Enticing hundreds of students to return to school a week early is no easy feat. However, the idea of membership in the prominent SMU Greek system lured hundreds of freshmen back to school to participate in rush. What draws so many students in?

Boys are eager to return for a week of partying with no early classes to hold them back. However, older members can control new fraternity pledges’ social lives for months after recruitment. Not to mention any number of uncomfortable illegal situations young men may face upon joining a Greek organization. Even with strict rules addressing hazing, it is nearly impossible to control what goes on behind the scenes. Whether it is being forced to consume enormous quantities of alcohol, to stop drinking and/or smoking altogether, to tolerate physical pain or to be on call for grunt work all the time, many young men go to great lengths in order to be initiated into a fraternity. What makes all the suffering worth it?

Girls’ entire days during recruitment consist of socializing with older sorority women whose names they will probably fail to recall within the next ten minutes. Ladies engage in the same conversation repeatedly, in hope of impressing sorority members, who in turn work hard to present a unique image of a sisterhood that younger girls will want to join. However, freshmen who go through this process risk rejection by these groups. In fact, by the end of the week, tears have inevitably been shed, hearts have been broken and girls have dropped out of the Pan-Hellenic process because they did not get asked back by the right sorority. Sometimes generations of women face disappointment if a young lady is cut from or fails to choose the group her mother aunt and/or grandmother was a member of. So why do girls agree to be herded around like preschoolers in silent single file lines only to risk being judged “not the right fit” for their sorority of choice?

For some people the allure lies in joining an exclusive or prestigious organization, but most join up in hope of finding a group of friends that will become “brothers or sisters.” Joining a Greek organization can help students who yearn for a social system make the SMU community a little bit smaller. Although it may not be right for everyone, fraternity life helps many young men and women feel more comfortable away from home and friends made over their lifetime. Joining one of these groups provides an instant sense of camaraderie and gives students a chance to meet new people and makes getting involved in the larger SMU community seem a little less daunting.

– Kelsey Adams

Associate A&E Editor