More than just a keg party
As another school year begins, I look around and see the herdsof new sorority and fraternity hopefuls for the coming year. Iremember coming to this school just one year ago and not knowinganything about the Greek system or what “being Greek”really meant, but knowing that it seemed like a lot of fun and itwas something I wanted to be a part of.
As the Greek students of SMU embark on the journey of anotheryear of school, we should all be asking ourselves, “What doesit really mean to be Greek?” I highly doubt the foundingsisters of sororities had five Burberry scarves, three LouisVuitton purses, twenty free t-shirts and shoes to match. AndI’m sure the founders of our fraternities weren’tconcerned about how many beers they could down in an hour whilerunning around naked with a paddle. Don’t get me wrong: Ilove free t-shirts (and beer), but I refuse to let these thingsdefine my fraternity experience.
When I joined my fraternity, I loved the parties they threw forme, but I also knew that with these new brothers came a great dealof responsibility. Being Greek is a privilege, not a right. Thecurrent stereotype of Greek life is a far cry from the originalintent of these societies. Fraternities and sororities are foundedupon values — values that are supposed to help lead itsmembers to make right decisions in life. Greek life has seen bothits ups and downs this past year at SMU, and as we begin a newyear, I challenge all members of the Greek community to take aconcentrated look at the values that we profess and the oath wetook to uphold these values. Without these values, what are weother than a group of spoiled kids paying for our friends? Thereare hundreds of new Greek hopefuls in the class of 2008, and weneed to prove to ourselves and to them that being Greek is a goodthing and that we do in fact live up to the values that weproclaim.
Every year, Greek life becomes more scrutinized at collegesacross the nation. Chapters are getting shut down, numbers aregoing down, and without intervention from the students, Greek lifecould disappear from the college scene in the very near future. Weneed to protect our way of life, and the best way of doing so is bysetting a good example and showing the public that being Greek isnot a bad thing. Setting a good example has to go beyond yearlyphilanthropies and fundraisers. We need to be out there living ourvalues on a day-to-day basis and striving to use in our everydaylife the values we’ve cultivated in our chapters. Ourorganizations are not invincible, and we have a responsibility toourselves and to our brothers and sisters that came before us toprotect and uphold our values and traditions. We need to set a goodexample for the University community and consistently prove that weare an asset to this school, not a liability.
Austin Kilgore is a junior dance major and the assistantphoto editor for The Daily Campus.
