Your Turn: Jabs' column misjudges greek life
Published: Thursday, May 3, 2007
As an alumnus and member of the greek system at OU, I was irked by the “Sororities” article in the April 19 edition of The Post. I understand that the greek system, as well as any social or professional club, is not for everyone. However, I always find it funny how those outside the system are so quick to judge and make assumptions.Miss Jabs claims that social fraternities and sororities promote nothing more than drinking, sex, and the occasional community service, while coed, professional fraternities do not. I would be shocked to find the clubs or organizations you are a member of do not involve themselves in any of the previous. Not only was I a part of a social fraternity, I also worked in a sorority house, and was a member of a coed, professional fraternity. My professional fraternity threw just as many parties and had just as many people hooking up and doing whatever. I even went to a few community service club fiestas and a 110 shindig in my days one time and (SHOCKER) found the same things.
And to address the “body image” portion of your article, I believe your piece for The Post was fueled by the book Pledged by Alexandra Robbins. Ms. Robbins tells a story that does nothing more than highlight urban legends about the horrors of involvement in a sorority. Ms. Robbins loses all credibility for her book because she does not mention the school or organization she was a part of. For all we know, her book could be nothing but lies. Her characters could be made-up people, and the situations are nothing more than the same stories that have been told about sororities for years. For her to sell her book and ultimately make money, she had to write a story that would keep the reader’s attention and provide something to think about. The reality is that she knew no one would read a book about sorority life if it did not have lots of drama and controversy. Essentially, it’s nothing more than fiction. Unfortunately, literature and media, with shows like “Sorority Life” on MTV and movies like Animal House, pretty much tarnish any positive image of the greek system. It seems you classify Greeks as “beautiful” with “perfect bodies” and “lots of money”, etc. I urge you to take a long, hard look at the students on campus who don greek letters and see that we come in all shapes, sizes, and looks. Most of my friends had nothing close to the stick-thin bodies you speak of. You may want to get in contact with the nice sorority women you have met and have them introduce you to their friends. Of course, if you have any friends who are involved in greek life, especially sororities, you probably do not anymore.
While at OU, I remember greek life being praised for having a high average GPA. I remember the system raising money for charity when three sorority girls died in a fire at Ohio State my sophomore year. I remember dumping all my loose change into buckets on College Green to support Big Brothers/Big Sisters. I learned the values of leadership, trust, and discipline in my four years of greek life. Maybe the reason greek life, or any organization in general, gets a bad rap is because of “open-minded” people like you who quickly judge without knowing all the facts. — Damian Clark writes from Chicago, Illinois
No comments:
Post a Comment