Pro-Greek

A common misconception is that the Greek students at Michigan think they are more valuable individuals than their non-Greek peers. If you talk to both Greeks and non-Greeks, it is often the non-Greek students who direct condescending sentiments to the former students. Comments such as, "I'm not going to buy friends,", "I didn't come to college to just get wasted and laid," and "I'm not interested in joining a cult of brothers that make you do stupid things," have been uttered myriad times by non-Greeks. Sadly, often these comments are made by students who were rejected by one or more fraternity rushes, or whose fear of rejection kept them from taking a look at the rush process and led them into spiteful rationalizing. Just analyze any anti-Greek position: there will almost exclusively be a condescending attitude and the supposition that the non-Greek students can make better friends and be more involved than the Greeks. Plainly, there is spite in such arguments. Can a non-Greek student have more and better friends than a Greek student? Of course! But therein is the problem with this Greek vs. non-Greek argument, and arguably a microcosm of a larger societal problem: our tendency to group and label everyone and everything. Are there any benefits or purposes to labeling and grouping? Sure! In the primitive ages, the image of an enemy tribesman or of a predatory animal would automatically be interpreted as a threat. Such stereotyping of race and species, and failure to consider individual traits, allowed many tribesmen defend themselves and avoid death. Discrimination, prejudice, stereotyping, and judging: all of these qualities have taken on an evil significance in modern society. However, everyone is an administrator and a victim of these qualities; everyone is subject to their human nature. There are evolutionary reasons for grouping and labeling. Having said that, it is easy to see where this dichotomy between Greek and non-Greek students arises. It arises from the same human traits that forbid women and African Americans from voting for most of the United States' history. However, the soft voice of human reason eventually overturned these injustices; hopefully, the soft voice of reason will eventually end the worthless argument over whether or not Greek life is worthwhile. Allow me to play the game I've argued against and do some grouping. At the University of Michigan, Greek students have higher GPA's than non-Greek students. So do Greek students just drink and get laid? No. This is a ridiculous stereotype. Obviously, the majority of Greek students perform well academically. And I'm going to burst another bubble: most Greeks don't get "laid" any more than non-Greeks. There is quite a bit of drinking that goes on in Greek houses. However, the majority of Greeks, with some exceptions, only drink on the weekends. There are many non-Greeks who drink as much and more. Many non-Greeks, especially undergraduate non-Greeks, fulfill their drinking needs for free at Greek houses. In fact, Greek life basically provides the social life for many undergraduates, including non-Greeks, at Michigan. Eliminate Greek life at Michigan and there would be thousands of students bored out of their minds with Michigan's social life. Oftentimes, it is the parasites off of the Greek social life that treat Greek life with a condescending attitude. They are constantly enrolled in Hypocrisy 101. For many Greeks, the fraternity system helps them build lifelong friendships that they could not have attained elsewhere. Many high achievers and celebrities, including former presidents, have been in fraternities. The Greek system offers ample leadership and philanthropic opportunities that are difficult to find elsewhere on campus. So, if Greek life provides leadership opportunities and lifelong friendships that could not be found elsewhere, and in the process helps to raise money for charities, can we really consider the anti-Greek position a legitimate one? No. One can make plenty of friendships, find leadership opportunities, and benefit society outside of a fraternity as well. Personally, most of my friends are non-Greek. However, if the Greek system provides a social life that would otherwise not exist, how is that a bad thing? When some Greek students say that joining their fraternity was the best decision they have ever made in their life, how is that a bad thing? Considering that most of those who complain about the Greek system are those just embittered from rejection or those who used the Greek life for their undergraduate social life, I rest my position. If a student does not want to be Greek, then he shouldn't be Greek. We should strive to judge people as individuals, not as Greeks or non-Greeks. And if the Greek system aids some individuals in their lives, than it is more than justified!

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out