We have all walked around Library West and judged people based on their looks, what they are wearing, or what organization they are a part of. Perhaps the most commonly judged organization out there is fraternities. "I swear, all they do is party, hit on women, and depend on mommy and daddy to get them through college." That is a typical examples of what I hear almost every day walking through campus. If you have said this when you see a fraternity man walking by, I am sorry to say that you are terribly misinformed.

Here are four of the most common stereotypes and why they are all completely fictitious.

1. We are all rich. Just because we pay more dues than the college student who is not involved in Greek life does not mean we wash ourselves late at night with $100 bills. A majority of college students are paying huge sums of money every semester just to attend this lovely institution, so should we say that they are rolling in money, as well? Whether it is a scholarship, Florida Prepaid, or Bright Futures, every single student here has a way of getting money. I doubt that all students attending the University of Florida have parents that make tons of money.

2. We are prejudiced against non-Greeks. If you are not involved with Greek life, we do not automatically think you are a loser who is doing college completely wrong. While we might try to convince you to join Greek life because we are convinced it was the best decision of our lives, we will never think of you as any less. Greek life is not for everyone.

3. We don't study. For someone to say fraternity men do not study is like someone saying Blue Mountain State is an accurate representation of college. Everyone wishes Blue Mountain State is what college is actually like, just like everyone wishes they were right about fraternity men being dumb and incompetent. The key word there is, "wishes." It is just not true. It has been proven that Greeks have a higher GPA than non-Greeks. So, next time you want to say that we are all as dumb as a door knob, think again. Also, what is this talk about us not knowing where the library is? Obviously you have never been to the library because whenever I am there, all I see are students wearing Greek-affiliated shirts. In fact, I am in the library right now typing this article. 

4. We pay for our friends. I saved this one for last for a reason. It takes a special kind of ignorance to say this to someone. You pay for your mailman, right? Are you friends with him? No. You pay tuition to the school, right? Are you friends with everyone in Criser Hall? I didn't think so, either. If we were paying for our friends, we would have to literally go around every day and hand each brother a $20 bill and say, "Hey, thanks for being my friend." We don't give our money to one another. The money goes towards our house and making it better for the future. Our dues go towards the events we host, our food, and renovations to our house. The only people who say this are the people who believe that we can't be friends with anyone outside our fraternity. I was friends with many non-Greeks before I rushed a fraternity, and still am. I did not need to rush a fraternity for a social life. I rushed a fraternity so I could wake up every morning knowing I have hundreds of people that have my back, no matter what the circumstance.

I could list many more stereotypes, but I have learned that everyone is going to have their opinions about fraternities. I respect that. I just want people to realize that most of them are not true.