I respect your decision for not going Greek; it’s not for some people. Just like I respect your decision, I expect you to respect mine. You don’t need to understand it, just like I don’t need to understand you. If the world were full of people who understood one another, there would be no racism or homophobia. Sadly, we can only agree to tolerate and accept one another. It’s the same for Greeks and non-Greeks, but maybe I can help bridge the gap a little.

1. We wear our letters because we are proud.

We all have a long and rich history behind us. Those letters mean something, and they have meant something for many years. Just like you wear your Bearcat sweatshirt and other organization T-shirts, we wear all that and our letters. We want to identify with something, and our organization involves Greek letters.

2. Philanthropy because we like to give back to the community.

We obnoxiously promote our philanthropy events with Facebook events, posters, flyers, profile pictures, tables on campus and tweets because we want to get as much money as we can. The money is going to a good cause, whether that is Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Girls on the Run or Make a Wish Foundation. We are non-profits just like your local church, except we like to have fun. Therefore, every time someone says, “Oh, I won’t go to that grilled cheese sale because Theta girls are obnoxious,” they are saying, “I’m going to deprive the foster kids of CASA because I don’t like the girls in Theta.”

3. We are loud and obnoxious because we are all friends.

The only reason you don’t see you and your friends as loud and obnoxious is because you are a part of it. We get along, we have inside jokes, we have a common bond, we have a common goal and we show that in public.

4. We have a competitive nature with other Greeks.

When it comes to recruiting we all want one thing: the best new member class. So yes, we will get a little competitive when it’s rush week. We will wear our rush pins, invite random people over to our house, pass out flyers, change our Facebook pictures and probably say rude things about other Greek organizations. But no, we do not hate other fraternities or sororities nor are we required to. We just want other people to know our organization is the best, whether that’s true or not is a completely different topic.

5. We like to have fun because it’s not fun to not have fun.

Logic.

6. We stand up for one another just like you do for your friends.

We aren’t a band of loyal brainless douchebags. We are a group of friends who would start World War III over a brother or sister being mistreated.

7. We like all types of people, Greek and non-Greek, but since most non-Greeks don’t like us, we don’t really mess with them.

Would you hang out with or reach out to people who don’t like you? Probably not. For the sake of our philanthropy events and aversion to campus seclusion, we still reach out to the community of non-Greeks. We have friends who are non-Greeks, we shake hands with non-Greeks, we go to events hosted by non-Greeks…you get the idea.

8. We keep one another accountable academically, socially and morally.

We are a support system. Keeping someone accountable is a key to success, and Greek organizations strive to hold someone to standards. Get good grades, be social, donate your time, money and talents and be loyal. Balancing yourself as a person can be difficult, but with a large group of people keeping you accountable, it becomes less difficult. But, as I’ve made it clear above, we also like to have fun because we are still young.

9. We are an entity, but we are also individuals just like members of any other organization.

If one of us does something stupid, ignorant or illegal that does not mean we all are like that. Are we lumped with them? Yes. Just like other social issues going on such as racist cops, are all cops racist? No. Are all fraternity men reckless womanizers? No. Are all student government members stuck up snobs? No. The actions of one do not reflect the whole group. Unfortunately, the headlines in the news lump everyone together.

10. There is not a dress code, but a lot of Americans like wearing Sperry’s, hats, colored shorts, button ups and suit jackets.

There is no required clothing to join a Greek organization, but there are events that require nicer attire. There are also events that require lettered shirts, and there are also events that require casual summer clothes. Don’t you hang out with people who wear similar clothes to you? If you dress like a “hipster,” don’t your friends wear similar things? That’s what I thought.

11. We have “Bigs” and “Littles” to create a smaller sense of family within the fraternity or sorority.

A Big is a mentor, a guide, some to confide in. It’s not easy confiding in 90-170 people, so it’s nice to have one designated person you can go beyond the surface with.