Now that false stereotypes have been solved, why join? This was a question I asked myself for a whole semester. I got to see my friends go through the pledge process from afar and experience the unaffiliated life. Not until second semester is when I decided to rush and started meeting people. Just within my first week as a Sigma, I can attest that I met more people than my whole first semester. I met everyone from my now girlfriend to my mentor because I joined Sigma Phi Epsilon. But this is not just my experience. My dorm mate and close friend, Jet Wu, briefly told me his success story during a short interview I conducted with him. As a member of Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) here at Pepperdine, Jet expressed that he “met so many people, especially upperclassmen, [he] never would have met!” This point is a great one he brings to light. The upperclassmen here are perhaps the most connected but most in the shadow in terms of catching them around campus.
Greek life allows us all to be connected to elders on campus. This is extremely beneficial because they have done everything we as underclassmen are going through. Whether it is what teacher to pick for next year’s classes or what internships to keep an eye out for, this is extremely important to building leadership and success in each of us. Apart from the academic success these connections bring, there is also numerous fun activities Greek life allows us. My favorite is mixers with other sororities. We do everything from go bowling together to eating at a Mexican food restaurant. These are great because we meet amazing women and also get to experiences new places that we might not have otherwise have visited. Overall, there are numerous benefits, but these encapsulate the main benefits I see in being a part of my Greek family. Works Cited Wu, Jet. Personal Interview. 15 April 2018.
6 Comments
To combat stereotypes, I have always seen it fit to lead by example. People can talk all they want but proving them wrong with actions is the best way to make your point. In my aforementioned post, us Greeks are faced with stereotypes (most often false) from the moment we join a fraternity/sorority. Because of this, it is very important to watch our actions and lead by example. Being a part of Greek Life brings with it many opportunities to set an example, though. For example, my fraternity is partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Every year, we hold our annual philanthropy event where we raise thousands of dollars for children in impoverished areas to give them the nurture they need and deserve. It is small opportunities here and there that being affiliated with a fraternity offers in order to lead through service. Without SigEp, I could still do service work. But, with my fraternity I am given a large platform to lead and serve. Most important of all, why do all this? Why go through “pledge?” Why pay dues every semester? The answer is simple, and it is purpose. There is a purpose and reason to every philanthropy event we do, or every rush week event, etc. Our purpose is to serve others and build and maintain a strong bond within while doing so. One of our three cardinal principles is diligence. This is the most prominent to me because it regards always bettering oneself in order to give help others need. This summer, I will be attending our 5-day Ruck Leadership summit, where all SigEp’s will embody the crowd. Here, I will learn what it means to be a leader and how to lead others out of the darkness in times of need. In the Fast Company article by Faisal Hoque, you need to be able to lead yourself before you can lead others. This article, given to us by our chapter guide in order to describe the Leadership Summit better, gave me a whole new perspective on leadership. In this article, the notion of devotion is mentioned again when critic Hoque goes on to state that “our personal devotion turns us into better leaders (Hoque 2013).” It is self-evident that every activity or event we do as a brotherhood has purpose and reason. No matter how grueling, I always come out a stronger, more diligent man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3c_Opy1ABw
This short clip embodies just one of the thousands of Greek Life organizations across the world can make a difference. Works Cited Hoque, Faisal. "To Lead Others, Learn to Lead Yourself First." Fast Company, https://www.fastcompany.com/3005306/lead-others-learn-lead-yourself-first. Accessed 16 April 2018. Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. "Why SigEp?" Online Video Clip. Youtube. 1 Nov. 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3c_Opy1ABw. Accessed 17 April 2018. “Oh, so you are a partier” is a phrase I so commonly am labeled as a fraternity man. But, this one stereotype of many is what makes Greek Life so amazing to me since joining. Because this is not the case that we are just partiers, I am extremely prideful when I am able to offer service to the less fortunate, provide guidance to those in need, and most importantly have purpose in all that I do. Every fraternity has their own significant points they stand for. Just as my university has its standards of service, leadership, and purpose, my fraternity is special here at Pepperdine because we stand for virtue, diligence, and brotherly love. These three values encapsulate that of Pepperdine’s mission regarding Christian values and allow us all the opportunity to get involved on and off of campus. But these values do not just apply to my small, Christian school. Yes, larger schools have parties and stereotypes attached to them that rollover to innocent schools like mine. That said, these problems have been recognized nationally. For example, my fraternity has banned all alcohol and substances from our fraternity houses across the nation. Just as quickly as these stereotypes overshadow the fraternity and Greek life as a whole, we must swiftly dismantle the falsities. My experience has so far consisted of a group of men whom have been shaped individually to assist one another through the hardships college can so often leave you feeling alone about. For example, a relative of mine recently passed away and my Greek family made me feel like I lost one but gained sixty more people who cared for me. This is just one of numerous examples that consisted of the brotherly love that I would not have had if I didn’t affiliate. Outside of the fraternity, I have had the opportunity to get involved in numerous service projects I would not otherwise have heard about if I was not in SigEp. Another stereotype we are so commonly labeled as is poor performers in school. To combat this statement, my personal GPA has risen this semester compared to last. As brothers, the elder actives are here to help and push us to do our best. There is now always a resource to me within the fraternity to ask for help because of their past experience in a specific class or with a certain professor. According to former Greek life member and now columnist Peter Jacobs, “Greeks have higher GPAs at many schools and are more likely to graduate.” Based off of this statement I am affirmative to believe that this strong social connection and involvement on and off of campus furthermore leads students to feel more connected to their university academically as a second-hand consequence. This correlation between academics and social life holds the truth that fraternities and sororities allow a platform for better grades to be self evident. Now that some of the most common stereotypes have been outweighed by the truth, all men and women should join Greek life! Works Cited Jacobs, Peter. "I Still Think Joining a Fraternity Was one of the Best Decisions I've Ever Made." Business Insider, Jan. 28, 2015, http://www.businessinsider.com/greek-life-benefits-2014-12. Accessed 9 March 2018. "Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity Announces Ban on Alcohol." SigEp Journal, Nov. 8 2017, https://sigep.org/sigepjournal/sigma-phi-epsilon-fraternity-announces-ban-on-alcohol/. Accessed 11 March 2018. Image Via https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/greek-life/
|
Biography
Being a Freshman at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, I bring a unique experience to Greek life because I joined the fraternity spring semester. This experience allows me to give perspectives being affiliated and being an independent taking on college. |