Parties, drinking, paying for your friends, stuck up, spoiled, these are terms that are often used to describe Greek life. These terms were given to Greeks by Hollywood. This is something that has followed all college Greeks around, something that they have been trying to get rid of for many years. Hollywood is wrong about this. Greek life is not some movie stereotype.

Being Greek means being a part of something bigger. It means making a difference in the community. It means finding life long friends, finding a home away from home, and finding who you are.

There is one thing that most people believe about Greek life, no matter what kind of experience they have had with people involved in Greek life. Greeks are basically just paying to have friends. This is one thing that is untrue in every situation. When dues are paid, they are put towards keeping a house up and running and paying Nationals, much like someone would pay to join a sports team. It is like buying a house or going on vacation. It is the event that is being paid for, the memories are free.

Greeks are not living lives that revolve around parties and alcohol. Greeks have strong community involvement and philanthropies. It is not about what they find fun, it is about a difference they want to make. A difference that will leave an imprint on the world, something that will inspire others to do better.

Those involved with Greek life are not in college for parties and for the college experience, they are there for an education. Being a part of Greek life means being a good role model. There are GPA requirements to be in a fraternity or sorority. It is something that all Greeks strive for. It is what their house strives for. It is almost a competition to have the highest GPA on campus.

Hazing has become a hot topic over the past few years, but something most people do not realize is that most campuses have banned hazing. Many fraternities and sororities have completely banned hazing on a national level. Often times, chapters will be shut down for hazing someone. Greek life has started to rebuild the respect they deserve. They respect the older members and the brand new members equally.

Respect, community service, family, good grades, these are the things Hollywood neglected to share about Greek life. They neglected to share the bonds and memories that are created. They refused to share the life long friendships that are built because of Greek life. Not all Greeks are drunks. Not all Greeks are stupid. Not all Greeks haze, but all Greeks are breaking the Hollywood stereotype. All Greeks are building a stronger community. All Greeks are making a difference.