Going, Going, Going, Greek!

Homecoming has come and gone and, if you’re fortunate enough, so has midterm season. With all of that behind us, what now? What is there to do to occupy the rest of your semester outside of classroom curriculum? Andrew Sulgit does a great job providing some form of entertainment as often as possible, but what are you going to do whenever there isn’t anything to do? 

Many people look at Greek life as nothing more than hazing and paying for friends. That is simply not true, and as a Greek I can testify to all of the great things that come from being affiliated with an organization. 

As a general rule of Concord, Greek organizations are not strictly forbidden from hazing. Many people are hesitant to join organizations because of the horror stories about students being hurt or humiliated by hazing, but Concord has a zero-tolerance hazing policy. 

Each organization has a new member or associate process. These are the technical terms, but most people generalize it by calling it a pledge process. The point of the new member or associate process is to make sure that the associate and the members of an organization have the chance to get to know each other to make sure this is what they really want, because once you are initiated later in your process, it is hard to leave an organization. From the moment a potential member signs their bid with a national fraternity or sorority they are bound to it for a year, and by that if they decide the organization they are going through their process with is not the one for them, they must wait a year before they can sign a bid with another national organization. Local organizations work differently, as they are unique to Concord and don’t have the same rules in place as nationals, but also limit networking opportunities. 

The national sororities that have chapters on campus are Alpha Sigma Tau, Delta Zeta, Sigma Sigma Sigma, and Alpha Sigma Alpha and there is one local sorority, the reborn Nu Zeta Chi’s who are back on campus after a two year absence. Each sisterhood has unique traits to offer each person who is interested, but finding your home is important. If possible, attend at least one interest meeting hosted by each organization and learn what they are about, associate with members outside of recruitment events in an effort to get to know the people you could potentially call your sisters a little bit better.

As there are sororities for females, there are also fraternities for males. The national fraternities on campus are Phi Sigma Phi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Sigma Tau Gamma. The local fraternities on campus are Chi Omega Psi and Phi Delta Pi. As with sororities, it is imperative to give each fraternity a chance, no matter whether or not they are national or local. National fraternities each offer networking and leadership conferences for members to attend, but national dues are much more expensive than local dues, often costing hundreds of dollars a semester. National organizations have the luxury of competing in national Greek Week in front of a larger audience, as opposed to local Greek Week where only two organizations compete and it is not as publicized. Despite the positives and negatives of each type, it’s imperative to give each fraternity your time. If you decide to join, these people will be your brothers and best friends, you will give your effort and time to these people and this organization, so choose wisely.

Scaring people away from Greek Life is not the intent of this article by any means. If anything I believe everybody should be giving it an attempt of some sort, even if you just want their free food. Greek life is probably the number one way to get out and associate with your fellow students on campus and get to know people, so the next time you see a flyer advertising an interest meeting, attend the meeting and see what it’s about, as it may lead you to your home away from home.