I never expected my college career to be so heavily influenced by greek life. I had never wanted to be in a sorority, but that was because I had no idea of what greek life on my campus was like – all those stereotypes and clichés bouncing around my head. Honestly, greek life scared me. I mean, everyone's seen the movies – Animal House, The House Bunny, Neighbors, even Legally Blonde. But I took a chance and discovered that (as it is with most stereotypes) the stereotypes centered around greek life are exaggerations, fabrications, and falsities.
1. Hazing is an integral part of joining a fraternity or sorority.
We've seen the movies. We've read the news articles. We know all about hazing horrors. But hazing is an antiquated stereotype. Forty-four states have anti-hazing laws, and every school that has greek life is on high alert for any signs of hazing.
2. We're all about the party.
Your health always comes first. If you aren't healthy, mentally or physically, you can't be a strong, dedicated member of your college community. Education is the second highest priority. That's what the point of being at college is – to get an education. A lot of colleges require stricter GPAs for members of greek life, and you need to maintain your grades to remain an active member of the organization. Sisterhood (or brotherhood in a fraternity) comes next. The relationships and the commitment that you make to other members of your sorority is the most important this to your organization. The party comes last.
3. Joining a greek organization is buying your friends.
Most organizations require money to exist, and most organizations collect dues. Dues are an important part in keeping a fraternity or sorority running – the money goes towards recruitment events, fundraisers, t-shirts, or other campus activities. Some fraternities and sororities require more money than others but it isn't exclusionary. Most organizations have scholarship options, payment plans, and other ways to make paying dues a bit easier if you are financially struggling.
4. Fraternity Brothers are trouble.
You really only hear about fraternities when they're getting in trouble. Hollywood portrays frats as chaotic, rude, and even malicious. From my experience, this is so far from the truth. Never at a fraternity have I felt unwelcome, unsafe, or objectified. The members of fraternities that I know are some of the kindest, genuine people I know and are great friends. I won't deny that there are some bad seeds out there, giving fraternities a bad name, but it's not the truth.
5. You need to look, act, or be a certain way to get a bid.
Fraternities and sororities just want you to be yourself. The point of joining a greek organization is to find a home and a family. They want you to be comfortable with the organization that you join and if you are putting up a façade, then you won't find your home.
