Greek NIte

Greek Nite, having everything to do with letters and symbols of the Greek Language, but nothing about learning them. Greek Nite was a gathering of all fraternities and sororities, for the sake of recruiting new students to the organizations. The purpose of this night will be a foreshadowing of Rushing. This is a time of the individual pledging his/her allegiance and whole-heartedly dedicating themselves to any one fraternity or sorority that becomes of interest at Greek Nite. The irony of sororities and fraternities is that while they are meant to foster community of brotherhood and sisterhood, closeness, and a feeling of kinship apart from kinfolk; can cause alienation, humiliation, the taking advantage of new students and sometimes the occurrence of illegal acts. Pledging to a fraternity/sorority can be nerve-racking as it involves hazing. Hazing is any act of initiation needed to be carried out by the group toward the individual, whereby showing the approval of the individual as a member. Now, hazing in it of itself is not a bad thing...it can have its positive effects of personally challenging the individaul to, in a sense, "stay the course". What this means to the individual is that they are able to show the group and simultaneously prove to themselves that no matter how difficult the act of initiation, they are willing to sacrifice or in a more dramatic sense endure pain, no matter how severe or embarrasing, or both. This is a statement of dedication and will ensure the individual's acceptance. However, no matter how glorious this may sound, hazing can morph from a triumphant show of alleigance into a horrific stance of elitism, causing new students to feel alienated, and going too far in terms of how much is realistically can be demanded from one indivdual. This is what crossed my mind as I strolled down the lively houses on the row. This is what is realized would be at the back of the welcomes of upperclassmen, showing us and introducing us to sorority/fraternity life. This is was the stigma of Greek Nite and because of this I changed my mind and will not pledge. Thank You.