Armington

Lily Armington

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

April 4, 2017

Going Greek: Does it Hurt or Hinder Your Future?

Throughout high school people would ask me would you consider joining a

sorority once you get to college? My response was always the same, no. Although I

liked the idea of a sorority, I told people that I didnt see myself benefiting from

Greek life and that it wasnt for me. I kept this firm thought with me during the

summer before I came to college. The first few weeks after moving in, I walked

around campus only to see hundreds of flyers and handouts about formal sorority

recruitment that would take place over Labor Day weekend. It was not until three

days before formal recruitment for sororities, that I finally changed my mind.

(Mostly due to the fact that my friend also decided to sign up at the last minute) I

decided to participate and see if I could find my home away from home. After

going through the long process of formal recruitment, which includes learning about

what a sorority has to offer for its members, I can confidently say that joining a

sorority was the best decision Ive made so far during my college experience.

My Whole life Ive heard it said that the only point of joining a sorority or

fraternity is for the social aspect, and while that is a part of Greek life, there is so

much more to it. While there are negative stereotypes associated with Greek life

such as partying, hazing and drinking, the benefits far outweigh those stereotypes.

Because of the stereotypes, Greek organizations have developed a negative

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reputation that seems to dominate many peoples views. However, most people

dont realize that there are many different academic and leadership benefits as well

as a plethora of personal growth opportunities. In addition, one of the benefits of

Greek life that seems to be over looked is how well those certain aspects can

prepare its members to be successful in their future career. In this essay I am

arguing that by joining a Greek organization, members are able to take advantage of

certain opportunities that will allow them to excel in the work field.

Members of a sorority or fraternity are offered countless opportunities that

will help them succeed in their future career. Nicole Glass, a senior at American

University and a staff member for the campus newspaper wrote an article on USA Today

titled Examining the Benefits of Greek Life. She wrote that nine million college

students are part of a Greek organization, and each student has an incentive to change

some aspect of their life. Although not every student may want to change their life by

joining a sorority or fraternity, this article shows that many students who affiliate with a

Greek organization think ahead of how it can benefit them instead of what it can do for

them in the moment. The National Panhellenic Conference Foundation (NPC) mission

statement is To advance the 26 womens organizations of the National Panhellenic

Conference and their commitment to personal growth by raising funds for underwriting

initiatives that launch and sustain women leaders. It also mentions that NPC values life-

long commitment to intellectual, personal and social growth; empowerment of women

and betterment of campus culture and society in general. The mission statement of the

NPC shows that a sorority is more than just social organization. Along with what the

NPC values, they also put a heavy focus on philanthropic causes and community service.
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In fact, during the 2014-2015 academic year, Greek organizations raised over $34 million

through philanthropy events. In addition, nearly 3 million hours of community service

was put towards non-profit organizations (NPC Foundation). The National Panhellenic

Conference wants to create women leaders through helping others and personal growth,

which are both important in order to succeed in a career. Being able to work with others

is a huge part of success, and learning how to do so before entering the work field is

crucial. Greek life offers more than creating leaders; it offers multiple ways to get ahead

of others and making yourself competitive in your career field.

One of the many ways Greek life helps prepare members for their career is

through academics. In fact, Greek life was established in 1825 when five Union College

students came together to form a private group where they could engage in educational

debates and discussions. The men named their society Kappa Alpha Society and went off

to become the first established fraternity (Glass). Through this, it can be seen that Greek

life was established on an educational basis. Greek organizations hold their members to a

higher academic standard compared to students who arent in Greek life, which helps

them stay focused and succeed in their classes. Academic success is a major factor in

getting and maintaining a career in the future. For example, if a student has a high GPA,

it will open more doors for graduate school and put them ahead of others. Peter Jacobs, a

writer for Business Insider, published an article about the academic standpoint of Greek

life. He stated that Greek members generally have a higher GPA compared to those not

associated with Greek life. This is due to the fact that when members join a Greek

organization, they are required to maintain a certain GPA (which is typically higher than

the one set by the school). Often times, if the member does not meet the required GPA,
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they are dismissed from the organization. This sets a motivation for the members to push

themselves to excel in their academics. By doing so, it will show future employers that

they are dedicated and hard working, qualities that are extremely vital for any job.

The academic standpoint is not the only factor in preparing students affiliated

with Greek life for their career. When a member joins a sorority or fraternity, they are

surrounded with multiple opportunities for leadership, which is a skill that employers

look for when hiring. Employers want to make sure that the people they hire are capable

of working with others, organizing tasks, and are able to work when they are not readily

available. There are multiple executive officer and committee positions that open up each

year. With these various positions, members learn how to plan or help plan events for the

organization, how the administrative side of an organization works, as well as building

social skills. These skills are developed when members in the organization are forced to

work with people they dont necessarily get along with (Glass). Glass theory that Greek

life offers multiple leadership opportunities is extremely useful because it sheds light on

the difficult problem of people thinking it is just an excuse to party and drink. Leadership

also leads to building ones social skills, which are important while looking for a job

because employers look for people who are capable of working with others. If

disagreements were to arise, the employer would want to know that the person could

handle it in a professional manner. Also, when it comes to communicating with others

coworkers or businesses, the employer wants to make sure that the person can

communicate effectively with them. By joining a Greek organization and taking on a

leadership role, it prepares members for these situations. For example, the executive

officer that is in charge of planning the big philanthropy event has to know how to
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communicate with their committee as well as other businesses and professionals in order

for the event to run smoothly.

In addition to the academic and leadership benefits and improving social skills,

members also learn about professionalism. Nra Horvth, a junior magazine/international

relations student at Syracuse University, wrote an article titled 5 Ways Greek Life Will

Help Further Those Career Goals of Yours. In this article, she gives reasons as to why

joining a sorority of fraternity can help prepare their members for corporate success. The

first reason was that by participating in Greek life, members already know how to

navigate the corporate world. This means that because Greek life offers a vast range of

leadership positions, potential employers are more confident because it shows the

member wants to take initiative and they are good at time management. Another way that

Greek life can help further career goals is that it prepares its members for interviews. For

instance, during formal sorority recruitment, members learn how to get to know someone

in 5 minutes or less while sounding friendly but not too overbearing. During a job

interview, it is up to the interviewee to sell what they do for the employer. This is similar

to recruitment because the potential new member (PNM) is supposed to sell what she can

offer the organization.

The article also mentions that by affiliating with Greek life, the member is

building a large network with people that have various connections in the work field that

can help them find a career. Older members in the sorority or fraternity along with alumni

are always willing to help younger members find work or give recommendations.

Alongside gaining professionalism skills, members form a large network due to the

amount of people that are in the sorority of fraternity (Glass). With there being so many
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members, there are people that will have the same major that will helps others find jobs

or internships at places they have worked. There are also alumni that come back to the

current members with new job openings where they work. Professionalism and

networking plays huge roles in finding and landing a job, and with all the professional

experience members gain, they will be well prepared.

Lastly, to show how Greek life influences members once they have a career, a

study performed by Gallup and Purdue University is performed to understand the life

outcomes of sororities and fraternities. 30,000 U.S. graduates took part in this study.

Throughout this process, Gallup researchers partnered with North American

Interfraternity Conference (NIC) and National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) to identify

similarities and differences between college graduates who were members of a Greek

organization and non-members of a Greek organization. All together, 16% of the 30,000

were members of a sorority or fraternity. In terms of employment engagement, it was

reported that 55% of the Greek members that were surveyed were employed full time,

compared to non-Greek members where only 45% were employed full time. Of those

members who are employed full time, 43% of them are engaged in their work place,

unlike non-Greek members where only 38% were engaged in their workplace. It was also

reported that more sorority and fraternity members have started their own business (28%)

compared to those who were not affiliated with Greek life (23%). This could be

correlated to the fact that 58% of Greek members did not take out any student loans for

undergraduate school, compared to the 51% of non-Greeks that did not take out loans. By

not taking out student loans, it puts less financial burden on the student, and they can

focus more on finding a career that they love. This data shows that the percent of people
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that were involved with Greek life was very low compared to those not involved.

However, the majority that are successful, happy and engaged with their job were in a

sorority or fraternity during their college years. Recent studies like these shed new light

on the correlation of joining a Greek organization in college and career success, which

previous studies have not addressed. Instead, previous studies would focus on the hazing

scandals involved with Greek life.

Sororities and fraternities have a lot to offer its members. However, some

members choose to only focus of the negative stereotypes that are in the news, which

include hazing, drinking and partying (Glass). For these men and women, they are

wasting an organization that can benefit them in the long run for a few nights during their

college years. While these negative stereotypes exist, the majority of Greek life members

choose to focus their attention to the benefits that were discussed. It is unfortunate that

the few who want to take part in the negative stereotypes set the stereotype for Greek life

as a whole due to fact that scandals usually make the headline, while philanthropy events

and fundraisers generally do not.

It has become common today to dismiss the positive aspects of Greek life such as

academics and leadership opportunities, and focusing on the negative stereotypes. Hazing

is one of the most popular stereotypes that are attached to Greek life The University of

Rochester published several ways to stop hazing from occurring. One way is to reduce

the power difference between members and initiates. If new members are able to discuss

their experiences with existing members without being punished of feeling inferior, it can

decrease opportunities to haze. Another way to prevent hazing is to encourage members

to share concerns with the new member education program. The more people that speak
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out about hazing can encourage others to do the same. Chapters could also develop anti-

hazing policies. There is always the possibility that a member could ignore the policy, so

to account for that, a strict punishment should be stated in the policy. Chapters can also

share their ideas with other organizations. This will allow for more ideas to be heard are

shared in order to reduce hazing (Fraternity and Sorority Affairs).

While there is a social aspect of joining a Greek organization, there so much more

that it can offer. If a member were to truly invest their time and dedication, the rewards

they get out of it are beyond worth it. Greek life provides members an incentive to excel

in their academics, multiple leadership and personal growth opportunities, and enhances

their social skills. While all of these benefits are great alone, Greek life puts all of the

benefits together in order to help their members succeed when they leave the organization

after graduating and are given the opportunity to find and excel in their future career.
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Works Cited

Busteed, Brandon H. "Fraternities and Sororities: Understanding Life Outcomes."

Gallup-Purdue University, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. Ways to Stop Hazing: Fraternity and Sorority Affairs:

University of Rochester, University of Rochester, n. d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Glass, Nicole. "Examining the benefits of Greek Life." USA Today. Gannett Satellite

Information Network. 8 May 2012. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

Horvth, Nra. "5 ways Greek life will help further those career goals of yours." USA

Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

Jacobs, Peter. "I Joined A Fraternity And It Was One Of The Best Decisions I Ever

Made." Business Insider. Business Insider, 08 Jan. 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.

"NPC Foundation." National Panhellenic Conference Foundation. National Panhellenic

Conference, n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.