I recently read an article written by a girl who I don’t know. I don’t know her background, what she is like, or anything about her. But I do know that an article she wrote has upset me and here is why… Recently an article was published titled “8 Reasons Why I'll Never Date A Frat Boy” and it upset me greatly as well as other people. This article highlighted negative stereotypes that are spread and shared throughout society about the Greek Life culture. Don’t get me wrong, sadly some of the points she brought up are true but I believe a large amount of them are not true and are just stereotypes.

When I first read the title of the article, I was so excited to read it. I am a sorority girl and I am avidly involved in the Greek Life culture, but I have never been too fond of dating a fraternity guy. I clicked the link, already to share it with the guy whom I am talking to who, shockingly is in a fraternity. When the link opened, I read the first bullet point and was instantly put into horror. I have been to many fraternity houses and functions and never once have I ever experience any type of sexual assault. Sadly, there are reports of sexual assault, but there are also reports of sexual assaults in athletic departments, look at Brock Turner, as well with students who were not involved in athletics or in Greek Life.

I decided to continue reading the article, I thought that maybe this one bullet was just one thing I did not agree with. But as I continued to read, I become more and more disgusted with what was being processed in my mind. Bullets like “Party, party, party” and “They’re obnoxious” and “They’re not really here to study” were words that i read across my page and stunned me. I thought to myself “this person must not be involved in Greek Life at all” and as I read the comments at the bottom of the page I soon came to realize that she was not part of Greek Life. So I thought I should cut her some slack and try hard not to lose my shit over it. Then I thought some more and realized that I also had a voice. I had the ability to share my thoughts and try and break these stereotypes that she is just reinforcing without having any knowledge of the society itself.

As I mentioned before, the guy I am talking is in a fraternity and he is studying to be a neurologist. So, I’m going to have to say that yes, he is in college not for the fraternity but because he wants to do something with his life.

Also, how can someone be obnoxious if you don’t even know them? That is like the stereotype all blondes are dumb and then seeing a blonde on the street and thinking she is dumb. I would like to inform you that I am a natural born blonde who is currently double majoring, holding two jobs, in a sorority, a division one athlete, and my GPA is about a 3.0. Also, women like Karen Nyberg (female astronaut) and Margaret Thatcher (English Prime Minister) are blonde and are very intelligent. You cannot judge a person based on what they do/look like and based on other people you have met who also identify as that.

Although there were eight stereotypes that greatly upset me and shined a poor light on the Greek Life Society, there were two more that really stood out to me. First off, fraternity guys don’t just “party, party, party”. I’m not sure if you read this article or even heard about the fraternity who stood outside a little girl’s hospital window and wrote messages to her, here it is if you haven’t. But besides that, every single fraternity and sorority have a philanthropy that they raise more for every year. For some, they host a golf tournament, while for others they host a dance marathon. But we all are raising money for a national philanthropy and some for a local philanthropy.

Lastly, a fraternity is not a breeding ground for sexual assault. I am not going to lie to you and tell you that sexual assault does not happen in the Greek Life society because sadly, it does. But it also happens in different athletic departments, within work forces, at bar scenes and multiple other places. Sadly, sexual assault is something horrible and tragic that occurs in society. But I will tell you that my chapter as well as other chapters on my campus have been trained in sexual assault intervention as well as ways to stop sexual assault. Greek Life is not a “breeding ground” for sexual assault and if we are not going to stop this stereotype and we are just going accept them, we are telling society that it is okay to accept stereotypes and that it is something that is they norm and accepted.

I am a Greek Woman and I am proud of it. My sorority has given me so many opportunities to be successful and has given me a great support system. The Greek Life society has also given me a chance to meet people who I would not have met without it. Also, the Greek Life society is not perfect. We have our flaws, but the fact of the matter is that everyone has their flaws and just because we are an organized group on campuses across the nations, it does not mean that everyone else is perfect.