Vandal Friday brought hundreds of potential students to the University of Idaho campus last weekend. Some were awestruck by their potential future home, some looked ashamed to be walking around with their parents and I even saw a few misguided people pompously sporting their letterman jackets.
Justin Ackerman | Argonaut
It reminded me a lot of my Vandal Friday experience, but it wasn’t until I ran into someone I went to high school with that the nostalgia really hit me.
Our conversation began with small chitchat, but eventually questions about college life soon arose.
The questions were generic and some of them even made me laugh to myself, reminiscing on just how mysterious college can be before you get here. How hard are classes? Can you really skip whenever you want? I had breakfast at Bob’s this morning, is it always so good?
Eventually we reached the subject of housing, and more specifically the Greek system. My friend had just spent a night with a fraternity and didn’t enjoy his experience. Not that it wasn’t fun, it just wasn’t for him.
He said the guys were accommodating, nice, full of advice on how to succeed in college and he definitely saw the appeal.
Yet, he told me he couldn’t imagine living in a house with that many people, and that the closeness was more off-putting than it was warm and welcoming.
Although Vandal Friday only provides a limited view of all that Greek life has to offer, it seemed like a no-brainer to me. If you didn’t enjoy yourself at least attempt to seek other living options.
However, that just wasn’t going to cut it for him. My friend had been convinced Greek life was the only portal to a fun and successful college experience.
He cited many of the same statistics heard in the numerous “why you should go Greek” speeches given in freshmen communications classes each semester.
The higher average GPA, the accountability living in a house provides, the social opportunities or my personal favorite, all but two presidents after 1835 were members of a fraternity.
These statistics provided don’t all hold true at UI. In the spring of 2013, the UI Greek average GPA was only .07 higher than that of the student body at large.
These statistics are usually pushed on new students, but many forget that residence in any of the living communities on campus generally leads to increased GPA, accountability and higher graduation rates.
Ultimately, if a student does not enjoy their living situation, success will be harder to find — whether it’s a house, residence hall or apartment, it’s important to embrace and enjoy where you live. The definition of success, both academic and social, is different for everyone, and college is too short to ruin that in any way.
Justin Ackerman can be reached at [email protected]