Greek life gets a bad reputation in a lot of places. I’m not going to write this article and pretend like there aren’t a few bad apples. They exist. Even the best chapters have moments they aren’t proud of. A lot of y’all have probably seen the video of bid day festivities of Alpha Phi at the University of Iowa. I think everyone should see this video, because as much as we preach about the positive side of Greek life, videos like this exist, and hiding it just isn't an option—so let's be up front about it. People make mistakes, and when your chapter of one hundred women is representing thousands of women who have worn those same letters, you should be held responsible for your mistakes. Just like every other organization, there’s a good side and a not-so-good side, and (as is normal) the negative sides get more press. It’s easier for us a society to stomp each other into the ground and watch from above than to lift each other up, out of a fear that we won’t be the best anymore. I am a member of Greek life and I know first hand how competitive we can be, and I know you’re going to roll your eyes, but at the end of the day, we’re all Greek. We’ve all experienced the eye roll from the girl in our freshman English class who decided she hated you from the second the read the letters on your shirt. Greek men and women are faced with a choice. We can all just stop caring, and that would be easy. We could all get absolutely trashed on the weekends and roll in half an hour late to our 50-minute class, just because we can. Or we can choose to do better. We can be the girls at the library and be the guy making sure people get home safe on Saturday night. Those are the two types of Greek members, and sadly, there’s no way to umbrella-label each sorority or fraternity or even each chapter. Every member makes an individual choice about what kind of Greek he or she wants to be.
It’s hard to want to be a positive and productive member of your Greek community when the majority of your student body has a poor perception of you. I’ve had my fair share of these instances, including one very public incident. One of the fraternities on my campus asked my sorority to pair with them for a philanthropy event, which, for one day, involved collecting spare change from students as they walked to class. One of those “Hey, I can talk louder than your headphones, give me your money, it’s for a good cause” kind of things. So anyway, I’m a very outgoing person and loved telling people that the money they donated went to organizations that worked to prevent domestic violence and child abuse. We were having a great day and were feeling really good about the amount of money we had collected, and then this guy walks past. Before I even opened my mouth, this guy said “Wow, so this is how you guys always have money for parties,” referring to the money in my bucket. I was furious. The money we raise doesn’t go to us. At all. Ever. We are proud to donate that money to a cause that our national organization holds close to our founding ideals. The point of sharing that story was to show that no matter how hands-on we are, no matter how much genuine good we do, people will always hate. Just like the Delta Epsilon chapter of Alpha Phi at the University of Iowa. According to their chapter website, they raised "almost $11,000 for the Alpha Phi Foundation" at their Red Dress Gala in 2015. The Alpha Phi foundation was founded on the premise of "advancing women's lives through the power of philanthropy," and this chapter is obviously dedicated to that mission. Did they make a really trashy video on bid day? Yes. Was it in good fun for their new members? Yes. Does it show a negative side of Greek Life? Yes. But are these women slutty or fundamentally bad people? No.
The thing to remember is that you've made mistakes, too. Whether it was cheating on a chemistry test or taking one too many shots, you've messed up. While you're reading this and cringing at your mistakes, imagine if there was a YouTube video that everyone could share around. Imagine how enormous your craving for grace would be. Like I said at the beginning of this whole story, I'm not going to lie. I'm not trying to pretend to be an outstanding member of Greek life. I have my mistakes, but at the end of the day I would stand up for any of my Panhellenic sisters before I let anyone else tear them down. Because for a lot of people, they'll never know the difference between Kappa Delta and Alpha Phi. Sororities were founded for the perpetuation of friendship and the advancement of women, and if we can't do at least that much for each other, then we prove everyone right. Being a member of a Greek organization is fun for a lot of reasons, but being proud of the rest of the Greek community, nationwide, is what ties us all together.
