“I’d never imagined I would go Greek,” Tiffany Melecio a founding sister of Delta Xi Nu, a multicultural sorority at the University of Missouri informed me. She had many preconceived notions about Greek Life in general. Tiffany along with her line sister (They along with 6 of their sisters founded the Delta XI Nu chapter at the University of Missouri) Debrielle De La Haye, both shared with me about their initial feelings towards Greek, which wasn’t negative “but very skeptical.” And maybe “Not for Undergrad.” But I feel like many of us share these same feelings. Somehow we imagine big houses snappy girls, with money to spend, and parties every weekend, drinking included, long meetings at late at night and very specific dress codes. I mean I’ve seen House Bunny as well as that TV show from way back “Greek” and also Stomp the Yard. But my eyes were opened when I first hand got to see the impact that Greek life has had.
And here’s the real scoop on what Greek Life is all about, and it’s not what you think. So please throw-out your preconceived notions of red solo cups, angry steppers, ditzy girls, and silly frat boys. Once you have done that please continue to read.
The whole time when I was talking about and researching for this article two words consistently showed up, Sisterhood/Brotherhood and Friendship. A friend of mine, when asked what was the allure, the real reason for going Greek they answered me, “Having sisters (or brothers) there for me, no questions asked.” And that statement has a lot of merit. According to Rebecca G. Adams a Professor of Sociology at University of North Carolina , when interviewed by the New York Times, said this “…Friendships has a bigger impact on our well being then family.” And what’s not to love about the idea of having 30 something girls or guys who are not only your sister or brother but are your friends, for life.
Research what you want and see where’d you want to go.
There are many different sororities and fraternities out there. From Delta Xi Nu a very diverse take on Greek Life to more known sororities such as Kappa Beta Gamma. Different Sororities and fraternities can be for different focuses such as Honors, Religious, and Social and Leadership. Also sororities and fraternities all have types of “missions” such as education and culture, or even majors like business, journalism, and engineering. Each fraternity and sorority take part in service known as philanthropy, which is the group’s center mission in helping the their community or a national helping organization.
So the next time you here Greek Life. Take a holistic approach to the subject as a whole. You never know you may “Go Greek!”
