After the conclusion of the Interfraternity Council (IFC) Rush and the Collegiate Panhellenic Council (CPC) Recruitment last week and the continuing recruitment of the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) and the National Panhellenic Council (NPHC), we could not be more proud to be Greek here at Tech. With the largest number of women going through recruitment this year here at Tech than ever before, and now 7 National Panhellenic chapters on our campus, a Christian sorority, and national engineering sorority, 31 IFC fraternities, 4 historically African-American sororities and 4 historically African-American fraternities, 4 culturally based fraternities and 3 culturally based sororities, 55 Greek organizations in all…the opportunities for new membership into Greek Life are soaring.
What many do not know about Greek Life is the doors of opportunity that it opens for all members of our community. Not only do we have some of the best and sometimes only social events on campus have leadership positions held all over campus, and have strong bonds of friendship, but also every member of the Greek community knows that being Greek means so much more than all of that.
When coming to a college like Tech, a social life might sometimes be a challenge. Being in a sorority or fraternity provides an obvious ease to this challenge. Joining a Greek organization immediately opens up the opportunity for friendship and a social life that is hard to find elsewhere on our campus. Greek formals, mixers, parties, game day traditions, Homecoming and Greek Week festivities are unequaled anywhere else on campus. Greeks have a lot of fun, and this we know is one of our greatest strengths, especially while balancing the ridiculous academic atmosphere.
Most importantly, being Greek here at Tech provides students with leadership opportunities within individual chapters and campus as a whole. We agree that holding leadership positions and being active on campus has stemmed largely from growth within our chapters. From here, chapter leaders launch into campus leadership thanks in part to our network of brothers, sisters and friends. We know because of this, we have developed exceptional leadership skills that will benefit us throughout our lives.
What is most important to us about being Greek is that we are given a unique opportunity that we know we would not take back. Fraternity brothers and sisters are bonds that cannot be explained, as any Greek man or woman would agree. Not only do people remain a member of their organization for their four or five years of college, but for a lifetime. Our high numbers of Alumni involvement, especially here at Tech, is a true reflection of this bond. The networking opportunities that have already benefited us both on campus and off, before even leaving college, have been extensive and will be for years to come.
We have devoted the past two years to trying to combine the ideals and work with all four of these governing bodies, and we feel we are on the path to creating a more unified Greek community. This stands as one of our main goals for all 55 Greek organizations, and we hope that with a combined effort, our Greek community will grow and prosper as one body on campus for years to come.
The benefits of joining a Greek organization are endless, although often not seen by others in the Tech community. Students know us for our philanthropy events, too often for our social events, see us during Greek Week and Homecoming and know that we exist, but usually, we’re only seen on the surface by others.
We know that we appear like we have a lot of fun, which is a piece of the Greek experience, but we hope everyone looks deeper into what it means to be a Greek brother or sister and all that it has to offer. We’re not simply looking for membership, but rather, we would like to share our experience and friendship with anyone on campus. Spending just a few years in our distinctive Greek community has provided all of us with more than we ever thought possible when joining as freshmen.