In Retrospect...

So to start off, I apologize for my tone in that last post. My "ranting" tone as someone pointed out seems to have clouded the message I was really trying to get across and I also seem to have offended some people.  I am sorry about that.


Let me see if I can be more clear and a little bit nicer.

I do not have a problem with the Greek system in and of itself. I am well aware that there are highly influential people who have come out of fraternities and sororities and I am also well aware of the positive things they stand for, especially, but not limited to their involvement in community service and raising money for organizations that help to cure diseases. These things are wonderful. I also know, because I have friends in frats and sororities, that you have to maintain a certain GPA to remain in good standing with the frat or sorority you are a part of. So the people in these things must be intelligent. They must be.

But it is because I know these things that I have a problem with the image they project.



When I was on my high school cross country team, my coach always reminded the team to represent our letters (our school) well and to hold the team in high regard, because we as individuals OF the team, have an effect on the ENTIRE team and by proxy our entire school.



Similarly, when I see girls and guys walking around with Greek letters, they represent not just themselves, but their own fraternity or sorority AND the Greek system as a whole. So I hope I am very clear when I say that my problem is NOT with sororities and fraternities inherently but with the manner in which their members portray them.


As someone pointed out in a comment on my previous post, not everyone in the Greek system is this way. I am not trying to say that 100% of the students in sororities and fraternities give their letters a bad name, but it is certainly enough of them that a stereotype has been created and is very well known. I would venture to say that most college have heard of the "ditsy sorority girl" and the "ultra-bro frat guy". Neither of which are particularly positive images.


Think about the riot that occurred after JoePa was canned. That created all kinds of terrible media for the ENTIRE school because of the less than 10% of students who participated in the destruction of public and university property while wearing the Penn State letters. It doesn't even take the majority of a population to cause a bad name for everyone.


So when a bunch of people wearing Greek letters are walking in front of you and not one of them holds the door, or you hold the door and not one of the says, "thank you". Or you drop a couple books and a couple people in frat or sorority sweatshirts just stares at you while they walk by without offering a helping hand. Or you've noticed that a group of girls or guys wearing letters act in a highly unpleasant manner, you tend to forget about all of the things that those Greek letters SHOULD stand for. Being in a fraternity or sorority should be a privilege, especially in a school where Greek life is so prominent. These people are all presented with incredible opportunities; most of them give up the occasional weekend to go canning for Thon, are very intelligent students and probably very interesting people...


But I would never know because of the way they represent themselves. And no, I'm not saying it's all of them, but it certainly is the majority of those I've interacted with.  So just as I'm sure some of you will now view me differently, probably negatively, because of the way I represented myself in my last post, I view Greek life differently because of the way its members have represented themselves to me.



I imagine these organizations would garner much more respect if they held themselves in a manner which bespeaks the things their organizations really stand for.
I genuinely hope something changes or occurs for me to be able to change my mind about this subject.