Before I begin, I'd like to address that yes, there is bias in this article, being that I am indeed in greek life. Yet, statistics don't lie, and neither do foundations of organizations. I recently went to a discussion, trying to address the purpose of greek life. Yet, we never really answered the question: "What is greek life for?" This is my personal account and in no way represents the opinion of all members of greek life nor of the organization I am affiliated in. Now that all the disclaimers are made, some people will still be offended. Awesome.
Greek life at a liberal arts university is different, yet the same in some aspects, as the average State Schools. At Southwestern University, we have four Panhellenic Fraternities, four Panhellenic Sororities, Kappa Delta Chi, a Hispanic based sorority, Sigma Phi Lambda, a Christian sorority, and Kappa Upsilon Chi, a Christian fraternity.
Now, everyone joins greek life for a different reason, and not everyone has the initial incentive to go through recruitment. Personally, when I came to Southwestern University, I never thought I would join greek life. I wasn't sure of the benefits of being a member, but I was open to the idea of meeting new people.
When I met the ladies of Delta Delta Delta my freshman year, I was inspired by their ambition, their integrity, and their kindness. When I was given a bid, I was excited and nervous about what being in a sorority meant. We all see the negative stereotypes portrayed in the media, thus it can be easy to judge and assume that this wasn't a good decision.
But the truth is, my sorority has helped me shape the skills I need to be successful in the future. Having the opportunity to plan philanthropy events, lead an organization and help support my sisters has given me invaluable experience in how people behave, act, and progress during young adulthood.
The first greek organization was said to be founded by the Kappa Alpha Society in 1825 at Union College. The society formed in order to express ideas of literature and philosophy that were not discussed in the college curriculum.
As more secret organizations began to flourish, women were beginning to form secret societies as well. In 1851, Alpha Delta Pi was founded at Wesleyan college. These institutions were founded based on fellowship, leadership, and development. Thus, it is important to acknowledge the influence that these organizations attracted given historical context.
According to U.S World Reports, 85 percent of the Fortune 500 executives are Greek affiliated, 40 of 47 U.S Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were Fraternity men, and 850,000 hours of community service are volunteered by greeks annually. There are many more statistics than this, yet they are all unnecessarily to prove my point.
Greek life promotes collaboration, loyalty, and friendship. So for every Greek organization that is in the media for hazing, inappropriate party themes, there are 9 million more, encouraging members to use the knowledge they have...to make this world better.
