Fraternities and sororities nowadays seem to constantly be in the news for one scandal or another. Some girl had too much to drink at a party and was sent to the hospital, or a pledge was forced to do some unspeakable thing. These isolated events are portrayed as daily happenings, that occur at every single college, but that is simply not the truth. I am not trying to justify any of the tragedies that have occurred. I know that some really messed up things have happened because of greek life. I know this.

Just because there are assholes out there ruining it for everyone else does not mean that it should completely be done away with. Greek life is about so much more than wild parties. The greek life I have experienced is something that betters the people in it and the world around it.

Greek life has been an extremely positive experience for me and so many of my friends, both in sororities and fraternities. My sorority has made me a better person in the last year and a half that I have been a part of it. The girls I am surrounded by on a daily basis lift me up and make me so confident in who I am. They don’t tear me down the way that sororities are usually portrayed. Even on my worst days, they are there for me and still care. They make me laugh harder and love deeper. They encourage me to put my studies first and never judge me when I choose to spend the night at home. They surround me with endless love and support.

I am so insanely proud to call myself a Delta Gamma. I know it is easy to look at sororities from the outside and judge them for being superficial, fake, or dumb. The truth is, you know nothing about the girls that make up each house. You have no idea how strong some of these girls are and the things they struggle with on a daily basis. You really know nothing about their lives, so please do not assess their value or worth by the few superficial things you know about them.

A misconception about greek life is that we all hate each other. Sure, there’s some competition. We aren’t all going to be best friends, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t support each other at the end of the day. I have close friends in every single house, and would never think less of them because of the house they live in. I have no doubt in my mind that the love and support I feel in my house is just as present in the other houses around campus.

Greek life creates a community of people dedicated to bettering the world. We all come together to support one another’s philanthropy and events. Just a few weeks ago over $40,000 was raised during Sigma Chi’s philanthropy week. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a pretty positive impact that greek life is making on the world. Each sorority and fraternity on campus regularly raises large amounts of money for incredible causes all with the help of the rest of the campus.

It is easy to focus on the negative, especially when it has become so prevalent today. That is not a reason to completely get rid of greek life the way so many people want to do. These people are completely missing how great greek life can be. It creates a community of people who are bettering themselves and others. Without greek life I would not have met some of my best friends and role models. It has made such a monumental impact on so many lives, don’t let that be ruined.

I’m not denying that certain parts of greek life have been severely tainted. Does it need to be revamped? Sure. That doesn’t mean that it should just go away. However it is going to be completely gone if some people do not start shaping up. Stop exemplifying what everyone hates about greek life. Give people the respect they deserve, don’t haze your pledges, and don’t treat women like meat or your property. Don’t shit on other houses or judge girls during recruitment on their appearance. Stop ruining greek life for everyone else. If you are someone giving greek life a bad name, reevaluate yourself. Please, don’t let such a good thing be ruined for such a dumb reason.

For those of you trying to shut down greek life completely, please stop being so narrow minded. Do not look at a single sorority or fraternity at a specific university and decide they are equivalent to every other house in the nation. It is not fair to those of us who are actually doing it the right way. Some people suck, but we don’t all deserve to be punished for how sucky they are.

I want my kids to have the opportunity to experience greek life one day. I just hope it is still around by then. Help me make that happen.