The Cord Student Newspaper • Wilfrid Laurier University • 15 January, 2003

To rush or not to rush

To rush...

By Jessica McLaughlin, The Cord

Greek life, fraternities, sororities, you’ve all heard the terms and know what’s associated with this life style - parties and sex. I decided to put this stereotype to the test when I interviewed members from the women’s fraternities on Laurier’s campus: Alpha Phi Women’s Fraternity, Delta Gamma Fraternity, and Alpha Omega Sorority. Though I was hesitant of the cheerleader reputation these associations tend to have, I was surprised by the genuine enthusiasm, sisterhood, and charity goals that strongly influence these women’s fraternities.

Sometimes at university, with all that’s going on, you don’t know if you’re coming or going. Women’s fraternities seem to provide an atmosphere where members feel supported, comfortable and grounded. Friendship is a strong tie in all of these organizations, both male and female.

Most of the female fraternities have around 30-50 members in their chapter, all committed to the vows of sisterhood. Stacey Coleman, a second-year economics major has been in Alpha Phi for the past year-and-a-half and says that Alpha Phi provides “a smaller group of close friends and a surrounding where there are no individual groups or cliques within the fraternity”.” Along with friendship, these tightly knit sisterhoods have members of all ages, interests and talents. Members help each other with all aspects of life, providing advice, leadership and support.

Initially I was a little appalled by the fee members have to pay in order to secure their coveted spot in the sisterhood or brotherhood, but I realized the need for such dues when the distribution of these fees was explained. In terms of the women’s fraternities, they charge their members $180-$200 per term, while Alpha Omega has a flat rate of $250 per year. All of the money goes towards the running of the fraternity. Alpha Phi doesn’t have a house, so some of their dues pay for renting out rooms to hold meetings, a house fund, and their sisterhood retreat. Some of the other fraternities use dues to cover the cost of a formal and other events. Fraternities also have scholarship funds that assist members to reach their academic and professional goals through financial assistance.

Greek life means getting involved. Each fraternity actively participates in many events on campus and all strive to help a particular charity. Alpha Omega extends their bond of sisterhood to Anselma House, a local shelter for battered women. Currently they are selling a cookbook with all proceeds being donated to the shelter. Alpha Omega also sponsors a manatee at the Miami Zoo, who they have lovingly named Paddy Dole, his picture adorns their rush booth. Delta Gamma is committed to Service for Sight, an organization that aims to provide assistance to the blind or visually impaired. Delta Gamma sisters run preschools for children who are affected by blindness. In addition, Delta Gamma members volunteer at various vision related service projects. Alpha Phi Women’s Fraternity supports Women’s Cardiac care; helping this organization is the main incentive for many of their events.

Greek life at Laurier tends to break free of the typical movie portrayal that embodies coolness, cliques and peer pressure. Each of the groups that I spoke with gave me the impression that fraternities and sororities function as dependable and influential stepping stones in their members lives. Greek life isn’t solely about keg parties and gossip. Being a member of a fraternity or sorority is about belonging to a group of people who are dedicated to enjoying campus life with friends while striving to make a difference in other’s lives through charity involvement. Being involved in Greek life at Laurier in turn equals being involved at Laurier in general, and everybody knows that strong ties with friends and participation are often the only things that get you through the reading, papers and tests of university.

Or not to rush...

By Dan Sennet, The Cord

I sit down and add up the yearly costs of going to university - $4,500 for tuition, $800 for books, $880 for co-op, maybe $1,500 for food, $500 for entertainment related expenses, and $2,800 to $5,000 for rent.

That gives us a grand total of anywhere between $11,000 and $13,000 to go to school. My question: is it worth an extra $500 - $1,000 bucks to join a frat or sorority? Isn’t being in a residence or other student-rich home the same as being in a frat? A group of people joined by a similar situation who grow into a cohesive unit together. Why pay more money to meet people when you can do it for free?

I can remember rushing last year for some frat, it doesn’t really matter which one. All I was doing was getting drunk at their expense. Sure, it was fun getting hammered for free, and the things we do when under the influence are vastly different than when sober, but is that really what fun is all about? I have always thought that it doesn’t matter where you are but who you are with. So you say, what’s so bad about being in the company of other fraternity brothers or sorority sisters? Read on.

Last year, I went for a drink with an old friend. My buddy had recently passed the rush stage and had moved on to the pledge stage. Wow, what a thrill to wear a pin everyday and carry around the respective bible of the frat house. He told me that I couldn’t even touch the book because I wasn’t pledging. With pledging comes greatness, or so it seemed to him. He said that he could have been subjected to intense scrutiny if he were ever caught without the tokens. What a life: pins, books, and drinking events - oh my!

Positive attributes of sororities and frats may exist but in essence, we all join them, or consider joining them for the same reason – increasing your ratio of friends. In some way, your need for belonging has not been filled naturally, so you buy it. Maybe you are searching for a niche. Maybe you want to make new friends and broaden your horizons or make brothers and sisters for life.

After all, once you are a member you are constantly bombarded with the things that weigh on your mind: hedonistic fun combined with a social conscience (i.e. fund raisers and volunteering). You don’t feel bad about engaging in those sinful pleasures because you are making up for it by doing good things for your community. But when you think about it, you are paying to volunteer and to make friends; you are buying your friends and your ability to sleep soundly at night. This is wrong; this sounds like the behaviour of a confused, isolated loner with money to burn.

Maybe I am being overly critical, maybe I’m afraid of being beaten up by a bunch of frat brothers, I’m just trying to make the point that membership in a fraternity or sorority may inhibit one’s ability to be unique and to make friends the good old fashioned way. If you want to volunteer for some charitable cause, then volunteer. You shouldn’t need to be a part of a fraternity or sorority to do this. It’s quite easy to make friends at a university, especially in a residence.

If getting drunk is your thing go to Phil’s or Louie’s with your roommates. Is confidence to act independently really so hard to come by that you need to buy it from a group of people who are capitalizing on your weakness?