Opinion: Greek life has something for everyone

By Alycia Lucio
Staff Writer

Want to know a great way to meet new friends and get involved?  How about Greek life?  We’ve all seen TV shows and movies depicting sororities and fraternities.  They usually involve teenagers partying all night and going through ridiculous amounts of hazing, but here at Lycoming, it is safe to say that there is more to Greek life than what we see on screen.

Joining a sorority or fraternity can be a great way to come out of your shell if you’re shy, pick up some leadership skills, participate in community service, or simply have fun!  Additionally, Greek life isn’t all about sprucing up your résumé—although that never hurts—they also offer some events as well like Lambda Chi Alpha’s Highlighter party last semester.

So say you’re looking for more friends or just any friends for that matter, joining a fraternity or sorority may be just the place for you to find them.  Many of the Greek organizations have social events such as: Greek Week, Formal, award banquets, and dance parties.  All of these events are a great way to learn more about some of the individuals on campus.  And being a part of a sorority or fraternity makes you not only a friend, but like family.

Okay, maybe you’re already friends with some people in Greek life, but you really just want that résumé to look extra spiffy.  The fraternity and sorority community offer a variety of leadership opportunities.  They deal with social issues, business, philanthropy, and so much more.

 You can even gain leadership experience through Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council.  If you’re not the leader type, you can also participate in the various community service opportunities such as: Habitat for Humanity, Adopt-a-Highway, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Red Cross Blood Mobile, Breast Cancer Awareness, and Teddy Bear Drive.

If this isn’t enough information to convince you to join, maybe you just need help passing finals or that accounting course.  Fraternities and sororities are all for wanting you to have academic success which is why they offer tutoring, study hours, study tables, and educational programs.  But remember to keep those GPAs up, because Greek life does have a set minimum GPA.  However, they vary from fraternity to sorority so make sure to check with current members or stop by the Office of Student Programs on the third floor of Wertz and speak to Candy Rivera, advisor for Panhellic and Intrafraternity Councils, for more information.
Now all you have to think about is what fraternity or sorority to join.  The fraternities consist of: Tau Kappa Epsilon, Lambda Chi Alpha, Kappa Delta Rho and Phi Kappa Psi.  And the sororities are: Alpha Sigma Tau, Gamma Delta Sigma, Alpha Rho Omega, Beta Phi Gamma and Alpha Xi Delta.

While Formal Recruitment for sororities began last weekend, don’t be bummed.  Both fraternities and sororities offer a chance for new members to join every semester, so just keep a look out for posters and don’t forget to read your emails!