The Greek System

The Greek System Hey guys, Recently in the media, there has been a lot of negative  attention aimed at the Greek community nationwide. A few  bad eggs have given people a less than pleasant perception  about Greek life as a whole, but the truth of the matter is that these very public examples of Greek life are really only a small sample size. My goal for this post is in no way, shape, or form intended to recruit kids coming to college to join Greek life. I fully comprehend that its not for everyone, and thats fineâ€"to each their own. Instead, my aim is to teach people that going Greek is no different than joining any other student-run organization. In the rush process, there are interviews, there is an executive board that runs the chapter, there are chair positions that execute specific jobs to aid in the running of the chapter, and there is an alumni base that offers support to its undergrad counterparts. However, the real focus of Greek life is to be a supplemental part of the collegiate education system and to assist in developing young men and women into functioning members of society. I believe that becoming part of the Greek community  is something that will augment ones  college experiences in a positive manner. When I first came to Illinois, it was my first time spending more than a week away from home by myself. At that point in my life, joining a fraternity had never even crossed my mind. This was true until I started exploring campus. When I came across the fraternity I would one day be a proud member of, I was oblivious. All I saw was a kid in a t-shirt from a high school near where I lived back home. Wanting to meet a new friend, I walked up to the kid and was instantly hooked. Now, people can brush my experience off as a simple rush tactic implemented on an impressionable college freshman, but I see it as more. The immediate and genuine friendship I experienced that day and those I’ve enjoyed for the past three years have been some of my fondest memories of college. For me, Greek life has always been about camaraderie, the personal development of my brothers and myself, and helping each other as much as we can to succeed in both our personal lives as well as our academic and professional lives. For this reason, I think it would be wrong if some incoming freshmen turned a blind eye to even the possibility of joining a Greek organization because of a false perception they might have of the Greek community. Until next time, Kenny Kenny Class of 2016 I’m in the Creative Writing program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I’m originally from Tampa, Florida, but I’ve been calling Illinois my home since 1998. I’ve lived all over the Northwest suburbs, from Palatine to Lakemoor to where I currently live back home, Mundelein.