With the beginning of the Fall semester comes a myriad of UF activities, but perhaps the most discussed is rush. Whether it’s news coverage, Snapchat stories or traffic halting hordes of impeccably dressed girls, you simply can’t escape it. Consequently, the criticisms of Greek life seem to reach a fever pitch this time of the year.
As someone in Greek life, I’ve heard it all: It’s exclusionary, elitist and superficial. There have been countless instances where, after offhandedly mentioning my sorority, fellow UF students have elaborated on these points or simply looked at me like a lower life form.
While all of these opinions are completely valid, it’s hard to stand idly by without voicing my own perspective. Since the only experience I have is my own, I’m not trying to make any broad, sweeping statements about all Greek chapters. I’m merely hoping to provide a counterbalance to the overwhelmingly negative coverage.
Why did I rush? Well, as a cripplingly awkward, school-obsessed high school student, I didn’t have the most stellar social skills. The IB Program at my tiny school consisted of 17 wonderfully nerdy individuals, so needless to say the transition to a student body of 32,000 was…rough. I wanted friends, somewhere I could feel at home and a sisterhood.
I know, boring, but stay with me.
I never saw myself as a "sorority girl." The term conjured up images that seemed discontinuous with how I saw myself. I knew when I heard "sorority girl" I sure as hell didn’t think of neurotic bookish types who went through vampire phases in middle school.
Yet, as time went by, I felt increasingly comfortable with this new title. I never felt pressured to fit a particular mold, and any changes I’ve gone through in the last two years were undeniably for the better. The problem with this is no one wants to hear about how my sorority sisters made me a better person. Let’s be honest, it’s boring and a whole lot less sexy than the hedonistic image everyone loves to hold onto.
Yes, I’ve gone to parties with my sisters — and I’ve also gone to National Women’s Liberation benefits with them. I’ve taken on Midtown with them and I’ve sat in the waiting room of doctor’s offices with them when they were too scared to go alone. They dragged me to football games and I dragged them to poetry readings.
What I’m trying to say here is any generalization about a particular community is guaranteed to fall short. Are there entitled, shallow, narcissistic people in Greek organizations? Absolutely, but chances are they were like that long before they joined a sorority or fraternity. It’s a classic case of "nature versus nurture" that can never truly be settled but is worth consideration regardless.
Greek students make up less than 20 percent of the undergraduate population at this school, so why all the debate? I think there’s something inherently human about focusing on surface level differences. Sometimes it’s hard to ignore whatever deltas or omegas are plastered all over another student, but in the end they don’t mean anything. For the most part, we all have the same goals: get good grades, make some friends, graduate on time and don’t screw it up too badly. The paths we take to accomplish these goals can take any form, and that doesn’t make one necessarily any better than another.
The UF Student Body is an amazingly diverse, intelligent and eccentric community. I think now, more than ever, it’s time to shift the focus from our differences to our similarities.
Marisa Papenfuss is a UF English junior. Her column appears on Tuesdays.
