life, the decisions you make in it, how that impacts others (i.e. pledge brothers), while maintaining one's life to the point where they can productively enjoy it. These are also examples of how your decisions effect a group, meeting deadlines, etc...all aspects of the real world. The Lowdown Ok, so what gives me exigence? I have a roommate pledging, and within a 20 foot radius, I know 5 pledges, enough to fill me with enough pointers to last me awhile. I mean, they don't break the sanctity of their respective chapters, but I have seen how they have changed personally how Greek lives are, in the end different. Do not think I don't realize that changes do occur due to pledging, but in my observations, the end result in the long-run is positive, maybe positive enough to encourage me to delve deeper into the Greek scene in the future. ---I'm curious to see what you think...please comment, thanks!

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