As a member of Greek life, I've found that many students outside of Greek life make assumptions about me, my chapter, or Greek life in general, and they're often incorrect. To be honest, some of these assumptions are right about some members of this community , but please stop generalizing these stereotypes to over 4,600 people.
There are girls in my chapter who have a different taste in clothing, music, and boys than I do and I still get along with them just as well. I didn't join Greek life to befriend people who believe exactly what I believe or dress exactly how I dress. My chapter is known for its diversity in women, and that's something I will always be proud of, so I will always feel the need to defend Greek life when people assume we're all the same.
A newer app called Yik Yak has brought to my attention just how poorly some of you view Ohio State Greek life through the various yaks about the community. A recent Yik Yak complained about an awful incident with a sorority member and ended with, "This is why people hate you guys." While I am strongly against what this girl did, and members of any organization should acknowledge that they are always representing their group, her actions were completely unrelated to her involvement in Greek life. Hating 4,600 people because one member of one chapter did something awful, is just as wrong as me hating all unaffiliated students because of something bad that one person did.
There will always be people who do bad things and make mistakes. Some might go Greek, and some might not. College students are notorious for making bad decisions, but bad decisions aren't made solely by members of the Greek community. I consider myself lucky to go to a school where the Greek community isn't secluded and disconnected from the rest of the student body. There is a strong Greek presence in large student organizations such as OUAB, USG and Buckeyethon.
I have great friends and roommates that I never would have met if our school was one that separated everyone like that. They didn't make assumptions about me or my chapter before getting to know me and now they see that my life isn't very different from theirs. They realize that I don't automatically have a rich dad who buys me anything I ask, go to Starbucks eight times a day, or wear my letters every single day just because I'm in a sorority. While nothing is wrong with being well-off, loving Starbucks, or wearing clothing that represent something you care about, these are things that can be true or untrue of unaffiliated students as well as members of Greek life.
Many of you unaffiliated students recognize that the stereotypes aren't usually true once you befriend a member of Greek life, while some of you will avoid Greeks like the plague because you are set in your ways. By putting down this community because "all Greeks think think they're better than the rest of us," which isn't really the case at Ohio State, you create a divide that will slowly grow until this campus is seen as the Greeks versus the non-Greeks. It doesn't have to be that way.
I love the Ohio State community and what it represents. Greek community: keep fighting the negative stereotypes and put an effort into connecting with those who don't have anything but stereotypes to go off of. Unaffiliated students: get to know someone before you make an assumption about them because you could end up making lifelong friendships. I love the Ohio State community and what it represents.
