Greek Life is a major part of the college experience, whether you are a part of it or not. Though most people think of Greek Life as being nothing but parties and chaos, to me, this is not true. While the people in the organization may host parties, Greek Life is a valuable aspect to college life. Usually, the Greek organizations we have on campus have a good amount of recruitment done each year. This year, however, seems to be different because the Greek organizations, mainly those in the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Council, have not had many new recruits this year. I understand that there are years when recruitment is low, but many organizations only recruited a small handful of the usual number. To me, this is funny because many people normally try to jump on the Greek Life bandwagon at some point during their college careers.
In terms of the Interfraternity Council (IFC), we once had three options for guys to choose from: Sigma Nu, Phi Kappa Tau and Chi Beta Psi. Normally, Sigma Nu appears to rule in terms of recruitment due to their highly active presence on campus. This fall, however, they only handed out 10 bids (bids being an invitation to join) and only four were initiated. This semester, however, they handed out only three bids with only two accepting. Phi Kappa Tau announced a few weeks ago that they will be dissolving their chapter. They have been declining in numbers the past few years and all but one of their brothers will be graduating this spring. In terms of Chi Beta Psi, this fraternity is still relatively new, so they may have an excuse for not giving out a large of amount of bids. They initiated three guys last semester and chose not to give out any bids this semester. Chi Beta Psi was formed just a little over a year ago in the fall of 2015. They are, however, growing and obtaining new members. I would say they are currently on par with Sigma Nu in terms of handing out bids and recruiting new people. Also, they appear to have gained some serious presence during the last year. I almost joined a fraternity during the previous academic year. The only reason I did not is due to the lack of time and commitment in my schedule. I would still love to join if I could commit to it.
On the topic of sororities in the Panhellenic Council, there are three options: Alpha Sigma Alpha, Phi Sigma Sigma and Sigma Sigma Sigma. For the sororities, it appears that with the exception of Alpha Sigma Alpha, recruitment has been adequate, but still low. For Phi Sigma Sigma and Sigma Sigma Sigma, recruitment ranged from four or five people during the fall with the numbers for the spring still pending. This is a good amount, but it is not a great amount considering how many people are normally recruited. In terms of Alpha Sigma Alpha, the numbers were relatively the same with the exception that they did not have many people even go through recruitment. In terms of how recruitment normally goes, Phi Sigma Sigma appears to have a strong presence on campus, though not much more than its two competitors.
Greek life, to me, plays a major role in having a true college experience. As I said earlier, this fact is true even if you are not a member of such groups on campus. Recruitment has not been very extensive this year and to me this is not a good sign. I understand that Greek Life comes with its costs and time commitments, but it is a worthwhile experience. Do not let the media tell you about Greek Life. By this I mean, do not trust what everyone tells you and even if you join and do not like what is going on, then try to change it. Also, for all you people out there who think that social groups in Greek Life, like fraternities and sororities, are just for parties then you are wrong and should not write them off for that reason.
Jonathan Joyner
jrjoyner@vwc.edu