Greek Life: Is it all it’s cracked up to be?

Sigma Phi Delta, Clipart by Amanda Garcia

Amanda Garcia
Staff Reporter

With Hollywood’s help, Greek life can stereotypically be summed up in two words—beer and sex. Though other correlations might be made to brotherhood and “friendships that last a lifetime,” the party scene is what sororities and fraternities are known for. So bringing it back to campus, is Greek life at WTAMU really worth being involved in? From an outsider’s perspective, are there any redeemable qualities for these campus organizations?

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BEER AND PARTYING, RIGHT?

Movies like Animal House come to mind in relation to Greek life—police raiding outrageous parties, houses being trashed and drunken people promenading the streets. Despite the fact that there are schools that create this image, WTs chapters have a different reputation. Lieutenant Dale Davis of the Canyon Police Department reports that since the 1980s there have been minimal to no issues with these organizations.

“The sororities and fraternities have been doing a great job with not causing any problems around town,” Davis said. “I don’t know what adjustments were made, whether it was a change of authority or a transformed perspective, but whatever it was, it just seemed like these organizations have focused on straightening themselves up and becoming more responsible.”

A survey was conducted at Ohio State University where a question was posed to Greek students of how involved alcohol was in Greek life. Of those, 66.2% reported binge drinking and 17% acknowledged alcohol as being the essence of Greek life. The same question was asked to students who were not involved in a sorority or fraternity and 56% perceived alcohol to be a central part of Greek life. So how do these statistics hold up locally?

“I joined Phi Delta Theta because I wanted to see for myself what a fraternity was really like,” James Porter, junior sports and exercise science major, said. “I found out that it was nothing like the movies. Like with beer, there’s a policy that no alcohol can be at any Phi Delt-sponsored event.”

According to Dee Johnston, sophomore Ad/Pr major and a Delta Zeta, drinking is never forced upon anyone and isn’t even encouraged within the sororities.

“Though we are usually related to drinking, I have to say that it really isn’t just a Greek thing to do; it’s an overall college thing,” Johnston said. “Sororities at WT are nothing like what is portrayed on television. Delta Zetas are about upholding respect and dignity. If someone is going to drink, we strongly promote doing that responsibly.”

THEY DON’T SERIOUS HELP THE COMMUNITY, DO THEY?

Every Greek organization has a specific philanthropy that they annually support and raise awareness for across campus. Outside of helping the local community through the Work-a-thon, Don’t Mess with Texas and Highway Clean-ups, each chapter supports a national charity or cause. For instance, Zeta Tau Alpha supports Breast Cancer Awareness through the Race for the Cure, which will be taking place in Amarillo this Saturday. Also occurring that day will be Alpha Tau Omega’s Corn Hole contest. The contest will be held in the tailgating area before the football game and all proceeds will benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Phi Delta Theta holds a chili festival every spring to raise funds for Lou Gehrig’s disease. Last year, about 600 people attended raising several thousands of dollars for this foundation.

According to the survey earlier mentioned, 32.6% of non-Greek students contribute community service not required by the organizations they’re involved with. Greek students double that with the amount of community service activities they partake in that are not required by their organization.

“Statistics show that the Greek system is the largest network of volunteers in the U.S., with members donating over 10 million hours of volunteer service each year,” Matthew Maples, associate director of the JBK Student Center and Alpha Tau Omega alumni, said. “Each of the WT chapters puts in thousands of hours each year, as well as, thousands of dollars in donations for community service.”

IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD.

Despite the drama-saturated shows on TV, Greek life at WT isn’t as appalling as some may think.

“I had no ambition to join a fraternity,” Ethan Black, senior sports and exercise science major and an Alpha Tau Omega, said. “I seriously thought it was stupid, but then I checked it out for myself. What really stood out to me was how the fraternity I was checking into was Christian-based and that appealed to me because I’m really big on my faith. The ATOs were founded on the Bible and in Jesus Christ, and I’ve found that I’ve been encouraged to grow in my faith since I’ve joined.”

Academics and community are of high priority in these organizations. Some institutions, such as Alpha Tau Omega, give away scholarships for academic excellence.

Delta Zeta has one of the top accumulative GPAs with a 3.4 because of their emphasis on doing well in their studies. Every chapter has set up required study sessions in order to support and help one another.

“Fraternities and sororities are held to a high standard by both their local and national leaders,” Maples said. “One of the standards that they are expected to maintain is a high GPA. For that reason their grades are monitored by both their local and national governing bodies.”

SO WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED WITH GREEK LIFE?

If you are looking for an organization that provides opportunities for networking, giving to the community and having fun, then Greek life just may be for you.

“I joined Delta Zeta because I gained a family away from home,” Johnston said. “We look for real people, those who are strong individuals. In order to be a strong group, we need women who know who they are, are confident in themselves, committed to what they do and to bring all of that into the chapter.”

For more information concerning sororities and fraternities at WT, stop by the CORE office in the JBK today.