When I came to Tufts, the thought of joining a sorority made me laugh for many reasons: I had no trouble making friends and I did not want to feel pressured to look, talk or act a certain way, so why would I ever rush? These preconceived notions were a result of the minimal and faulty information that I had regarding sororities.
However, when spring recruitment rolled around, most of my girlfriends wanted to see what Tufts's sorority life had to offer, so I decided to have an open mind as well. Now, three years later, I am more involved than I could have ever possibly imagined.
I am on Chi Omega's Executive Board as the Pan-Hellenic Delegate (the liaison between sororities), and the Inter-Greek Council's Executive Board as the Social Chair. My freshman-self could not have predicted the roles that I have taken or guessed how happy and fulfilled I am.
As someone who strives to be positive, I am disappointed when I encounter excessive negativity, particularly when I hear complaints about Tufts's social scene. Sure, one or two fraternities technically cannot have parties, and at times, the cops act like party-stopping zealots, but are we going to let those two facts be the be-all, end-all in how much fun we have in our four years of college?
In my point of view, this precious time cannot be wasted no matter what circumstances arise; if we want to have fun, we can. When else in our lives will we be surrounded by young people who share our desire for some good, old-fashioned shenanigans? On any night of the week, there is always someone able and ready to chill out or go all-out.
Instead of what it was like in high school, when we had to deal with our parents no matter what mood (or state) we were in, here we can just press "ignore" on our cell phones if we don't want to chat or if Mom decides to call on a Saturday night at 11 p.m. We can manipulate our schedules so we have classes whenever we want them (most of the time). We can choose to be super-involved in different extra-curricular activities or choose to do absolutely nothing. It doesn't really matter!
Just by the very nature of it, college is a freakin' blast. Oh yeah, and there's always Tuesdays. I love Tuesdays!
So now that I have told you why I love college no matter what obstacles get in my way, I will put on my "Greek Hat" and explain some negative attitudes that I am not particularly fond of.
The first criticism that I have refers to the Ignorant Complainer, who gripes about something like the Greek system but has either little or incorrect information about it. For example, Eli Cohn wrote a Viewpoint for the Daily on Sept. 25 entitled, "Tufts a Party School? If the Freshmen Only Knew," in which he stated that the only fraternities allowed to have parties are ATO, Sig Ep and Sig Nu. You left out DU, 123, Zeta Psi, ZBT and Theta Chi, Mr. Cohn; that is a total of eight fraternities that are able to have parties and provide the Tufts community with a social outlet.
In addition, the three sororities - AOII, Alpha Phi and Chi Omega - host their own internal social events for members and guests, including mixers, off-campus parties, semi-formals and formals. While I do agree that Tufts' social life has some problems, I discourage the spread of faulty information.
A second complaint that I hear a lot from non-Greeks is that fraternities and sororities are snobby or exclusive. I have noticed that the people who makes these comments have never attempted to join one of the organizations, never attended an event sponsored by a Greek organization that did not involve alcohol, and do not have any close friends in a sorority or fraternity.
When Tufts students go to recruitment events or non-alcoholic events, like Bowel Bash or Greek Week, all members welcome them. Greeks are thrilled when anyone shows interest in something that they have worked so hard to organize. In fact, the purpose of these events is to entertain and involve non-Greeks.
My advice to this Negative Nancy is simple: You want to complain about something? Do your research first. Greek life is about a lot more than just beer and crowded parties. Have an open mind, and talk to members of the Greek system. If you are going to criticize something, go for it - just make sure that you know what you are talking about first.
For all of you Ignorant Complainers out there, I offer you this suggestion: The next time that you feel like Greek life at Tufts is letting you down and you aren't sure what to do about it, contact me! Ask me anything. Bring me your questions, concerns and suggestions. There are many resources available to you: Come to an Inter-Greek Council meeting and let us hear from you; go to the Greek website (there is a link on TuftsLife.com) and learn about who the leaders are in the Greek system and information about upcoming events.
In an attempt to offer you a little extra motivation, I will tell you a little bit about current contributions. First, I want to applaud the three sophomores who started the Facebook.com group, "Bringing Social Life Back to Tufts" for their mature and realistic take-action approach.
Secondly, I want to share some information regarding something that I am organizing. In an attempt to contribute to the social life at Tufts this semester, I am planning an all-campus semi-formal on Thursday, Dec. 7. Everyone is welcome. Maybe you will have some fun!
I want to end with a final piece of advice regarding Tufts' Greek life: Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, and don't knock it if you don't know what the heck you're talking about.
