Last week was Homecoming at my alma mater high school, and every day of the week leading up to the football game and homecoming dance had a theme. Wednesday’s theme was "Frat Attack," and the idea was that the students would dress "fratty." I was somewhat amused to see photos on Facebook and Twitter of boys wearing exactly what is to be expected--Polos or button downs, Chubbies, Cole Haans and the like. I'm pretty far removed from my high school (the kids who were freshmen when I was a senior are now seniors), but I can imagine that the boys went around playacting, calling other students pledges and engaging in "hazing" activities and joking about their alcohol consumptive abilities, because that's the general idea that those on the outside have about Greek life, and it's disappointing because the Greek community is so much more than that.
The real way to be frat is this:
1. Hold yourself to a higher standard.
Every fraternity and sorority that has a large national or international network has specific requirements for grade point average and membership depends on the maintenance of that average, and many chapters have a higher requirement than the national governing body provides.
2. Be a leader.
In addition to excelling in the classroom, Greeks are at the forefront of powerful campus organizations and honor societies and upon graduation work themselves into executive positions.
3. Maintain a large network of useful human connections.
Being a part of a fraternity or sorority opens the door to incredible opportunities, because with initiation comes hundreds of thousands of active and alumni brothers and sisters who may hold positions of power anywhere from small businesses to the federal government. As a Greek you’re joining the ranks of all but a handful of United States Presidents and the vast majority of Wall Street executives.
4. Engage in philanthropic giving.
Incredible improvement efforts are made among the communities surrounding universities from which fraternities and sororities are based because of the work performed by Greek organizations. Greeks clean up trash, provide food for the homeless and disadvantage, help clean and care for homeless pets and animal shelters and much more.
Being frat is not about how you act or what you wear. Being frat isn't about treating the new members as less-than. There are men in fraternities and women in sororities who do choose to dress a certain way, and that's fine, but there are also people who have no qualms about the excessive number of pockets in cargo pants or think it's uncomfortable to wear leather shoes without socks.
I believe that the people who subscribe to the belief that the main concern of brotherhood in a fraternal organization is to be the best-dressed are often the people who sully Greek life by focusing on the physical standards, and these are often the same people who spearhead hazing activities and who damage the experience for others by turning their noses up at non-Greeks as well as members of different organizations.
Being frat is about holding yourself and your fellow Greeks to a higher standard. It's about being a leader in the classroom and in the community, and about giving back to that community. Being frat is about upholding the highest ideas of your respective Greek organization--love, honor, truth, temperance, courage, selflessness, brotherhood, sisterhood, scholarship, leadership...the list goes on.
By encouraging a "Frat Attack" comprised of overpriced apparel, Creekview High School missed out on a wonderful opportunity to show high school kids early on what it is to be a part of an exclusive Greek letter organization.
Creekview could have taken this time to engage students in philanthropic giving and volunteerism. Teachers who are alumni of Greek organizations could have taken the time to tell students about the incredible networking opportunities provided by fraternity and sorority membership and how holding yourself accountable to not only your personal standards, but to the standards of your brothers and sisters and your organization as a whole makes for a richer and more fulfilling student experience.
Instead, the stereotypes surrounding what it means to be "frat" were perpetuated, and students who may have found the notion of wearing Polo and talking about keg stands troubling were discouraged early on from taking part in Greek life. While this is not an attack on the school as a whole as there are much more pressing issues than how the theme of a day of Homecoming week is executed, it is important to recognize that there is much more to being Greek than visual appearance.
