This week I picked up a copy of the Daily Nebraskan, and I was excited to see that it was composed of articles about Greek life. I was less excited about the varying negative opinions regarding Greek organizations.

There were, of course, included articles about the positive aspects of Greek involvement, but some of the negative comments stood out to me. As a member of a sorority at UNL, I would like to take this opportunity to address some of the new accusations against Greek life that I believe were false or exaggerated.

One strong claim against Greek life in this issue of the DN was that fraternities and sororities are expensive and therefore promote elitist values. It is true being in a sorority or fraternity does cost money, but not because they want to create a level of exclusivity. Living anywhere costs money. You have to pay for rent, utilities, groceries, and many other expenses for almost anywhere you live.

The monthly fees that I pay to my sorority cover all of the previous expenses that I would have to pay even if I wasn’t a Greek member. There are additional dues that go to nationals and to the sorority’s budget, but most organizations need funding to exist.

Some of this money is also used for the sorority’s budget so that we can afford to host events such as our philanthropies. For every organization I have ever been a part of, including attending school here, I have had to pay fees. Never have these fees been added solely to prove status.

Also, many girls actually pay for their sorority dues themselves. It isn’t fair to create a stereotype when everyone’s financial situation is different. And for the girls whose parents pay for their sorority, it does not automatically make them spoiled. Their parents just want to contribute to something that their child is a part of.

Sorority recruitment is not based on elitist ideals, it’s based on shared core values. When I went through recruitment I was never asked a single question about my or my parent’s financial situation.

For the first two days, potential new members all wear the same the T-shirt with the same drawstring bag which further eliminates judgments based on social class. Recruitment is designed to get to know you as a person, it has nothing to do with how much money you have.

At the end of the day, most organizations exhibit some level of exclusiveness in the broadest sense of the word. For example, not everyone who tries out to be a Scarlet becomes a Scarlet. Not every job you apply for is going to hire you. Sometimes it isn’t the right fit. You can’t blame exclusiveness for not being able to be included in everything.

Greek members also do not base who they want to give a bid to based on race. I found it interesting that diversity was an issue that some had with the Greek system. Race has nothing to do with recruitment, plain and simple. I am biracial and going through recruitment I never felt like me being a different race mattered at all. That fact that people even feel the need to even go there says more about them and less about the Greek system.

If we want to look at some numbers according to the UNL fact book in the fall of 2017 only 14.3% of UNL undergraduate students were minorities. Should we go ahead and blame UNL for this too? It is unsettling to me that I even have to make a case about this because it isn’t what Greek life is about at all.

I could note the different races of the girls who have held office in my house, but it feels wrong because they aren’t here to prove anything. When you start recruiting girls of different races solely to increase a diversity quota, it’s still seeing them for the color of their skin and that is not how I wanted to be viewed during recruitment. Girls are invited to join sororities based off of who they are as people. Race has nothing to do with it.

As I mentioned previously values are a huge factor in Greek organizations. We promote scholarship, leadership, sisterhood, and service. These are things that matter to me personally and I am happy to share these ideals with others.

I’m aware that people can meet like-minded people on their own, but Greek life provides a great platform to get involved in the community based on shared ideas. The group of my sorority sisters that brought I’ve Got A Name, an organization promoting human trafficking awareness, to campus is a prime example of creating something powerful based off of these shared values.

You can argue that anyone could do this, but the fact of the matter is that this is a direct correlation of a values-based system. We are also looking forward to lighting the campus up blue this April for Autism Awareness Month, a cause we are all passionate about. It’s disappointing that people try so hard to put a negative spin on a community that strives to benefit so many other organizations. While you don’t have to be Greek to make a difference, we are still making a huge impact and that should not be ridiculed.

Realistically, I know that some people will always have negative opinions about Greek life, and they are entitled to those opinions. However, I was disappointed with some of the hurtful stereotypes that were being shared with so many people via the Daily Nebraskan.

At the end of the day, if you want to view Greek members as country club attending demons embossed in seersucker and Greek letters driven by the desire to be exclusive then that’s on you. My view of the Greek system is vastly different than that and I felt it was important to share yet another side of the story.