GREEK organizations and rushees can be mutually strengthened and improved during rush. Criticisms of the fraternity and sorority system are gross generalizations, the most atrocious being the outrage at these groups regarding superficiality and group mentality. Many of these criticisms come from outside of the Greek community, which partially explains the ignorance of such views.
Opponents of fraternity and sorority life allege that the system is superficial. Greek life creates some of the strongest bonds of friendship on Grounds. Fraternity brothers are held by a bond of common experiences, although these experiences are fabricated through contrived situations in the process of pledging. Nevertheless, fraternal relationships usually last three years to a lifetime. These ties are the consequence of a message that is conveyed strongly by the pledging process: Fraternity is forever.
The fact of friendship within fraternities and sororities is evidenced in living situations among upper-classmen. While off-Grounds housing provides the opportunity for students to form a sub-community of best friends, acquaintances or just random assemblies of personalities, most fraternity men live with one another even outside of their fraternity houses in "satellite houses." This sub-community of brothers is one way in which fraternity and sorority members deepen their relationship with their brothers and sisters. It is a chosen arrangement, not a result of peer pressure.
Once we analyze the lives of the Greek and non-Greek communities more closely, we find that the similarities far outweigh the differences. The group of friends, and the quality of relationships within the Greek community, however, is more consistent as a whole than the non-Greek community. Whether it be intramural sporting events, dating, drinking or studying in Clemons library, you will see fraternity men and sorority women together. This is not because of the image they must maintain, but because they are best of friends.
Friendships among the Greek community, especially the fraternities, while sincere, are in fact formed in contrived situations. This is one major criticism of Greeks from the non-Greek community. It is ignorant, however, to believe that other friendships outside the Greek community are of higher quality or have sprung out of some spontaneity available only outside of official organizations. That the fraternal system relies on a constructed social situation doesn't make their relationships superficial.
Religious groups, for instance, also are in the same sociological situation. They perceive themselves as an out-group among a community of different beliefs. In the same way, a male pledge class is meant to feel ostracized from the fraternity during pledging activities so that the members in each year will form closer relationships with one another.
Fraternities are structured in a way which is conducive to similar people coming together and sharing in their similarities. Rush allows each individual to test the different houses (and they are very different) to find the one most suited to them. Pledging is the period that confirms that decision, and tests the pledges as individuals to sacrifice for one another. This process is similar to the way our military prepares men and women to live and fight as a unit for our country. Each pledge class vows to renew a dedication to the organization and to mutually enjoy the benefits and consequences of "the pledging life."
In the fraternity, each member will sacrifice his personal identity to be recognized by two or three Greek letters. However, individuality is given more of a chance to flourish among a smaller group of friends than it would in the University at large. Each is sacrificing a large portion of his identity in able to form a close group of friends.
The nature of the fraternity is a reflection of the formation of society in its smoothest order. We find ourselves at the University, a collection of mostly upper-middle class to upper class educated members of society. This make-up of the student body perverts our perception of society as a whole. We expect to be one large friend group, but by nature humans seek more intimate relationships.
We seek people with preferences and personalities with which we can identify. Fraternities and sororities are a normal function of humans in society, and real relationships are built upon this base of organization. Fraternities and sororities must remain an integral part of the University. Pledging a fraternity or sorority renews commitment to the fraternity system and constructs better men and women in society.
(Matt West is a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. His column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at mwest@cavalierdaily.com.)
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