We are taught at a young age what to think about students in Greek life. We grew up on movies such as Legally Blonde, Animal House, American Pie, House Bunny, Sydney White and Neighbors. While these are all fantastic movies, they do not nearly begin to shed a light on how Greek organizations operate. Let me fill you in.

Since the dawn of their existence, fraternities and sororities have been branded as party organizations where the only things that matter are looks, money and status. I may be mistaken, but I believe all of these qualities can be attributed to pretty much any group in the country. It’s easy to look at a student with Greek letters on their chest and write them off as some self-absorbed jerk looking for the next kegger. Sometimes, you would be right to assume that. But more often than not, Greek students do a tremendous amount of work for their college communities.

The first sorority came about at a time where it was neither safe nor supported for women to go to college. To feel a sense of safety and validation, a group of women came together and found strength in numbers. Then followed philanthropy, community service, scholarship, and leadership. All of which are modern-day values of college Greek communities. Joining a Greek organization is extremely selfless. It may not seem so on the surface, but when you calculate how much personal time is used to organize philanthropic events, show support for other organizations and communities, be there for your numerous brothers and sisters in their time of need, it starts to add up. People don’t join a Greek organization to themselves, they do it to find something much, much bigger than themselves.

There are standards that come with being part of a Greek organization. To better explain them, I’d like to pair them with various stereotypes of Greek members.

1. “Sorority girls are dumb” - Actually, sorority girls have minimum GPA requirements. If something personal happens or they’re struggling, there is literally a person whose job it is to make sure each member stays on top of their academics. Academic success plans, academic probation and mandatory study hours are set into place just so that we are not dumb.
2. “They only care about themselves” - If we only cared about ourselves, we wouldn’t spend countless days arranging an event to raise money for our various philanthropic partners. Each organization has a cause near and dear to their heart and are required to program for said causes. Also, we have made time, financial and emotional commitments to an entire group of individuals who would do anything for one another.
3. “They must be into drugs” - All members of the Greek community on campus are required to attend an Alcohol and Other Drugs seminar once per semester. We continuously educate ourself and others about the dangers of drug use in college. We also attend and participate in Bystander Intervention Training, and are all educated in what to do in case of an emergency involving drugs, alcohol, or assault do occur.
4. “They buy their friends” - Yes, we pay large sums of money for us to call ourselves sisters or brothers. But I believe I can speak for every Greek student that there are people in our chapters that we are not friends with. And that’s okay. Membership does not need to equal friendship. It can be partnership, collaboration, mentorship or many other connections between individuals.
5. “They’re not in school for the academics” - Well, Greek college students have the highest retention and graduation rates because they feel a sense of family and commitment to their campuses. Just like any other student, some Greek members might take a personal day or two from class throughout the semester because - now get this - we are people too.

If I had a dollar for everytime I got to know someone in class and they later found out I was in a sorority and apologized for prematurely judging me, I could pay off my dues in one payment. It’s easy to judge people without getting to know them because it requires less effort and vulnerability. But there’s a lesson to be learned here and it’s that every member of our college campuses bring something unique and valuable to the table.

The next time you get paired with a Greek-affiliated student in a class or at work and assume you’re going to do all of the work, open yourself up to get to know them. I think that we’d surprise you.