Greek Life. I’m sure that just by beginning this article with those two words I’ve already lost some readers … but then again, that’s exactly why I’m writing this column. Many of you have no clue about what’s going on or has gone on in Greek Life, and I believe that it is time for a change.
In my three years as a brother of my fraternity, I’ve seen Greek Life progressively turn from a conglomeration of helpful organizations to a targeted group of alleged “hoodlums.” A number of things are to blame, but what I’m here to initially address is the publicity and the “bad rap” that Greek Life is getting, because it is getting worse and worse as the semesters go by.
Going by the numbers, the large majority of students are not Greek at the University. Accordingly, it makes sense that most would have absolutely no clue as to what goes on the Greek community. Recently the Student Health Center published an ad regarding alcohol use in the Technician — only, the ad featured a gentlemen drinking from a “plastic cup” wearing a white shirt and striped tie, ridiculously similar to the description given by our anonymous writer. I mean, one student’s opinion is fine … but when a somewhat discreet message is sent via a student service, I draw the line and something has to give.
My message here today isn’t to bore you to death with my complaints but rather to steer your attention toward something that has been unnoticed for the past few years. How many actually know how our organizations work or what they do? My guess is a limited few, so let me highlight some of the great things that have been happening on your campus because of our Greek system.
Over the last two years, the Sigma Chi Fraternity has raised more than $30,000 to give to the Frankie Lemon School. Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority annually raises thousands of dollars for the Susan G. Komen Foundation by holding a golf tournament. And the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity brought Ying Yang Twins to play a concert in downtown Raleigh in support of the Livestrong Foundation, again raising thousands of dollars for charity.
Yet, very few know anything about this because (and I know this first hand) it’s nearly impossible to get Greek publicity in the Technician other than the generally misinterpreted daily police blotter. Even this past weekend we had our annual Greek Week and all that was printed in the Technician was a tiny picture, merely stating Greek Week happened but giving no further details about its tradition or meaning.
It is high time this University begin to notice all of the great things that our Greeks are doing for the community. Each and every year our organizations are winning national awards and receiving recognition from their national organizations because of their outstanding commitment to achieving excellence. So take some time to find out more about Greek Life here at the University, and I guarantee that we’re not nearly as bad as people think. In fact, we’ve got a whole lot to offer.
