Greek life has faced a lot of apprehension in the news in recent years, portraying those in fraternities and sororities as irresponsible party animals who cause a multitude of issues across college campuses. However, with the recent coverage of the leaked SAE racist chant video, Greek life is receiving more negative media attention than ever. This can make those involved in Greek life wonder, “why doesn’t the media ever highlight the positive contributions that Greeks make to their universities, communities, and philanthropies?”
It seems as if a new story involving hazing, excessive alcohol consumption, or other negative actions involving a particular chapter of a fraternity or sorority comes about every week. This often makes parents hesitant about their college students joining Greek life, and can even make universities resistant to allowing for the colonization of new organizations on their campuses.
However, the way that Greek life is portrayed in the media is often far from the truth, and it is unfortunate that a few negative situations can alter how the rest of the world perceives those who are Greek. Recently, television network VH1 was forced to cancel their new series Sorority Sisters just a few short weeks after its debut, as the show received a great deal of negative feedback based on how it portrayed multicultural sorority members. Although reality television is often not “reality” at all, the creation of shows and movies like this only serves to further deteriorate the reputation of the Greek community.
The media often ignores the positive side of being involved in Greek life, which those in a fraternity or sorority know greatly outweighs the negative aspects. Throughout the school year, Greek members work hard to raise money for their philanthropies and volunteer within their communities, much of which goes unnoticed by the media. It has become very uncommon for an organization to receive media coverage based on their tremendous fundraising or volunteering efforts, although this is something that occurs within Greek communities on a constant basis. Not only is this a personally rewarding experience, but it is essentially a major reason that college students choose to join Greek life – to get involved and make a difference – something that people seem to forget about quite often.
Therefore, it is up to us as members of the Greek community to continuously strive to make a positive impact during our time with our organizations. Although it is unfortunate that a few “bad apples” have made it hard to overcome the negative reputation given to Greek members by the media, it is important to separate ourselves from this type of attention and work to make our chapters, our universities, and our communities even better than our brothers and sisters that have come before us.
