The stereotypes that plague the Greek system at Loyola have shaped the way students and administration view a certain fifteen organizations on our campus. Do higher-ups at Loyola want to rid the university of Greek life? I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I can present a few cases that give me a suspicious feeling.
Last year’s elimination of organizational housing was an underhanded swipe at fraternities and sororities; when was the last time you heard the Jazz Club or SGA pitching in for a house together?
Swamp Stomp at the Audubon Zoo, an annual welcoming celebration was eliminated because of high Greek attendance. If you pick up a recent copy of The Wolf Yearbook, you’ll notice that Greek life is conveniently omitted. In addition, Greeks are no longer allowed to advertise where or when they are holding an event, nor are they allowed to charge students admission. This last stipulation hits especially hard for Greek organizations with smaller membership, as revenue gained from events previously covered what dues could not. These regulations create a feeling of a pro-rated Greek system at Loyola, and do not help students to become involved.
Negative attitudes towards Greek life wouldn’t bother me if they weren’t so ignorant. On a campus where our motto is to think critically, most push aside any investigation of what Greeks do for Loyola and instead focus on the rumors they hear outside of Monroe Library. While many students join a fraternity or sorority for its social graces, Greeks are also involved in helping this community in countless ways.
Every chapter has a respective philanthropy which is promoted by fundraisers and events. Also, every chapter on campus spends hundreds of hours performing community service every semester, from sheet-rocking to cleaning up St. Charles after Mardi Gras. Just last week, members of the Interfraternity Council were on campus, ready to help freshmen move into their residential halls. If the Jesuits are about doing more for others, then it seems contradictory that groups who dedicate themselves to others are forced to scale back, simply because of their reputation at Loyola and abroad.
In my conversations with the many fellow students, I only heard negatives regarding Greek life. I came to the highly educated conclusion that Greeks were promiscuous drunks who didn’t care about the school or anyone outside of their respective organization.
This view was short-lived, though; through a friend, I stumbled upon a group of gentlemen that wanted to know about me. A few strangers with a smile and an open ear sought me out and wanted to learn about my interests, my family, my concerns; my life. About two weeks later, after receiving a bid to the BEGGARS Fraternity, I happily accepted, and never looked back.
Greek life taught me how to be a leader. It showed me that Loyola is a place of opportunities, that, when taken, will reward ten-fold. Without the support of my brothers and the Greek life community, I could not see myself becoming involved at Loyola. In every organization, there are bound to be bad apples. From the shocking events perpetrated by members of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at Tulane University last spring to the drug ring hosted by six Greek organizations at San Diego State University, individuals inside the Greek system have certainly exploited it. Yet prejudice against individual Greek organizations on account of the actions of a few individuals is widely accepted. A stigma exists for every fraternity and sorority on our campus, and yet, Loyola seems to be okay with this.
College is a time to find out who you are and improve upon it. My involvement with Greek life has brought me in touch with the Loyola Community. My only hope is that students and staff do not continue to be deceived by the negative attitudes about Greeks, because if I had been I would not be at Loyola today.
