STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE ’08: Greek life guide

BY JESSICA BAKEMAN

Frat boys and sorority sisters. To American teens, those
phrases probably evoke images of young guys guzzling endless cups of beer and
out-of-control young women who just want to party.

            But be wary
when approaching the Greek life scene with pop-culture-based preconceptions.
Monica Smalls, University of Rochester’s
director of fraternity and sorority affairs, says what you assume may not
reflect what’s actually there.

            “If I had my
way, pop culture would be the fraternity and sorority members enacting their
values on a daily basis,” Smalls says. “But are there issues within the
fraternity and sorority community?” she asks rhetorically, citing such pop culture
portrayals of Greeks as “Animal House.” “Sure there are. It’s about choices.
Some fraternities and sororities — some people — make the right choices, and
some make choices they will regret later on.”

            To Smalls,
fraternity and sorority life isn’t about the drinking and partying shown in the
movie “Old School,” or the shallow relationships exhibited in the TV series “GRΣΣK.” It’s about
learning and leadership.

            “It’s really
about… the personal development, the value-based action that students
participate in and gain — creating communities and providing an opportunity for
students to get involved,” she says.

At Rochester-area colleges, you’ll see letter-bearing
men and women walking around four campuses: University
of Rochester, RIT, SUNY Brockport,
and SUNY Geneseo.

            Each
national Greek organization has specific charitable causes that it devotes its
community service energies toward. For example, UR’s
frats and sororities dedicate their time to Amnesty International and Boys and
Girls Clubs of America, as well as local causes like the Golisano Children’s
Hospital at Strong. Students program fundraising efforts and events as a part
of their pledge to complete community service hours. According to Brockport’s Greek
life website (brockport.edu/campuslife/greek), undergraduate Greeks perform
more than 850,000 hours of community service and raise $7 million for charities
each year.

            Geneseo Dean
of Students Leonard Sancilio says the school’s Greeks do a lot of volunteer
work, including raising “a boatload of money” for Relay for Life, an annual
event to benefit cancer research. Additionally, Sancilio says many Greeks hold
other leadership positions on campus, including acting as resident assistants
or orientation assistants.

            Being a
leader in college may lead to more prestigious ones later in life, as all but two United
States presidents, and two vice-presidents,
born after 1825 — when the first social fraternity was founded –were
fraternity members, according to Brockport’s Greek life page.

Greek life activities aren’t just to benefit others,
however. Sancilio says the sisterhood or brotherhood may fill the void of
loneliness in a student’s life. “For those who are looking for a closer-knit
group of friends, or a family away from family, Greek life does fulfill that
for some,” he says.

            On the other
hand, St. John Fisher, which does not offer Greek life, specifically excludes
fraternities and sororities because, as Tom Rodgers, director of campus life,
puts it, Fisher’s already close-knit community doesn’t need them.

            “With Fisher
being a smaller college,” Rodgers says, “we focus on and we promote our sense
of community. We feel that we do the best we can to fit the need to where there
wouldn’t be a demand for fraternities and sororities on campus.”

            As far as Rodgers
can see, the policy regarding Greek life is ironclad. But, he says, students
don’t seem to care.

            “It’s not
that we haven’t had questions about fraternities and sororities,” he says. “But
since I’ve been here, we’ve never had students saying this is a…void that needs
to be filled.”

Geneseo’s Sancilio says that the media sensationalizes
Greek life, but he acknowledges that some of the downsides attributed to it are
accurate.

            “Alcohol is
an issue on every college campus,” Sancilio says, “and I think Greek life has a
way of continuing that. I think that would the No. 1 issue.”

            Tammi Wiley,
assistant director of campus life at Brockport, says some students join Greek
life with unrealistic expectations of the party scene. In fact, students who
come into fraternities and sororities solely for the social aspect “tend to not
be as successful,” she says. Their frustration and disappointment with the
“work” side — community service, leadership roles — leads to less commitment.

            Greek life
is not for everyone, Wiley says. There are time commitments that may be too
demanding for some students, and which could have a negative effect on a
student’s grades if time management isn’t his or her particular skill.

The most important advice for potential Greeks: do your
research.

            “We provide
a lot of information so [potential pledges] do their homework,” says Jessica
Berner, assistant director of campus life at RIT. “They find the group that is
the right fit for them.”

            There’s usually
a financial requirement that must be considered before you make any kind of
commitment. Fraternity and sorority chapters support themselves by charging
members dues. According to RIT’s website, “Each chapter has different
dues for membership that cover such things as chapter and national dues, due to
the Interfraternity, Panhellenic, and National Pan-Hellenic Councils, social
activities, resources and other miscellaneous costs.”

            College-life
resource site ecampustours.com says fraternity/sorority dues can range from
$100 to $1,000 per semester. Some fraternities and sororities have sponsorship
programs if a student cannot afford to join.

            Find
out the extent of your commitment before taking the plunge — don’t find
yourself stuck in a financial drain that you’re not ready for.

What about hazing? SUNY Brockport dedicates an entire
chapter of its handbook to its no-tolerance policy of this infamous ritual — a
policy shared by all colleges in New York,
as the state outlaws hazing.

            Hazing is an
initiation process involving harassment, and if caught, can be punishable by up
to one year in jail. Other potential punishments include probation and fines.

            But hazing
is not only what you might picture, such as students being pressured into chugging
alcohol, for example. Some frats and sororities haze new members in a variety
of other ways that may seem less harsh, or more subtle.

            Hazing
ranges from new members being ignored or forced into performing meaningless or
ridiculous activities, to actions that can cause physical or emotional harm,
such as sleep deprivation or personal servitude.

If you’re looking into a fraternity or sorority, also
be aware of unrecognized organizations, or “underground fraternities.” These
are groups — often initially recognized by a school, but which were stripped of
privileges by judicial rulings — that a school does not support in any on- or
off-campus activities, including the recruitment of new members.

            Some schools
even punish students for becoming involved with these groups, although that has
not yet happened at any Rochester-area schools. Geneseo is currently in the
process of implementing this policy, since the school is aware of at least two
unrecognized Greek organizations active on its campus.

            At UR,
Smalls says the school has not had to deal with this problem extensively.
However, there is a policy in place that states once an organization loses the
school’s support, it cannot regain recognition until two years have passed
without any problems or initiations of new students.

            Brockport
lists its unrecognized frats and sororities on its website, and suggests that
new students stay away from “for the most part because there’s no benefit,”
Wiley says. “You’re not getting the benefit of the network; you’re not getting
any foundation of values; you’re not getting leadership development, character
building, and service; and you’re still paying a lot of money to someone who is
probably personally profiting rather than benefiting a larger group.”

SIDEBAR:

Does your school go Greek?

Brockport

Greek life: Yes

Number of organizations: 9

Academic expectations: 2.25 GPA or higher

Pledging allowed: After completing at least 12 credit
hours

Contact: Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life,
395-5646

Finger LakesCommunity
College

Greek life: No

Geneseo

Greek life: Yes

Number of organizations: 19 (encompassing nearly 12
percent of the student body)

Academic expectations: 2.0 GPA or higher

Pledging allowed: 15 credits, one semester of
on-campus residence

Contact: Wendi Rice, 245-5968

MonroeCommunity
College

Greek life: No

Nazareth

Greek life: No

Roberts Wesleyan

Greek life: No

RIT

Greek life: Yes

Number of organizations: 29

Academic expectations: Each chapter sets its own GPA
requirements

Pledging allowed: Right away

Contact: Center for Campus Life, 475-7058

St. John
Fisher

Greek life: No

University of Rochester

Greek life: Yes

Number of organizations: 31 (encompassing roughly 23
percent of student body)

Academic expectations: Not specified by school,
although some chapters may have national standards

Pledging allowed: Second semester freshman year

Contact: Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs,
275-3167

This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2008.