Joining a fraternity by Jason Wilson

Many students struggle transitioning into college life. With all the new work and independence, it is sometimes hard for them to find their way. Joining a fraternity or sorority, can be a great way for students to gain support and make friends from the start. Although there are many people who say Greeks are all about partying and only provide social benefits, they are very wrong. Many fraternities require a certain GPA and hold there members accountable if that is not reached. A brother can be put on social probation and have to attend study hours with other brothers in order to receive help. Once we initiated into the fraternity we made lists of what everyone’s major was and were given a list of older brothers who have similar majors and would be able to help us if we needed anything. Of coarse there are going to be those people in fraternities that drink too much and party all the time, but there are plenty of people like them who aren’t in fraternities as well. The only difference is the guys in fraternities are being forced to keep up their grades in order to stay in that fraternity rather then the other students who have no one keeping them in line, and forcing them to keep up their GPA.

Aside from the academics, being a part of a fraternity can raise your confidence and teach you a lot about yourself. Unlike other groups around campus, if you are part of Greek life you are forced to talk and forced to always interact with others. I am a very shy kid, to the point that when I introduce myself to some people I tell them I am not a big talker. I new coming into college, I would have to be more outgoing in order to meet new people. In the first few weeks of pledge-ship we are given a “Pledge father.” He is the guy that is always there for you even if everyone else is against you. Any question you have, you can ask him and if he didn’t know the answer he would help you find it. First quarter, when you are in a new environment it can sometimes be hard to get yourself out there on weekends. There was not one weekend where I didn’t get a call from my “pledge father” seeing what I was up to and telling me to come over the house and hang out. Not once did I feel homesick or alone, because at all times I had a group of people around making an effort to check up on us and hang out with us all the time.
One guy told me he wouldn’t join a fraternity because he didn’t want to pay for friends. The money we spend to be in a fraternity, is used for social events, food, scholarships, trips and fun activities that we all get to participate in. Fraternities aren’t exclusive and many of the members are not only friends with people out of their fraternities, but also live with them. These guys whom we get to call our brothers would befriend us anytime even if we weren’t in a fraternity. The best part about joining a fraternity is the group of people you are always around. Any time a brother is feeling down, all of the other brothers will come together canceling there other plans and do whatever it takes to bring him back up. There are many brothers who don’t drink, or don’t go out and people will always skip a night of going out to hang out with them, play video games or go bowling. When your part of group of people who care so much about brotherhood, you can never feel down for to long, because they will always be around to make you smile. When You are at your own fraternity house a smile is almost contagious, as there is not one guy in there who won’t come up to you and joke around about the dumb things people say. Every week, every brother has to stand up in front of everyone and talk. Although this doesn’t seem like much, for people like me it is a big step for being able to talk confidently in front of anyone. I cannot emphasize enough the benefits of joining a fraternity, but I can say with confidence that it will drastically change your college experience.

The Importance of Philanthropy, By Jessica Rose

It’s the end of February. Claudia and I are trying to finalize every detail for our winter philanthropy, Spagammi. As the philanthropy chairs of Gamma Phi Beta, it is our job to dot every “i” and cross every “t.” But in the midst of planning the biggest event of winter quarter, I begin to think about why we are doing this? Who does this benefit? How does this event help us as a sorority? It is too many times that sorority girls and fraternity boys don’t understand the true meaning of philanthropy and its importance to Greek life, as a whole.

The idea of creating a group with one major section that is devoted to charity work is the idea of philanthropy in the Greek life system. In most cases, fraternities and sororities are matched up with a charitable organization that the chapter does fundraising and volunteer work for.  They do this work so that they can be positive role models on campus and create a window of opportunity for volunteer work for college students. One way that doing philanthropy work in a sorority or fraternity is different than just doing charity work through another campus organization is that one is able to bond with their brothers and sisters through doing work for the good of the community. One major part of Greek life is going to exchanges and doing other fun activities that do not really benefit any major cause. Charity work is a way to incorporate a fun activity, but also benefit the community.

One major downfall about philanthropy in Greek life is that most members of the chapter do not look forward to charity events and look at them as mandatory. In my eyes, this is the biggest problem in Greek life. One of the main reasons why I personally joined a sorority was to be engaged in a group that knew how to have fun but also knew the importance of volunteer and charity work. A chapter should not be based on partying and exchanges; a chapter should be based on bonding through community service. A major way that this issue can be solved is though the support and acknowledgement of community members. When one feels like they are truly making a difference in the lives of others, one can thrive off of the work they do.

With this said, I would like to describe the importance of Spagammi. Spagammi is a campus-wide spaghetti dinner that Gamma Phi Beta puts on every year. This event is open to all DU community members, rather than just Greek life. We feel that this is a great way for the Gamma Phi Beta girls to be looked up to as role models in the DU community and bond with others through charity work. It is also important to open this event to the DU community because everyone is making a difference, rather than strictly Gamma Phi Beta.

Knowing that the downfall of Greek life is the lack of excitement for philanthropy events, Claudia and I knew that we had to make this event special and interesting for all of the girls. This year, we decided to start exploring new charitable organizations to donate the proceeds to. We do a lot of fundraising for our current philanthropy, Campfire USA, so we decided this would be a good way for Gamma Phi Beta to reach out to another charitable organization in the community and possibly excite the girls with this new idea. This year we will be donating all of the proceeds to help grant one girl’s wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado. This process has helped our girls remove themselves from the downfall of Greek life and become enthusiastic about Spagammi and future philanthropy events. Planning this event has made me proud to be apart of an organization that truly cares about the community and being sisters with girls who are willing to spend hours of their free time to help better the community.

But Greek life still needs your encouragement…now it’s your turn. By attending Gamma Phi Beta’s Spagammi, you are not only granting a special girl’s wish, but you are shedding a positive light on Greek life, as a whole. All it takes to improve the image and motivation of Greek life members is your participation and support. Your enthusiasm will only make members of Greek life thrive to do more community work. Philanthropy is an important element to not only Greek life, but also the DU community, in general. Your participation is crucial in keeping the presence the philanthropy alive at the University of Denver.

 

Changing the DU Community Through Greek Life, by Katherine Zimmer

A friend of mine named Kailee, described to me a weekend that she went up to the mountains with a group of girls. Most of the girls were in a sorority and only two of the girls, including Kailee, were non-Greek members. Kailee told me how she could draw the line of who was in a sorority and who was not, effortlessly. She and the other non-Greek member felt segregated the entire weekend. Kailee expressed her feelings that it was not fair for her to be excluded just because she was not a part of a sorority. This weekend caused Kailee to lose hope in having Greek-life members as friends because of the hurt that the sorority girls inflicted upon her. This is only one of many stories concerning the isolation between Greek and non-Greek members. It has been brought to my attention that there is an immense gap between Greek members and non-Greek members at the University of Denver. This is a social problem that needs to be mediated as soon as possible. 

As an active member in the community at the University of Denver, I fully support Greek Life. I believe that there are many advantages to being a part of such a strongly knit community. I was curious as to what non-Greek members think about Greek life. After interviewing many non-Greek students at DU, there were many negative perceptions. It is crucial for Greek members to fully comprehend all negative stereotypes. It is imperative for Greek members to be aware of these stereotypes in order to make a change for the better to unite the DU community. Greek members need to take action to make a change concerning these stereotypes in order for the gap between Greek members and non-Greek members at the university to be closed. The cessation of this type of segregation will lead to reconciliation, peace, and an ability for all DU students to be able to enrich and enjoy one another.

            Several non-Greek members expressed that they see Greek members as rich and materialistic. One DU student, Michael Hubbard, who is not affiliated with Greek life said, “Greek life is a bunch of wealthy people coming together.” Non-Greek members feel that the entire Greek system is completely money oriented and becomes exclusive to only those who can afford it. I feel that this is a crucial reason for segregation between the two groups. Greek members need to avoid flaunting their money and excluding less fortunate members of the DU community. They also need to make it known to non-Greek members that there are many opportunities to attain scholarships or employment options to cover Greek expenses. For example, through my sorority there are many academic scholarships that one can attain. There is also a large network of mothers through Gamma-Phi Beta that need nannies and babysitters. These scholarship and work opportunities would not only allow non-Greek members to join a sorority and fraternity if they wanted, but it would also build a sense of unity between the wealthier students at DU and the ones who are not as fortunate.

Non-Greek members also expressed how exclusive members of fraternities and sororities are. They said that Greek members are associated with exclusive cliques and are always together. I believe that it is imperative to reduce this exclusivity between the two groups at DU for a better sense of unity. One specific way to solve could be for students to join new campus organizations that are not Greek affiliated in order to meet new people. Both Greek and non-Greek members need to reach out and build bonds with other people than the groups that they are already associated with. After all, aren’t Greek members known for making life long bonds?

One last negative aspect expressed was that all of Greek life brags about being involved with philanthropy but never actually witness Greek members participating in service. This is a common misconception because many of the Greek philanthropy events do not involve non-Greek members. It would be beneficial if both Greek and non-Greek groups included each other in philanthropy events. For example, Gamma Phi Beta just recently held a spaghetti dinner for Make-A-Wish foundation. This philanthropy event was open to all of campus, and not just Greek members. More campus wide philanthropy events such as this would bring the groups together to unite for a common cause. Service is a priority for both groups of students and this commonality is an asset that that could join the groups. By working with each other, Greek and non-Greek members will be able to enrich one another.

                        In order for Greek life to improve, all Greek members must be aware of the stereotypes that non-Green members hold. Greek members must understand the negative aspects and take action to change them in order for there to be a unified campus. Additionally, Greek life can gain a better reputation by working to improve their weaknesses and image. Both groups have more commonalities than differences. We are all students looking for acceptance and there is no reason for the two groups to isolate themselves. 

Negative Stereotypes about Greek Life at DU, by Avery Denney

Have you ever seen the ABC Family show Greek? Well in case you haven’t, it’s a television show about students in college who are involved in Greek life who are rich and spoiled, and whose lives are filled with booze, sex and gossip. The plot lines have love triangles created because of vendettas and over-consumption of alcohol and kids decked out in name-brand clothing driving Mercedes and BMW’s. This portrayal of Greek life is just one example of the misconceptions of what being Greek is all about, and just one of thousands misconceptions portrayed by the media. Are the ideas portrayed through the Greek T.V. show what you think being Greek is all about? Do you believe that being in a sorority or fraternity is about getting laid, drunk and having money? Think to yourself where your ideas about Greek life came from, were they from the media, other people, or from your own experiences? If you believe the popular stereotypes against Greek life that Greeks only party and don’t do much else, or are exclusive to people who have a lot of money or are pretty, you might want to rethink your stance. I believe that Greek life is honorable, organized and well regulated and shouldn’t be looked upon as a negative organization on college campuses.

            You may believe that Greek life is all about the partying because of what you’ve seen in the media or heard from other individuals, but those reasons aren’t enough to justify those basic judgments. Because you do not have first hand experience about being involved in Greek life, you shouldn’t be able to make those judgments. You’re judging a book by its cover that has been created by other people rather than by it’s authors. You probably don’t know that fraternities and sororities all have an organization for which they raise funds for every year, one of several positive aspects of being involved in Greek life. For many fraternities and sororities, they pride themselves on their philanthropy work because they believe that it’s important to give back to the community. I know from my personal experience, our sorority highly emphasizes our involvement with Make-A-Wish Foundation. One of my sorority sisters, Jessica, said that she joined our sorority because we held our community service to such a high standard. Other sororities at the University of Denver raise money for the Anchor Center, a center for the blind, St. Jude’s hospital and Campfire U.S.A. Fraternities on campus raise money for the Miracle Children’s Network, and just last week, Lambda Chi Alpha raised over 22,000+ for their philanthropy. Giving back is just one important quality of fraternities and sororities, only one aspect of Greek life that makes it an honorable way of life to be apart of.

            Because there is so much focus on the negative things that have happened in Greek life, there are many rules and regulations about different situations that could happen in a fraternity or sorority. Alcohol consumption has always been the forefront problem seen in Greek life and because of events that have occurred in the past, every fraternity or sorority has set up certain procedures to monitor or handle whatever problem may arise. For example, to have alcohol at an event, many fraternities and sororities require papers to be filed and approved before the event. There are many exchanges or parties that are completely sober as well, roller-skating with the fraternity Zeta Beta Tao being one I attended only a week ago. Several girls in my sorority have also made the choices to stay completely sober while in college, telling me, “I know my sisters will still love me if I don’t drink. Drinking for me just doesn’t sound fun or like it will enhance my college experience, so, I’ve just stayed away from it”. Although drinking has always been seen as a problem in Greek life, it’s not something that everyone partakes in, and for those that do, rules have been implemented in order to keep negative things from happening.

            You may be reading this and still believe that being in a fraternity or sorority is just about getting drunk every night or getting laid by every girl possible.  Think about this however. Many people who join a sorority or fraternity are looking for a familial bond while in school and they find that within Greek life. Because one person has that bond with 90 other members of their said house who also know many other people, their fraternity or sorority then becomes a very prevalent organization on campus. If they’re so well known, and they make one mistake, isn’t it more likely that more people are going to know about that mistake than if they were to do something good?

Think about how many stories there are about someone in Greek life that has consumed too much alcohol and made a complete ass of themselves, I know I’ve done it. Now, think about how many dollars they’ve helped raise for their non-profit organization or the bonds that they’ve created with other people. Haven’t you ever consumed too much alcohol? Probably. But how much money have you raised for an organization or how many people do you have a strong family bond with while in school? I’m not saying that Greeks don’t party or that they’re better than anyone else, I’m saying that just because Greeks are involved in something you have preconceived notions about, doesn’t mean that they’re any worse or better than you are. It is important to address these stereotypes because they are big enough to separate a campus. If you think negatively about someone, aren’t you more likely to treat them differently? Well, if you don’t like Greek life, aren’t you more likely to treat someone who is in Greek life differently? Doesn’t that create some sort of rift within the DU community? It is time to put an end to the stereotypes and start looking at each other not as Greek life to non-Greek life, but student to student. By creating a stronger community, you may never know who you’ll become friends with. Think about it. Don’t judge Greek life by its cover, it may be a better book to read than you may have initially expected...