I am a fraternity man.+â-èThat statement alone could convey quite a bit about me.+â-èJust from seeing me in a shirt with letters on it will cause people to treat me differently.+â-èLike it or not, its true.+â-èAnd if you are greek like me, this all applies to you, too.
You see me coming from a mile away.+â-èThe first thing you hear is usually my laugh or some loud movie quote or "Saturday Night Live" catch phrase.+â-èThen you see my letters and the assumptions start to run wild.
No matter what time of day it is you think I am either drunk or actively planning when next I am going to get drunk.+â-èIf some of my brothers are with me, you are not surprised because we travel in packs and only hang out with each other, and you assume my brothers are drunk as well.
If it is Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday, you think we will party that night.+â-èThat is what greeks do, right?+â-èTo get ready we are probably going to go to Abercrombie & Fitch because that's where we shop, buy everything we see because we're greedy and not care about it because our rich fathers pay our bills.
You think we are elitist, arrogant, selfish and horny all the time. Our lives are an eternal search for truth that revolves around beer, boobs and brotherhood. We tell lies to get girls, we tell lies to get recruits and we tell lies to get out of trouble. You don't want to see me, you don't want to know me and you sure as hell don't want my brothers and me having our Hitler youth rallies on Riverside Avenue on Sunday nights.
You justify your ignorance by saying you are your own man. You will not be branded by any fraternity scumbags. It is simply not worth the time, effort, money or commitment. You choose to be your own person, content in your tiny world of incorrect assumptions and a pathetic piece of existence you believe satisfies the requirements of a full college experience. You are a sad little person, and you have my pity.
When most of you read this, you will laugh. You will think people cannot be this ignorant. But I assure you, folks, they are. Those who despise our existence perpetuate these off-base assumptions on a daily basis. They want us to fail. They want to watch it happen. They want to revel in the failure of an organization of which they could never be worthy enough to join.
And don't get me wrong. This problem is not regulated to students alone. There are those in our university power structure who would like nothing better than to not have to deal with the greeks. They want us gone. They want it soon. And they won't stop until their mission is accomplished.
There is not much we can do as greeks. All we can do is continue to be who we are. We must also be mindful to respect other organizations. If we give respect we will get it.
Some things will never change. There are those who will always despise us for the letters we wear. Let God turn their hearts.
And if He can't turn their hearts, let Him turn their ankles so we will recognize them by their limps.
Write to Alan at bsugreek@hotmail.com
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