To go Greek or not to go Greek, that is the question. Around the beginning of every semester, this quandary is on the minds of various people all over campus looking to take the plunge and become a part of the 13 percent that get to wear the numerous letters many Binghamton University students don’t.
Last semester, this was the very question I had to answer when so many of my friends were signing up for formal Panhellenic recruitment. At the time, I felt pressured to be a part of something that I didn’t quite understand and had never envisioned dominating my college experience.
When I came to BU my freshman year, I was pretty much anti-Greek Life. I was afraid of what it might turn me into — as if being Greek made you a monster or some terrible version of yourself. I put Newing as my absolute last choice for housing because my sister (a Bing alum) told me it was heavily populated with Greeks.
I honestly thought the people in Greek Life were too full of themselves to be likeable. I viewed the brothers and sisters of these organizations as people desperate for self-validation, only using their Greek groups to create the same popularity contest that dominated high school.
However, there was a part of me that was curious about what being in a sorority entailed. I wanted to go out of my comfort zone and meet the girls for whom I held such preconceived notions. And with so many of my friends going through recruitment, what was the harm?
So I signed up and went through four long days of talking, smiling and listening to chants, songs and spiels about why this sorority was the best compared to that one.
As the days went on, I realized maybe this was the place for me. I could see myself bonding with the girls I met and I envisioned myself on the other side, meeting potential new sisters and seeing them find their place with a certain organization like I did.
When I got my bid (invitation to become a sister of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi), I realized I was actually going to be a member of the system I had such disdain for not four months earlier. And I was never happier to be proven wrong.
If I hadn’t come out of my comfort zone and questioned my judgments of an entire sector of this campus, I wouldn’t have the close relationships, responsibilities, memories (or even wall décor) I have now. And isn’t that what being in college is about? Shouldn’t we question the predetermined beliefs we have, to create our own views?
I’m not here to justify my own personal choices for wanting to be a member of something that I felt was going to make my time at BU the most enjoyable and fruitful.
What I am here to do, however, is urge you to discard preconceived notions about an entire group of people, like I did. I realize that being a part of these organizations isn’t the best fit for everyone though. But don’t hate on people who found their niche in a different area of this school than you did.
I know the age-old arguments against Greek Life: we buy our friends, we’re incapable of thinking outside of the group, we’re exclusive and therefore discriminate — the list could go on for days.
I thought those same things before I joined. However, don’t be so quick to judge Greek Life, because you just might end up on the other side someday.