This time last year, if you told me that I would end up rushing a fraternity, or fraternities, I would have said that you were crazy. If you told me that I would thoroughly enjoy myself during the rush process, I would laugh out loud and walk away. If you made the declaration that a fraternity is merely a way for people to “buy friends,” I would have agreed with you. If you were to also state that that men who join fraternities during their time in college are some of the most vial people whom you do not want to socialize with, I would not have challenged you. I no longer subscribe to those ideas.
Honestly during my freshman year of college at Florida Southern College, which technically was my sophomore and junior years, I was skeptical about all Greek Life related organizations on campus. At the time I was of the mindset that joining a fraternity was just another college cliché. A tradition, of sorts, validated only by a common affinity for Chubbies – a type of shorts – and sand volleyball among members. In those days if you asked me to visualize what it might be like to be in a fraternity, I would most likely envision one of the rowdiest of rowdy scenes in the movie Animal House. Namely because I saw no difference at the time. But, reflecting on my experiences during this past recruitment week for the Interfraternity Council here at Florida Southern, I can now see how so very wrong I was.
Before I go on any further, I would like to take a moment to address a concern that has kind of festered in my mind of the course of time it took me to write this article. The ideas that I conveyed in the earlier part of this piece, I now realize are general stereotypes. They are awful mischaracterizations that paint pale and opaque pictures of Greek Life. A picture that does not do justice to the many bothers, whom I have come to know and love, in these fraternities. My Orientation Leader, for example, during freshman year is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon; both of my Resident Advisor's are members of Theta Chi; I have best friend as members of Lambda Chi Alpha, Sigma Chi, Alpha Gamma Rho, and Pi Kappa Alpha. My original way of thinking was and is a gross misrepresentation of both their individual accomplishments and the values upon which their respective fraternal organizations were founded upon. Something I am very sorry for.
Furthermore, reflecting on my experiences during this past Rush Week, even though I did not receive a bid, and besides all of the exciting and fun new experiences I got to partake in – like the Sigma Chi Crawfish Boil – I learned a few valuable lessons about fraternities. Three in particular that stood out: networking, leadership, and philanthropy. Let us dive into the details.
First of all, just like any other social club or organization, fraternities present you with an incredible wealth of networking sources. An endless stream of alumni and community partners that want to help not only the success of the fraternity and the various chapters thereof, but also each individual member of the fraternity. These networking opportunities provide excellent tools to help progress your career and constantly meet new people in the process. Often times it takes a village, and by joining a fraternity you will have one of the biggest villages propping you up always.
Second, in addition to providing you with a plethora of resources to get your life started upon leaving college, while you are still in college, there are a ton of leadership opportunities presented to members. Depending on the organization, there are several leadership offices you can hold within the organization. For example, it is rather easy for a member of a pledge class to start out as the secretary in his fraternity and eventually become the president of the organization in a little more than two years. The possibilities to move up the proverbial ladder are endless. Also given that enforcement of what I like to call a “community of accountability,” each fraternity actively encourages its members to get involved on and off campus. Some noble venture that many brothers get involved with include: Student Government, the Association of Campus Entertainment, ENACTUS, Wesley Fellowship, and so much more. Along the way, you [the member] will be involved in a variety of ventures and attain several leadership related qualities from these experience you will be subject to. With that being said, this leads me to my final lesson I learned – philanthropy.
Third, probably the most attractive feature about fraternity recruitment that I learned about was their philanthropy organizations. All are noble ventures, and should, in my view, should be supported by the broader public. The one philanthropy organization that stood out to me was the United Service Organization (USO). This is the main organization supported by Theta Chi fraternity and they hold a variety of events to raise money to donate to the USO – a non-profit organization that provides programs, services, and live entertainment to United States service members and their families. In addition to that, other non-profits that are supported by Greek organizations include: The Ability Experience (Pi Kappa Phi), The Huntsman Institute (Sigma Chi), and Feeding America (Lambda Chi Alpha). Again, all noble ventures that help provide for the betterment of their niche communities and human kind as a whole.
The moral of the story is that I was too quick to judge. That I will say out loud right now. However, I do believe that, through my experiences during rush week, that I now see Greek life in a new light. It was through veil of ignorance that kept me from the truth for a long time. And I am thankful for the experience. Though I cannot officially rush again, I highly encourage those who are at least pondering about rushing a fraternity to do so. Ultimately it is not for everyone, but the only way to find that out is to get your feet wet, and take the plunge into rush week. I found that out, and I am glad I did. So this time next year, I cannot wait to hear similar stories from GDI’s going through rush, or at least witnessing your friends go through it. It is not as bad as we, the “silent majority”, once thought.
