Greek life: reflections on an insurmountable social boundary
Tyler Hoff
A liberal arts education refers to an education that is better rounded than what one might find at a trade school or public university. Students at The College of Wooster and many other small liberal arts schools around the country are history or chemistry or music majors, but we also take classes in political science, art history and math.
This is to say that the fundamental goal of a modern liberal arts education is to expose a student to as many different ideas, disciplines and experiences as possible, and Greek life is certainly not an important part of that process. I know many people at the College and elsewhere who regard Greek life as one of their most important college experiences. But it is not the most important or vital part of a liberal arts education.
Fraternities and sororities can be one way of exposing people to new ideas and experiences. But it is not the only way, as we have classes, extracurricular activities and normal social interaction to fill the same space that Greek life fills for some people.
Not only is Greek life not the only way to facilitate a liberal arts education, but it can also be actively detrimental. Greek life, by its very nature and history, establishes boundaries. Boundaries can bring people together, but they can also encourage cliquish behavior and separate people from exposure to the new ideas that form the very basis of an effective liberal arts education.
Additionally, labeling Greek life as important or vital to a liberal arts education sends a very specific message to students at liberal arts schools and potential applicants. To those students already here and not engaged in Greek life, it says that we are not fully experiencing our education.
This not only misses the point of a liberal arts education; it is distinctly false. All you need to do to see this is to look at the many other extraordinary liberal arts colleges without Greek life. These schools, like Middlebury College in Vermont and St. Olaf College in Minnesota, are exceptionally well-regarded institutions, just like Wooster, and have found a way to become elite educational institutions without Greek organizations.
Finally, Greek life can unintentionally limit the scope of a liberal arts education. In an admittedly unscientific survey, my sister, who goes to Middlebury, has told me that the majority of her friends would not have gone to Middlebury if it had Greek life. The reputation of Greek life, earned or unearned, does limit the types of applicants seeking to apply to certain schools and, therefore, the ideas and viewpoints to which the students are exposed.
I do not believe that Greek life is some terrible blight upon Wooster or a liberal arts education. But a liberal arts education is about exposure to new ideas, not forming set boundaries and social groups that limit that same exposure. Greek life is an important part of many people’s college experiences, but it is not a vital part of a liberal arts education.
Greek life nonessential
Emily Baird
This is not an angry rant.
As with all things, the presence of Greek life on campus has both positive and negative effects. I am also aware that Greek life is significantly less extreme and intrusive at The College of Wooster than it is at many other larger institutions. Fraternities and sororities at Wooster spend time contributing to the community through volunteer work, provide opportunities for students to gain leadership experience, and provide a place for many students to feel like they belong. However, the question being addressed is not whether or not Greek life is good or bad. The question is whether or not Greek life is important to the liberal arts, and my answer is no.
Hear me out.
I know and love many people who are members of Greek life, and I mean nobody on this campus any offense, but Greek organizations are exclusive by nature, something that is slightly contradictory to the inclusive and open atmosphere of liberal arts colleges. The decision to join a Greek group is one that is often made as a result of some kind of deep-seated desire to belong. We have all felt this, especially at the beginning of freshman year when everything is new, half-exciting and half-intimidating as hell. However, instead of acting on this insecurity by rushing and pledging to a group made up of people that we barely know, how about we practice some self-love and self-respect and actually spend some time dealing with these emotions as practice for adulthood? I think you’ll come out the other end as a better person.
Aside from the tried-but-basically-accurate argument that in a sorority or fraternity you are essentially paying for your friends, there are other reasons why I feel that the presence of Greek groups is not essential to liberal arts. Primarily, membership in a Greek organization is often used as a status symbol or as social security. We see a rainbow of colored sweatshirts in Lowry, and our newsfeeds are filled with pictures of our peers flashing hand signs with beaming smiles and cocked heads.
Examples like these are just evidence of a greater underlying trend. Our society is constantly encouraging us to decide “who we are,” what is our story, how much fun did you have this weekend and can you prove it? Greek groups have their merits, but it seems to me that many people join them for the wrong reasons. Aligning yourself with one of these groups is a continuation of our society’s obsession with forming a personal image to present to the rest of the world. The truth is, no one really cares all that much. You’re fine.
Okay, so I tried my best not to make this a rant or a dismissal. We all approach every situation through the lens of our own personal experience, and I therefore do not praise or condemn anyone’s decision to join a fraternity or sorority. At the end of the day, college — particularly at a liberal arts institution — should be a time when we are growing into our own, forming our own opinions, exploring our interests, making mistakes, learning from mistakes and meeting people with views different from our own. All of this can be accomplished without organized Greek groups, so I therefore view them as nonessential.
“A certain intangible and ineffable value”
Elliot Wainwright
Joining a Greek organization is arguably the single most impactful and important decision I have made in my entire college career. Greek life is an integral part of my everyday college experience; it has shaped who I am today and has been a vital part of my education as a holistic person. Moreover, my fraternity is my family, they are my closest friends, they are my support network and they are my motivation to become involved in, and proud of, my Wooster education.
A liberal arts education is based off of the idea of education both in and out of the classroom; it is just as much about students developing socially and professionally as academically. For me, joining a fraternity is becoming a part of something greater than myself and learning to work with others in a collective effort to achieve something amazing. It’s learning to devote my time, love and effort to others in a consistently fluctuating group of diverse people who share common values. Greek life provides the opportunity to mix myriad opinions, backgrounds and experiences in a setting where learning from one another is inherent in the fundamental meaning of being brothers and sisters. Beyond that, Greek life provides a wealth of future professional opportunities through networking with alumni, connections built with group leaders and administration and the leadership and service-based infrastructure it supports.
There is something extremely positive to be said about Greek life being the direct reason I hold several of my other campus positions and that which prompted my extra-curricular involvement.
People who argue against the existence of Greek life may say it serves no purpose other than to provide an individual with people to hang out with, people to party with and general social uniformity, but all my experiences are to the contrary to this simplistic and misinformed model. Not only is my fraternity my primary group of friends, they are also my mentors; my educational history is intimately intertwined with what I have learned from my brothers, both personality-wise and in forming a philosophical basis on which I make a large majority of decisions.
There are plenty of practical reasons why Greek life is important to liberal arts, but in addition there is a certain intangible and ineffable value that is almost impossible to describe to someone who isn’t in Greek life. Learning to be selfless, learning to be caring, learning to live life with a sense of humor — these are the traits you cannot acquire from simply sitting in a classroom, but with which Greek life has provided me.
I never thought I would join a Greek organization, but after being inexplicably drawn to and eventually pledging my fraternity, I’ve been converted into a firm believer that Greek life is imperative to a liberal arts education. The mission of Greek life in general aligns not only with the mission statement of our liberal arts college, but also with the liberal education mantra as a whole.