Column: The reality of being Greek at CSULB

There’s a lot of validity to the phrase “it’s all Greek to me.”

In the world of fraternities and sororities, words like “rush,” “pledge” and “big” have practical definitions that tend to differ notably from what one could find in the dictionary.

For those of us in the Greek system, it’s easy to understand and navigate. But, whether any of us want to admit it or not, there are a lot of misconceptions about what it really means to be affiliated on campus, especially for students unaffiliated with a chapter.

Before I went through recruitment and found a sisterhood in Delta Zeta to join, I had no idea how things worked, what to expect and how true — or untrue — all the movies and TV shows are. So, in the wake of the mountain of coverage focusing on Greek life in the last few months, here’s a basic breakdown of the realities of being a brother or sister.

Recruitment

Greek affiliation starts with recruitment, the process by which students interested in joining a fraternity or sorority get to know individual Greek houses and, usually, are offered a bid for membership from a chapter. Fall semester always brings the largest crowds through recruitment, but there are still recruitment events and bids offered throughout spring.

For girls interested in joining one of our eight sororities, recruitment spans three days and gives them the chance to visit every house at least once. At the houses, active members of the sororities have one-on-one conversations to explain what makes their sorority unique.  As the days go on, girls revisit specific houses based on a mutual selection process – girls rank the houses in order of preference, and the chapters as a whole send invitations to the girls they want to see again.

The process ends with final offers of membership, called bids, being handed out by the chapters. For guys looking into fraternities, the process is a bit different. Each fraternity hosts an event every day for a week, most of which are open to anyone interested in the house.

There’s no obligation for the guys to attend events for all the chapters, so they’re able to focus on whatever houses have piqued their interests. The final events of the week are usually invitation only, but bids can be handed out and accepted at any point in the week.

Across the Greek system, new members of fraternities and sororities have to make their way through an educational, probationary period before getting formally initiated into the chapter. This is when the history, standards, obligations and traditions of each chapter are taught to the new members and the sense of connection to the house really begins.

Hazing

More than anything, I get asked whether or not hazing is as prominent in Greek life as media lead us to believe. Personally, I’ve never experienced anything even close to hazing – in fact, there are some really strict guidelines we have to follow to keep ourselves clear of any sort of trouble.

Aside from the standard zero-tolerance policy the campus has for hazing, there are words chapters aren’t allowed to use when referencing uninitiated members, restrictions on how we use social media to represent our chapters and a very strong understanding that the pillars of Greek life don’t encompass hazing.

The university website outlines what sort of actions count as hazing, and the intricacies laid out in the standards cover just about anything that could cause harm to anyone in any sort of way. Leeway really isn’t part of the equation.

There might be some less-than-upstanding things that go on behind the closed doors of some houses that I’m not aware of, but I can say with complete honesty that girls don’t have to sit on washing machines to see how much their stomachs jiggle and guys don’t have to shotgun 10 beers in a row to prove they’re not lightweights. And, if any member of the Greek community is caught participating in anything that qualifies as hazing, they’re done. That’s all there is to it.

Parties

College kids party. Period. Yes, there are parties on weekends at fraternity houses. Yes, there are venue-based formals and preferential banquets throughout the semester. Yes, alcohol is present at a lot of events.

But there’s no discernable difference between a party thrown by a fraternity and a party thrown by a sports team, or a party thrown by a theater cast, or a party thrown by bored kids celebrating a late birthday.

The discussion of Greek partying is a dead horse that’s been beaten for years. I’m not saying that unsafe conditions or unhealthy habits are anything to take lightly, but pinning the issue on the Greek community is missing the mark. Parties in the community are influenced by the college atmosphere and not that out of the ordinary when looking at the student body as a whole.

Obligations

At the end of the day, everyone in a fraternity or sorority can list an individual reason they went through recruitment, but there are still obligations we all have to fulfill.

We all have to keep ourselves in good financial standing and promptly pay the chapter dues that cover our membership fees, house maintenance, event coordination, etc. We all have to perform community service and find ways to support both local and national philanthropies. We all have to uphold the standards of our houses and the campus at large, serving as examples of leadership, scholarship, friendship and service. We all have to maintain levels of personal and professional composure to keep our houses respected.

The best part? We all want to.