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.
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Reading this piece I really connected to it and thought it was great how positive you were on Greek life. I’m in a sorority so I can agree with everything said here. I really liked how you showed every aspect of Greek life, the philanthropies, the brotherhood and the academics. It helped that you were not naïve and that you did state that there will always be the people who drink too much or party too much and that you acknowledge that they are outside of Greek life as well. Another thing that made your piece stronger was how you included your own experience in it so that your readers can see that you have gone through this and that it is real.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everything the author says in the article, as well as Danimat in the comment. Having some experience on Greek Council, I can say with certainty that the social diversity in any (or all) fraternities is incredible. Of course there are people who join fraternities to drink- with such a rampant stereotype of 'frat parties', certain individuals will obviously be drawn some aspects of a fraternity but miss the entire experience. I cannot relate to the anecdotes of hanging out at the house, however; my fraternity does not have that luxury. Instead, you mentioned the exact things we do instead: go bowling, play video games in someone's room, etc. Anyway, I am glad that the author (along with others) are out to dispel the myth of fraternities being a place to party; the sense of brotherhood greatly enhances one's college experience, and connections can be made even after college through the Greek community.
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