By OLIVIA BURGER
a&l editor
While in many ways college is the complete opposite of high school, some things remain the same throughout the transition.
One thing I’ve found that doesn’t change much is the way in which students interact and group together.
Don’t get me wrong, college certainly isn’t as “cliquey” as high school typically is, and you rarely see the dramatics of status quo and cliché cafeteria niches.
However, I do think that it would be silly to suggest that students at Gannon aren’t guilty of falling into certain categories on campus.
I don’t think it’s particularly a bad thing nor is it anyone’s fault. It makes logical sense that at a small university like Gannon, students tend to gravitate toward groups of individuals that share similar interests, whether that is athletics, theater, art, etc.
Like any other student on campus, I have my own clubs and organizations that I fit into, and my own friend groups that have stemmed from these common interests.
While I relate to this way of interacting and I respect all of the different organizations on campus, there is one group at Gannon that I just can’t wrap my mind around.
Greek life at Gannon seems to be one of, if not the most popular, student organizations on campus.
I have dozens of friends who are involved in sororities and fraternities at Gannon, and I completely respect their decision to be a part of Greek life.
I do see the benefits of Greek life through their positive experiences, but being the skeptical and cynical person I am, I simply don’t understand the hype surrounding it all.
Before you all start sharpening your pitchforks and grabbing your paddles, hear me out, because I feel like there are a lot of other non-Greek life students on campus who may agree.
The first issue I have with Greek organizations is the money. Now, I’m not going to preach the overused statement claiming, “you’re paying for your friends,” because I do think that the friends you make through a sorority or a fraternity are genuine friendships that you’ll keep for a long time.
I just personally know I couldn’t justify spending thousands of dollars on a group of friends that you’d probably have regardless of the Greek title.
Another issue I have with sororities and fraternities is the endless amount of irrelevant hoops you have to jump through to become and remain a member. I know that these tasks are traditions and are a big part of the “brotherhood” and “sisterhood” idea, but I just don’t think I have the patience or the mindset for that stuff.
Perhaps the biggest issue I have with Greek life is the degree to which it is honored, specifically at Gannon.
From an outsider’s perspective, Greek life at Gannon seems to be almost a requirement if you want to be, for lack of a better term, “cool.”
I probably just sound like an angsty, loser wannabe-Greek, but in all sincerity, I just don’t think that Greek life is for everyone although Gannon markets it as such.
It is OK to absolutely love Greek life and it is OK to do without it, but for those of you teetering at the border, don’t be afraid to re-re-think Greek.
OLIVIA BURGER
