"What comes to mind when you think of Greek Life?"
The list of stereotypes that the average student believes seems to create a fabricated view of Greek Life that is thought to be "dangerous" and "pompous."
Regardless of a university's location and surrounding community, the average student enters college with predisposed assumptions about sports teams, clubs and Greek Life. These stereotypes are potentially harmful to incoming freshman and limit the amount of extracurriculars that they are willing to explore. Greek Life members would agree that going Greek was the best decision made in college. Here are four major reasons as to why a questioning student should consider Greek Life.
1. Community Involvement and Services
Every Greek organization ensures that community service is at the top of its priorities. Fraternities and sororities each have their own specific philanthropy (a cause represented and focused on by the Greek organization) and still make sure that they contribute to their local communities. For example, Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity has a national philanthropy for Special Olympics. However, this organization does not steer clear of other opportunities—such as Relay for Life.
Each year, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania hosts a Relay event where fraternities and sororities team up for friendly competition and see who can raise the most money for the fight against cancer. It is these kinds of events that acclimate you to Greek members that you may not know and expose you to the good that a few hours of dedication can lead to. Greeks are dedicated to lending a helping hand whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Elite Daily shared an interesting statistic that is worth recognizing when contemplating Greek Life...
"When it comes to donating to their fundraising, fraternity and sorority-involved alumni give four times as much as their non-Greek counterparts. Not only that, but they also account for 75% of all total college and university donations. Undergraduate members give an annual average of $7 million and 850,000 hours toward charitable causes."
2. Academic Success
"All Greeks do is party. Party kids fail out of school."
Would you be surprised to hear that the opposite is true? Elite Daily states that Greeks are more likely to graduate from college than non-Greeks, with 71 percent of Greeks getting their diploma and only 50 percent of non-Greeks doing the same.
Not only do all Greek organizations have a minimum GPA requirement for incoming members, but academic success is pushed throughout membership. Ignorance leads incoming freshman to believe that Greek Life is all about partying, spending obscene amounts of money, focusing on your social reputation and not caring about your academics. While this may be true for a select few, the honest Greeks recognize the harm that goes along with this lifestyle and plan to handle it accordingly.
As mentioned previously, chair positions play a major role within these organizations - many of which hold an Academic-related chair position, dedicated to monitoring member's grades and resolving issues that arise regarding their scholastic well-being. It is not unheard of to see a Greek member stripped of their fraternity/sorority membership because of a dramatic decline in their GPA.
In truth, it is nearly impossible to be an active Greek Life member and have below-average grades. Greek organizations calculate the GPA's of each member and produce an overall GPA that represents the group. When this number drops too low, the host University and National Organizations are welcomed to eliminate the organization as a whole, punishing even the overachievers. When you pose a threat to this calculated reputation, immediate action is taken. This initial response focuses on individual improvement and assistance is offered through tutoring, studying hours, collaboration with fellow members and help with quizzing to offer an honest chance at redemption. When these methods fail, expulsion becomes a possibility.
3. Leadership Experience / Resume 
Within each Greek organization is a selection of chairs that are dedicated to helping and further improving the organization. The majority of Greeks have options such as Academic Chair, Public Relations, Risk Management and Social chair. These few examples each have a specific set of skills that are needed to see success. Social Chairs often go into internships or professions regarding event planning or media affairs. Likewise, it is common for chairs such as Risk Management to move into a legal profession. The skills learned here severely help an individual enter their chosen career at the highest possible level.
Aside from chair positions lies the executive board within a Greek organization. This board usually consists of experienced members of the fraternity that take on the titles such as President, Vice, Treasurer and Secretary. As executive members, these individuals are expected to spend the majority of their time and efforts in order to oversee each facet of the fraternity and make sure that there are as many achievements as possible. With an executive board position on your resume, your employer will see that you can co-run an entire organization while keeping up with school.
Some say that going Greek is "bad for a resume" because it makes it seem as if someone spent their college career partying. However, this statement is terribly inaccurate. After joining Greek Life, members have seen their resumes steady increase and become even more-so impressive up until graduation.
Elite Daily states that over 85 percent of executives working within Fortune 500 companies called their Greek organization "home" during their college years. This not only allows you to work off of a common bond within an interview, but employers are like to see you as a relatable individual.4. Unexplainable Relationships
Although the popular movie "Neighbors" isn't a realistic view of how a fraternity would handle living in a residential neighborhood, it is a perfect example of the weird, strange and unexplainable bond that exists between organization members. As you spend time learning about the organization and understanding its values, you begin to understand how everything works within those walls and the mindsets of its existing members. After spending ample amounts of time with your brothers/sisters, you find common bonds that you will not find anywhere else. You might find guardians and caretakers within your family tree, the right group to go to the bars with on a Monday night or your favorite new study group. You start to see yourself in each and every member in a way that hasn't happened before. If you're someone with a strong family bond at home or have a group of friends who you consider family, you won't be finding anything like that in Greek Life, nor do Greeks want to lessen those relationships. You'll find something totally unconventional—something that words can inaccurately describe—a sense of belonging that you have never before experienced.
But hey, this article can't force you to take the chance. It may be intimidating at first, but there IS a Greek organization on your campus that has a place that you can perfectly fit, but only if you are willing.
How do you find that place? Go to a single rush event from each organization you have to pick from and have a good friend tag along. This way you feel comfortable while you're there and have the option to sneak out together if it isn't for you.
Ignore what people have to say about each organization and figure out those vibes on your own. Ignore the stereotypes of Greek Life and form an opinion for yourself. Giving it a chance is only beneficial to you and your overall college experience.
Think of it like extra credit for a class—Why not give it a shot?
