Life > January 24, 2008

By CeCe Brooks | Life editor

Although many people, especially from southern states, could claim that at state universities such as University of Georgia and Chapel Hill, Greek life is much bigger, the proportion of students involved in Greek life at our university is higher than at many schools.

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Roughly 50 percent of females and 30 percent of males are involved in Greek life here; about 40 percent of the total campus population.

Sometimes this confuses me as many times sororities and fraternities are outlets to get to know people in a really large campus. However I think this shows how Greek life is a little different here. Greek life, here, is about having an additional outlet to make friends, not the only outlet.

Pros

Greek organizations are some of the most prominent on campus, so getting involved with them means getting extremely involved in campus activity.

“Many social and philanthropic events that take place at Wake involve Greek organizations one way or another,” Senior Kappa Delta Mary Beth Ballard said. “By joining the Greek system you open yourself up to a new window of opportunity for getting involved on campus and within the Winston-Salem community. Greek organizations facilitate involvement in a number of areas of student life.”

Rush alone is a good learning experience because you meet so many people and learn a lot about yourself.

Social Networking

Many other student organizations are represented in sororities and fraternities, so you can get a good idea of what other organizations you might want to be involved in.

“Sorority members are generally involved in many other campus activities, so new members can reach out to those individuals if they also want to be a part of a new club, organization, or team,” Ballard said. “There is always someone you can talk to about how to get more involved in something you’re interested in but maybe don’t know much about. Senior sorority members are a great help to younger members who have questions about classes, clubs and campus life.”

Career advantages

There are so many different majors and career aspirations within each sorority and fraternity that you can not only learn from each other, but possibly help you find a job. “I have already seen girls land jobs and internships through networking in Greek life,” said Senior Chi Omega Molly Nevola.

Meeting interesting people

“(People) meet so many other students across campus that he/she may never meet otherwise,” Nevola said.

Whatever your interests, there is likely to be someone in the organization to do it with, whether it is going out or playing an intramural sport.

Greek affiliation means having group of friends you can go to.

With many philanthropic interests represented by Greek organizations, you can serve in a variety of outlets.

Since Winston-Salem is so small and there is not much of a 21 and under scene, Greek life is a good outlet for the majority of college students who are in this age bracket.

“If Wake was located in a large city, then there would be a greater number of social and cultural distractions, and the Greek system wouldn’t serve the necessary social purpose that it currently does,” Ballard said. “And thus, since the few bars that the Dash does contain don’t let in underage students (usually), it makes the proverbial frat party or sorority theme party absolutely crucial.”

Spring semester Rush

It allows people to develop relationships outside of their Greek organizations, which contributes to a more heterogeneous campus than schools with fall rush.

Cons

The Rush process is a necessary evil. It is hard on both hopeful pledges and sorority and fraternity members. Sometimes there is a gap between Greeks and Independents.

“There is less unity between Greeks and non-Greeks on this campus than desired,” Nevola said.

There aren’t enough Greek organizations to accommodate the number of students that want to pledges. “Without a doubt, Wake needs more sororities on campus. There are tons of girls rushing each year and only a small number of spots available in each pledge class,” Ballard said.

“We need at least one or two more sororities to help make the entire rush process fairer and less stressful. This is also very important if the university administration intends to bump up the enrollment over the next few years. New sororities should have a chance to establish themselves before a student body increase becomes an issue.”

Spring semester Rush

Friends who join different sororities or fraternities or decide not to go Greek can lose touch.

There are some non-glamorous aspects of being in a Greek organization that aren’t always remembered.

“It’s not always just about parties, philanthropy, and intramurals,” Ballard said. “There are always meetings to attend, dues to pay, and both national and chapter rules that must be followed.”

Stereotyping seems to be inevitable with human nature. I do not know exactly why, but it always seems that if there is a group of people, someone is going to give them a unified identity, whether true or not.

If you have ever watched Old School, read Pledged or simply paid attention to college life – you have no doubt heard various stereotypes regarding Greek life. General stereotypes of Greek life: fraternities just party, sororities are full of bratty girls, all members of a sorority/fraternity have the same personality traits, sororities and fraternities are made up of a bunch of rich kids, to join a Greek organization you have to have a large family history of being Greek.

There are also stereotypes attributed to specific sororities and fraternities both nationally and on this campus. The obvious problem with any stereotype is that it assigns a very singular identity to often a huge group of people.

The thing to remember when looking at our Greek organizations is that even if there are a few people that exemplify the stereotype that does not represent the entire group.

So the next time you go to a Lilting Banshees show, remember not to take the jokes too seriously.