Why do you hate Greek Life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people do realize that binge drinking and date rapes occur in people who aren't in greek life correct?

I was in a sorority for 2 years. It was very casual at my school because no one was allowed to live in their houses. It was basically a way to make friends your freshman year (although I'm only still friends with one girl from my sorority) and to have places to go/things to do.

I got out my junior year because I became involved in a lot more activities and didn't have time to keep up with all of them. My best friends were either not in my sorority, or they were but they were also involved in another activity of mine. It just wasn't worth it to keep membership up.

I feel like some people like to hate on Greek life for the stereotype of it. It varies from school to school. Down south, yes they take it more seriously. But you go to a school like mine where the Greeks don't live in their houses and it is a pretty laid back environment and far from exclusionary.

So anyone who wanted to could join? Everyone who rushed was invited to join?

There are some fraternities/sororities/social groups like that. In other cases, there are space constraints. At my school there was generally enough space for everyone across all of the houses. The bid matching system did seem a little complicated, but it generally worked out.

I'm the PP originally quoted. Our system was similar to this. There was no max allowed per each class, so you got to join any house you wanted. Obviously, because of this, some houses were bigger than others but for the most part each sorority had about 20-30 pledges each year. Other than formals, there were no exclusionary parties or events. Things hosted by Greek Life were open to anyone on campus as were the community service projects organized by each house.

[Anonymous]

PP here. I should say you could join any house you wanted as long as you had the grades. Which was the same GPA you needed in order to play sports/study abroad and was a rule set by the college regarding involvement in any campus activity. But it was pretty low...I think a 2.5?

[Anonymous]

AA here who pledged at a large Midwestern university 25 years ago. I honestly pledged in undergrad because I was a double legacy (mom and grandmom) and it was family tradition. While I made some good friends, it was not a huge benefit to me in undergrad. Because there were relatively few AA's at the school anyways, we were a relatively close knit group without the Greek stuff.

Where it REALLY helped me was after college and in my professional life. The BEST thing about AA Greek life is that it is viewed as a lifetime endeavor. So the social focus in undergrad changes to a community service and professional mentoring and networking focus later on. To me, that has been priceless.

With my own kids (2 in college), I have told them that I would prefer that they pledge graduate or alumni chpaters and not worry about it in undergrad.

[Anonymous]

To answer your question OP -- I don't like Greek Life because of the heavy drinking involved and also the misogony.

[Anonymous]

Greek life isn't for everyone. The greek system is a lot like high school, honestly though some people did have a great time
in high school and there is nothing wrong with that. If your going to judge people for making the decision to go greek then you shouldn't feel
slighted when they judge those GDI's for wearing cargo shorts, or you can't get into their parties. The system can be materialistic and shallow,
if you cant handle it just ignore it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Greek life isn't for everyone. The greek system is a lot like high school, honestly though some people did have a great time
in high school and there is nothing wrong with that. If your going to judge people for making the decision to go greek then you shouldn't feel
slighted when they judge those GDI's for wearing cargo shorts, or you can't get into their parties. The system can be materialistic and shallow,
if you cant handle it just ignore it?

+1

[Anonymous]

For those of you that hate Greek life, do you also hate organized sports teams or incredibly horrible exclusionary organizations like Harvard, Yale or Princeton or St. Albans or Sidwell or NCS?

To say you hate it simply because in most cases people rush and receive or don't receive bids (i.e. are "excluded") seems to me as if you would object to any organization which limits its membership.

And to the extent it matters, I didn't drink all through college. Nor did at least one other HS friend of mine who rushed a sorority at another school. Yes, most college students drink but not all.

[Anonymous]

If you guys can stereotype all the people who were involved in Greek Life, does that mean they can judge you for being GDIs?

Seriously, some of you seem stuck in this weird high school mentality. What the hell does it matter what organization someone was a part of when they were in college? I've certainly moved past my college days, as have all my friends and I'm 27! Oh, and no, I was not in a sorority.

[Anonymous]

For some, the scars of being excluded never heal. So sad because most of us have probably been excluded from something in our lives and we move on. Those unable to move past high school or colleges slights seem so bitter and unlikeable.

[Anonymous]

My dislike for Greek life has nothing to do with being excluded. I hate how it lends itself to "group think" which can be very dangerous. Yes, I know that can happen with sports teams too.

I wasn't a stick in the mud and I liked to have fun in college but the things Greeks did during hazing were so stupid -even the benign ones like guys running around campus in grass skirts and coconut bras. Come on -think for yourself. You can bond without being humiliated or being rude like when pledges have to do things that interrupt professors' classes.

I don't have respect for people who do things just because everyone else is doing them... though I know that's a common quality of 18-22 year olds.

[Anonymous]

Why "hate" (your word, not mine) what OTHERS choose to do? How about accepting differences and trying to understand or, if you prefer, just ignore. We have too much hate already. You've made up your mind, but please try to appreciate that others have had different life experiences and come to different cocnclusions, don't hate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally hate Greek life because of the binge drinking and date raping, but I've never actually commented about it on DCUM before now.

Same here. why would you imagine there is only one vocal person on this topic? I imagine there are more "non-Greek" people in the world than "Greek". but maybe that is just my limited worldview!

Same here. Plus, the idea of having to dress up bizzarely and write a check to have friends seems peculiar.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure I get the "having to write checks to have friends" thing that some posts mention? Is that just a snarky reference to dues? If so, don't most organizations have dues?

If the suggestion is that most Greeks are the type of social misfits that wouldn't have friends unless they paid, my experience is quite the opposite.

[Anonymous]

I went to a school that had banned fraternities and sororities. I just don't understand the point of these groups. Is it just to be in a group of people who are like you in some way? It seems anathema to the point of going to college.

I am also concerned about the drinking, hazing, and date rape. I can't believe that kids put up with some of the stuff I've read about, especially at places like Dartmouth. I think single gender environments bring out the pack mentality in a lot of kids. They start wanting to please the alpha dog, and then they'll do crazy things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you guys can stereotype all the people who were involved in Greek Life, does that mean they can judge you for being GDIs?

Seriously, some of you seem stuck in this weird high school mentality. What the hell does it matter what organization someone was a part of when they were in college? I've certainly moved past my college days, as have all my friends and I'm 27! Oh, and no, I was not in a sorority.

Well if you and all your friends have moved past college......

When did you graduate, 5 minutes ago?