It is extremely disheartening to see the way Greek life is portrayed in the media; to have people be both afraid and intrigued by the communities we create amongst ourselves. As a member of a Greek organization, I along with many others are extremely uncomfortable being thrown into a category with people who have no concern for others or their organization's name. Many people join a sorority or a fraternity to find a sense of community and to enhance their college experience. There are many upsides in being a part of Greek life, and the parties or fun events are just small parts that make the entire experience so amazing.

Much of Greek life, while social, is also philanthropic and is an opportunity for many to give back to the community while spending time with some of their closest peers. In some cases, there is a process for joining these Greek organizations and this is what Greek life is known for in the media. It is the harsh intake process, where people get hit, get yelled at and are all around tortured for a few weeks until they are deemed fit to join the said organization. While this is the case for some, it is not the same for all, which throws many of us under a bad name.

What makes it worse is when Greek life ends up on the news for injuring or potentially killing one of their potential members. Not only does this cause college students to fear all Greek organizations but it causes a lot of grief from school administrations. People take one isolated event and blanket it over everyone that this could possibly happen to or all who they believe have the potential to do someone like this. The most recent incident involves Pi Kappa Phi and Phi Delta Theta, both Fraternities located at Florida State University. Andrew Coffey, who was a pledge of Pi Kappa Phi, was found unresponsive after a party. Garrett John Marcy, a member of Phi Delta Theta, was arrested in the sale of cocaine, which while unrelated to Coffey’s death also led to FSU’s ultimate decision in the matter.

Coffey was trying to become a member of Pi Kappa Phi, an organization that has been in trouble at the college in the past, as they have faced disciplinary action for hazing and alcohol violations. While no one is completely positive what led to Coffey’s death, many feel that it had something to do with alcohol. This was the final tipping point for FSU president John Thrasher, as on Monday, he banned all 54 fraternities and sororities from campus indefinitely, while also banning any alcohol at student events.

My deepest condolences to Andrew Coffey’s family and friends. It is extremely sad and strange to think that we have no idea what actually happened on the night of his death and that no one is sure exactly why he died. From all of this, we realize that people need to be more careful and that this punishment is FSU’s way of preventing something like this from happening again. But we also cannot punish or look down upon every organization as this is not the case for all.