• Archive of "Greek Life" Category

    Why its tough to be Greek

    April 1, 2008 // 4 Comments »

    Posted in Greek Life

    “From the outside looking in, you could never understand. From the inside looking out, you could never explain.”

    I’m not sure where the quote came from initially but it is one that has been with me for the duration of my Greek experience. How do you explain Greek life to someone who never wanted to join? How do you talk to non members about what life is like inside a somewhat secret society?
    Too often, we want to talk about our experiences but we don’t know how to have that conversation well. We spend so much time using our well rehearsed Rush (Formal Recruitment) conversations that we don’t realize that our audience only hears “And this one time, at band camp…” We leave the heart out of the conversations but we remember to include our exhaustive lists. Sadly, today at BrazenCareerist, Jennifer Robinson’s (of Newly Corporate) post on Greek Life and Business enforced the stereotypes I would assume she wants to break.

    We fail the Greek system and we contribute to its stereotypes when we fail to discuss the topic with intelligence, compassion and excitement. We discount ourselves as members of the Greek community when we fail to back up our affiliation with competence.

    Like it or not, the decision you made to become a member of the Greek community at the age of eighteen means you will be held to higher standard for the rest of your life.

    After graduation, it does not matter if your house won Greek Week. After graduation, it does not matter how high your dues were. After graduation, it does not matter if you were in the most popular house.

    After graduation, it only matters that you were there.