Every day people, especially college students, strive to become the person they want to be or at least joining what they see best represents them and what they are about. To many people, joining a fraternity/sorority is looked at as the key to opening a door to a brighter future, but there is also an unspoken dark side.
Fraternities and sororities distinguish themselves amongst the crowd in various ways like the colors they wear, the objects they have, the chants they do and even their handshakes and hand signs. To many people that is just a part of the life and it could be justified seeing that even the different military branches have their own ways of doing the same, but it would seem to be extreme if one were to get the idea that the only difference between them and regular street gangs are that they are educated. Yes, some people see fraternities and sororities as “educated gangs” and possibly for more reasons than the obvious things they have in common.
Picture an underclassman, in a new environment, far from home, with an idea of what joining a fraternity or sorority means. Let’s be honest, no one would really have an idea of the organization’s true purpose going into it seeing as how they’re pretty secretive with their objective. He imagines, of course, having fun, becoming a part of the “party hard, but study harder” committee. Joining is going to be beneficial to him. It will boost his resume, get him notarized, involved with the community and campus. Yes this all sounds cool at first, until he or she realizes they have ran off track and changed their focus.
When one is so focused on “joining,” the idea of there being a “separation” does not appear. A separation in social classes could appear. People, even ones that are considered your friends might look at you differently and others may find you more unapproachable, because YOU WILL CHANGE in some way. The person carrying the organization’s letters has become a figure, a representative of message that has been trying to be sent over many years.
Some may look up to you, even admire you, but some may despise you. Throughout not only the country, but the world, the organization is known and there may be different chapters, different people, which also means different character given about the organization. An employer may have had a bad experience with your organization which you might have had nothing to do with, but it then hinders you from getting the position you wanted.
To some it is like discrimination waiting to happen, whether the person was not able to make it themselves, or just don’t like it. People take these organizations seriously, and there has been points in time where there has not always been “greek unity.” Some organizations have true hatred towards one another in certain locations. Some organizations represent certain cultures, classes and could actually play a part in the division of a kind. It is dividing when people believe they have to look, act, or speak a certain way just to be accepted. Stereotypes also fall on certain organizations as well. Stereotypes for just about anything that is not fully understood and there are some like some members of certain organizations don’t graduate on time, are geeks, stuck up, just dance or are just plain nasty. Let’s not forget to mention, every fraternity and sorority might say that they “don’t haze,” but everyone has in the back of their mind that it happens in some fashion. Last, but not least, this all comes at a price. Depending on the chapter and its location the price to join could cost thousands of dollars.
Do not get it confused, joining a fraternity and sorority is a personal decision which is NOT always bad, but there is a risk in the process that one must ask “Is it worth it?" Wanting to be a part of something that holds and teaches self-value and character is a great thing. One must be focused though on their overall purpose and obtaining what they have set out to achieve. Know what you are getting into so the chance of losing it all will be lessened. Make sure you know what is on the line before you get on line.
