Greek life has often been associated with partying. To be fair, it”s true that “Frat Party” has always had a certain ring to it.
What I can”t understand though is the instant association between Greek life and alcohol. It”s gotten to the point where whenever someone says they are in a fraternity or sorority, people just assume they make a habit of getting drunk every weekend.
People who are Greek do not always choose to consume alcohol. Sure, some Greeks do choose to drink, but why does that matter so much to so many people?
Alexander Milles
Every University of Idaho sorority, and a few of the fraternities, are “dry,” meaning they do not allow alcohol even in the house. Many students in the university”s Greek system go through all four years of college without drinking at all.
For Greeks who do drink, all houses have risk management programs, which help all of their members to stay safe and focused on school. In-house disciplinary action from the risk management plan helps keep members accountable. It can also sometimes be less strict than the university”s code of conduct, focusing on how to improve a member, rather than to enforce a strict code.
From making sure their brothers or sisters are safe, to holding their members at high moral standards, Greeks watch out for each other, especially when our friends are drinking. Greeks are aware that anything we say or do while intoxicated easily has the ability to reflect on our house, and that comes with consequences.In Greek houses, members strive to make their house a symbiotic system for all members. Older members of houses, when the time comes, educate younger members about safe drinking habits. Younger members who are not old enough to go to the bars often pick up the older members to make sure they return home safely.
Greeks statistically get better grades, participate in more philanthropy events and are generally more involved in school. Yet when people think of a Greek member, they instantly think about someone who consumes alcohol recreationally, despite the fact that many non-Greek students drink as well.
Rarely do people ever recognize Greek life for the positives things they offer students.
Greeks know the real struggle of the first Monday of the month. Pin attire – a day where we dress in clothes worthy of the badge of our house, with our pin over our hearts.
When professors see us, we sometimes get the occasional joke about our drinking habits, because we are clearly Greek. People don”t see the symbol of our pins for what they truly mean to us and what it represents about our individual houses.
The association of Greek life and alcohol isn”t the only stereotype that fraternity and sorority members have to deal with either.
Recently, the Alpha Phi chapter at the University of Alabama was nationally criticized for their recruitment video because it only captured thin, white, mostly blonde girls. There was no alcohol or drugs featured in the video. It was an average video of girls smiling and having fun.
We all could have been that chapter. When facing adversity it”s when we, as Greeks, come together as a community to show that these stereotypes shouldn”t be tolerated.
There is a saying in Greek life that from the outside looking in you could never understand it, but from the inside looking out you can never explain it. But I don”t think that”s true. It”s time, as Greeks, for us to explain our community a little bit, so everyone else can understand a lot more.
Alexander Milles can be reached at [email protected]