I didn’t even think about what I wanted to talk about today, so I guess I’ll go for a “Try It, and Maybe You’ll Like It” post today.
Today’s topic? Try Going Greek, and Maybe You’ll Like Being Greek!
But first, why should you try something because maybe you’ll like it? I am a big proponent of trying everything once: a sport, food, activity, or whatever. Unless it’s food and you have only tried it once when you were a kid, then you should probably try it again. Here’s a list of food I used to hate that I now love: mushrooms, avocado, asparagus, artichoke, fish (sometimes). Here’s a list of food I used to like that grosses me out now: hot dogs, tuna, mayonnaise, and I used to hate pancakes for a year, but I am over that finally, yay. I think I read somewhere once that human taste buds change every seven years, so there’s no guarantee to like, or dislike, any one food forever. Except hot dogs. I will probably hate hot dogs until the day of my death. But that’s more about personal experience than taste.
So, that’s why I’m a big proponent of trying things. Onward and forward.
Try Going Greek, and Maybe You’ll Like Being Greek
Actually, the end of this is a poor statement conclusion; it just goes along with the title of the feature. I can actually pretty much guarantee (with a few exceptions) that if you try going Greek (with an open mind) and you put everything into the organization that you expect to get out of it, you will like being Greek.
The Hard Part About Going Greek:
Going Greek is unfortunate in the sense that you only have a few years to think about it–as opposed to if you wanted to try rock climbing, for instance, you’re probably fine as long as you’re in good health and good shape. The Greek system, unfortunately, isn’t something where you’re so lucky. At some universities, you have about two years. At others, you have one chance. In some cases, these universities may give you three or two, respectively–but these are very rare instances. It really all depends on where you intend to go through recruitment, though, so pay attention to the campus norms. A very lucky few may have the option to join post-graduate, but I won’t run around and promise this to anyone.
Another hardship would-be Greek’s encounter is their own prejudice. Sometimes, a collegiate may decide to go through recruitment, but at the same time, they decide that they will only accept a bid from a certain chapter, or chapters. Obviously, this limits the chances they have to be in the Greek system and, should their recruitment not result in theses choices, they effectively remove themselves from being Greek. All the organizations are great ones and as long as a potential new member has an open mind, they are likely to find their niche and be perfectly happy in any chapter they join. Limiting your options effectively limits your potential results.
The Great Part About Going Greek:
Now that I’ve explained the difficulties in the decision process, let’s take a look at what the Greek system offers:
- Family: The Greek system can provide a home away from home and a sisterhood/brotherhood of real friendship. It’s likely that not everyone will be at your wedding when you marry, but if you ever needed an emergency hospital trip, they would take you without question. I think this is the part that really appeals to freshmen, even if they won’t admit to it.
- Leadership: The Greek system allows for members to take on leadership roles to help the house, better themselves, and learn a thing or two about what it takes to be a leader. There’s also the self-confidence boost…. Or if you just like the feeling of power…
- Housing: This doesn’t necessarily apply to all chapters, because not every chapter has housing. For the ones that do, though, I ask when else will you be able to live in a mansion with all your best friends?
- Ritual: Every chapter of a national organization shares the same ritual. For this reason, if you suddenly end up moving across the country, you can either find a collegiate chapter to affiliate with (assuming your new school has your chapter) or an alumni chapter to join. Even if you all didn’t join together, you share the fact that you did join and have the same ideals.
- Networking: Greeks run the world. I’m being just a bit facetious here, but really, go and look up any fraternity on Wiki and take a look at their list of notable alumni. This won’t matter to you as a freshman, but it matters later in life. And, like I said above, if you end up moving away from the members you do know, the members in your new area of residence may be able to help you find a job or a new place to live.
- Just being a part of it: It makes the campus smaller and it gives you a chance to be a part of something larger than yourself. It’s hard to explain this type of benefit, because I believe that it’s something you can only understand once you’re there. Membership means something different for everyone, so you really need to join to find out what it means to you.
- Social: This is probably a small benefit (compared to the others), but the one many freshman use for their reason for joining. You get to make new friends, meet potential dates, oh and beer… It is an overall part of the experience (and I won’t discount the fun it produces), but, ultimately, it doesn’t end up meaning as much as the other reasons I listed.
I could list more benefits, but a lot of them fall under “just being a part of it.” It’s something you can’t really explain without being specific. As I said, joining means many different things to many different people; these are just some of the key points.
Final Thoughts:
So, I’ve established the benefits and drawbacks of deciding to go Greek. Let me also add that yes, there are other ways to gain leadership experience, make friends, and so forth. I don’t necessarily think that everyone should go Greek because it’s not for everyone. People have tried it and not liked it, and that’s totally fine. I have had members of my own Greek family try it and not like it, though they have later admitted that they expected to reap hundreds of benefits without putting forth any effort–I think this is the wrong way to go about it. A lot of trying something is to put forth the effort to try it. I wouldn’t equate joining a Greek organization to trying a new food, for instance. If you’ve never had tacos, you go and buy some tacos. If you like them, you can buy them again. If you don’t, you only had to try them this one time. Joining a Greek organization is like deciding your New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight by going to the gym. If you go to the gym once and decide it’s too hard, for instance, then you probably won’t keep your New Year’s Resolution (take whatever consequences you like from that conclusion). But, if you keep going to the gym, then you are highly likely to see results. You get out what you put in (this is also a basic law of energy). At the same time, it’s not always for everyone.
However, to the people who belittle the organizations without having tried to join one, I also pose this question: how do you know you won’t like it if you’ve never tried it? That’s like saying you hate California when you’ve never been there, for instance.
So should you go Greek? Yes, you should give it your best try; I believe there’s something for everyone. While there’s no guarantee that you will receive a bid, there are twenty-six NPC sororities and seventy-one NIC fraternities (plus two others that left the umbrella organization). With those numbers, the odds that there is a chapter for you are pretty good (though not all of these chapters are at every campus). Plus, every chapter is different (within one school’s Greek system, and even across an Inter/national organization), so really if people would give it a chance, what they find there might just surprise them.
Conclusion: Try going Greek. If you do receive a bid and then put in your best effort, the chances that you’ll like it and have a good experience are fairly high.