However their job is not an easy one, stereotyped by Hollywood and the tube as nothing other than houses where wild parties are thrown and booze drank by the gallon, fraternities and sororities have a hard time convincing others that they are much more than that.
Averaging about 70 members per chapter, the twelve Fraternities and two Sororities, take on about 40% of the WPI underclass population, making WPI's Greek system one of the strongest in the area. Many of the WPI chapters have been recognized as some of the best in the entire nation by their national or international headquarters.
The fact is that many times important aspects of Greek life are overlooked. It will come as a surprise for people not involved in it, that fraternity and sorority members are required to spend some of their time doing community services. The community projects range from community clean-ups, fundraising for charities, up to helping organize and running nationwide events such as the Special Olympics.
According to George Downey, a junior and member of Theta Chi, Joining a fraternity was one of the best things he has ever done. "You learn a lot from other people, " Downey said.
And for Andrea Dorow, assistant director for student activities, learning is a great benefit which Greek life has. Dorow feels that Greek life provides a lot of opportunities ranging from building social skills up to building leadership skills. She claimed than running a chapter requires a lot of leadership decision making on the part of the students. "Greek life is a very unique educational opportunity," Dorow said.
Eric Ammon, a senior and president of TKE, also echoes Downey's feeling when explaining that one of the common misconceptions about Greek life is that it steals away your own identity. According to him, diversity plays an important role in fraternities and sororities. "Fraternities are not doing a wash... Fraternity life is about getting others to get to know you, while you get to know others, rather than you becoming somebody else" Ammon said.
Joining a sorority was an instant ticket to new friends for Cindy Mitchell, a Phi Sig Sig Senior. "It changed my life a lot. There are a lot of things I like about Greek life but the best thing about it is friendship," Mitchell said. According to many fraternity and sorority members, once you join a Fraternity or a sorority, you become part of the house, all the brothers or sisters are there for you as a magic bond grows among each other through experience, meetings, activities and the fact that the chapter as a whole has to work together to reach the house goals. These bonds outgrows time and stays with you even after graduation. Postgrad networking through chapter alumni has proven to be a powerful tool for many.
John Lambie, '98 and a FIJI member, feels confident about the rest of his stay at WPI, now that he has joined a fraternity. "I have friends and my grades are starting to improve thanks to the help of many of my brothers." Often study groups and study sessions are organized by the chapter. But even if they are not, there is always a brother ready to lend you a hand.
However, going Greek is not an invitation to a "wonderland." Along with all the fun comes new responsibilities that should be carefully considered. For instance, to be one of them, many of the fraternities require their members to pay national dues that can go from a hundredto a thousand dollars per year. On top of that, hats, T-shirts, formal parties and other formal events are paid by members. For many, however, this is not as bad as it seems since some money is saved on room and board, and the fact that you'll be living in an already furnished house and enjoying of several group facilities such as a TV and audio room, pool and foos ball tables, etc.
The biggest requirement, however, seems to be the time commitment. It varies from chapter to chapter, but successful time management is a must. Pledges or New Members are required to attend weekly pledges' meetings as well as other chapter meetings. They are also required to attend all special activities programmed for them to be initiated into the chapter. Enzo Scalona, '98, got a bid but decided to de-pledge. "It was a commitment I was not ready to take. It would have meant to take a lot of time away from my studies."
Although Fraternities claim not to be elitist or exclusionary, others try to differ. Heather Cleary '96 never joined a sorority, but during her first year most of her friends did. Her relationships with them started to deteriorate due to all the activities, meetings and other special events her friends had to go to. "I felt deserted, because I was not in a sorority I could not do any of the stuff they were doing and they never had time to spend with me." She also feels that the sorority rush is more strict than the fraternity rush. "There are so few rush events (for sororities) that you have to go to almost all of them. Missing one will greatly decrease your chances of getting in."
Mitchell however claimed that the commitment was just part of the sisterhood and even though Scalona de-pledged, he felt that rushing was a smart decision.
Going Greek could be the best thing or the dumbest thing you could do in life, but what you have to remember when you make the decision is that you should do it based on your own feelings. The fact that you go through RUSH does not mean that you need to join a Fraternity or a Sorority. So take your time to see what Greek life is all about and then make a decision, or as Scalona puts it: "Greek Life: you have to try yourself, you can't ask people what is like...You have to try it and then decide if that's what you want to do."
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