As I look ahead in my planner, my mind spins at all the different things I have to do next week. Given that the time period before spring break is generally pretty chaotic academically, I know that I need to plan ahead for my two upcoming tests and three projects. However, the rigorous coursework isn’t the thing that is keeping me busy. No, what’s keeping me busy, you might ask? Oh, that’s right — the seemingly millions of clubs and activities I am involved in.
Being in Greek Life has certainly come with many stereotypes and although some of them might be deserving, many of them are not. It is unfortunate that many students and faculty members continue to associate a negative image with the Greek community — drinking and partying — because many of the great leadership roles and community service events are either chaired or sponsored by fraternity or sorority members.
The Greek community has done many amazing things to foster relations not only among themselves, but also to bring the campus together as a whole. A perfect example of this was several weeks ago at Hype for Haiti. One fraternity not only had two of its members perform in the Battle of the Bands competition, but also rallied support from its brothers who ended up donating a significant portion of the funds that were shipped to aid victims of the recent earthquake. Actions like this should make people see the value in having these close-knit relationships, but instead, I overheard people talking about how the fraternity rigged the competition using the money in order to win. I suppose I don’t know the direct intentions of the group, but it is disappointing to hear these kinds of things reflected from doing a good deed.
Besides helping the community, the majority of the members of Greek life are involved in many campus activities that serve to cater to your needs as students and faculty. As I look around the Voice office tonight, nearly half of the people sitting around me are in fraternities and sororities. My co-editor is my sorority sister, I work next to four other girls in Greek Life and one of the Editors-in-Chief proudly displays his letters from across the room. After asking them what other organizations they are involved in, I don’t hear a list of the same two organizations, but a multitude of interesting clubs and activities that I haven’t even heard of. There are leaders on W.A.C., Campus Council, Woo91, a variety of acapella groups and many more. Yet, this stereotype that the Greek community is uninvolved still remains.
I recognize that the Greek community still has a long way to go in the eyes of the College and also in respect to one another. The system isn’t perfect and many people feel it creates more harm on campus than good. However, you can’t disagree that many Greek members are pulling their weight and creating a vibrant atmosphere on campus. When I’m brainstorming ideas for Homecoming 2010, I won’t be thinking of how much work I have, but instead about how I am helping to make Wooster better for all the students, not only Greeks.
Related posts:
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
