The Greek World Looking In - A Former GDI's Perspective

This rather lengthy piece was inspired by many occurrences over the past few days, but mostly by the nature with which I see others in student affairs react to the world of Greek Life. TL;DR - We're all on the same side, y'all. 

My undergraduate career took place at a 4 year, public, extremely urban institution. We didn't have a football team, we had more students living off campus than we did on - and most of those commuted, and one thing we certainly didn't have was a strong presence of Greek Life. When I was in undergrad I had all the incredibly stereotypical notions of what Greek Life was about, why I would never have rushed a sorority, and most of all: how dumb it was to pay for your friends. I scared all those in my social circle by adding  ΔΦA to my AIM (dating myself) profile my Freshman year - I had to assure all of my horrified friends that no, I was not drinking the Kool Aid, I had been inducted into the German Honors Society. Cue the collective sigh of relief. 

My first year of graduate school meant big changes in my environment - I transition to a state school in the middle of nowhere and spent the next two years somewhat bemusedly appreciating the life that a majority of my friends had called 'college'. Greeks were EVERYWHERE. Our housing department had graduate assistants in what was called Greek Court - on campus houses for lucky fraternities and sororities. Becoming friends with some of those GAs afforded me the ability to look into an unfamiliar world. Visiting their apartments which were nestled cozily at the juncture between two houses, during break times meant that we got to watch TV in the Great Rooms of the houses. There was SO much to look at - hallways filled with portraits of the members, paddles as far as the eye could see, banners, plaques, trophies for unknown awards - I had a lot of questions. 

On top of all of this, nothing prepared me for the experience of Greek Week. The entire campus came alive with the competitions that each group had been practicing and training for since winter break. I finally understood the torn up fields and occasionally uprooted tree - practice for Tugs had been in full swing under the cover of night. My students that were walking back to the halls as I was leaving the library late at night looking exhausted and carrying bags with them had been practicing and putting together costumes for Airband. The occasional sprained ankle or mysterious bruises were a direct result of pyramids practice. As the building I worked in shook with the thundering concussion of cannon fire, I was the only one who reacted. Our secretary laughed at my concern, "Tugs, honey - they'll be firing it off at the start and finish of each one all week."

I took my ignorance into my own hands during my second year. My multicultural counseling class assigned each person to pick a demographic with which they were uncomfortable, and find a way to immerse oneself in that culture. As I sat there, convinced there was not one group on this earth with which I would find myself uncomfortable, the back of my mind whispered, "Greeeeeeeekssssss". After a day of ignoring it, I finally threw my hands in the air, and trudged over to Greek Court to speak with the Greek Life Coordinator. After a short conversation he encouraged me to seek an immersive experience not just with any Greek Life, but with the fraternities and sororities of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) - the historically black fraternities and sororities on campus. Before I knew it, there I was, sitting in on an NPHC executive board meeting, slightly wild-eyed and extremely uneasy with how uneasy I was feeling. They accepted me - and my awkwardness - with a graciousness and humor that I wasn't expecting. They offered themselves and their organizations up for any questions I might have. The entire project ended up being one of the best experiences that I had in Grad School. 

Between that, my thesis advisor Dr. Charles Eberly - affectionately known by every Sigma Phi Epsilon brother on earth as 'Doc', and the daily experiences on my campus, my opinions and paradigms about Greek Life were fleshed out. I saw leadership where I once saw sheep, I perceived the potential for lifelong bonds where I once saw blind devotion, and most importantly I saw those who made mistakes and created a poor name for their organization as outliers - no longer the norm. I began to see the philanthropy work, the difficult jobs faced by executive board members, the pride and at times loving exasperation that advisors had for their students.

There has been quite a bit in the media lately regarding hazing and/or poor choices made by brothers or sisters. Compounding this is how these groups are portrayed in not only the reporting of these events, but in every Hollywood or prime time television depiction. Zac Efron’s got a movie coming out guys! His fraternity lives next to a family with a new born baby – expect hijinks and idiotic tomfoolery! No one will go to class! Enough alcohol to fell a football team! Parties large enough to cost the equivalent of a year of tuition at the Pretend University where this Pretend Fraternity is chartered!

My colleagues in Greek Life have their work cut out for them. I may battle the, “Come on, it’s COLLEGE” argument on a daily basis in conduct – but they fight an image that has been reinforced as a party environment far past and beyond any other group or experience out there. I respect both the care they have for their students, but also their unwavering dedication to help these organizations show the world just how fantastic ‘going Greek’ can be. In that I stand with them as a stalwart ally, pushing those around me to question the stereotypes in which they believe; to look for the good behavior, instead of seeking out news of the bad. For every chapter caught up in a hazing scandal, there are hundreds more who practice what they preach and uphold the tenants upon which they were founded.

Not every organization is headed in the right direction, and some make mistakes; that is why we have strong advisors and colleagues in Greek Life. We, being those who do not work with Greeks need to be sure we are not cutting the legs out from under our coworkers with dismissive opinions about Greek Life and those who do that work. We are – after all, brothers and sisters in this great world of student affairs. Work together, not against – and for the love of Mike, its Fraternity, not Frat.

Do you have thoughts on Greek Life? I’d love to hear them.