When coming to a small school like Stevens, where a combination of everyone in the organization doesn’t even half a new-member class at a school like Alabama, you never really expect Greek life to play a big role in your life. Stevens has a small handful of Greek organizations, including nine fraternity organizations, five Panhellenic (social sorority) orgs., and seven cultural Greek orgs.
One of the most important traditions when it comes to any Greek life organization is the big/little process. While every org might run through the process a little differently, it is essentially the same idea of meeting with upperclassmen already initiated and then getting matched with one of them after ranking. While being in a sorority or a fraternity will force you to create long-lasting bonds and connections with other people at your school, the type of dynamic you create with your big, or your little, or your big’s big will be irreplaceable. Since you would have already met any of the potential bigs as a potential little, you will immediately have some common ground, or shared interest, once you are finally matched with them. This connection you have will only grow as you get to know each other.
Along with just your big or little, the process in general will help foster those connections because it forces you to sit down and talk to other students, and really get to know them. As a girl at Stevens, the 70/30 ratio might have some sort of meaning to you — or maybe 65/35, depending on who you’re talking to. That is the unofficial ratio of male to female students at Stevens currently. Greek life is one of the most helpful ways to connect with people outside of your major or direct interests (i.e., Society of Women Engineers or The Stute), and if it is within their time and budget, something every girl should get the chance to be a part of, especially at a school like this one.
Whether you are an only child, at a school far from home, looking for some new friends, trying because a friend wanted you to, or literally any other reason someone might be interested in going out for rush, you will undoubtedly find your sisterhood or brotherhood, and a community you can fully belong to as yourself.
Another thing every Greek organization focuses on is its philanthropy,which is a way for all the members to come together to work for and gives them a shared passion. Some philanthropies that are focused on on campus include Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Prevent Child Abuse America, Women’s Heart Health, Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, etc. For each organization’s philanthropy, they host a variety of events in order to raise money for their cause, which, as mentioned above, gives everyone something to work towards, and it also hosts events where you are forced to create bonds with these other people.
When the idea of Greek life comes up, there are always going to be the people who sit there and tell you you are paying for your friends. While it is totally possible you can find your friends in any other on-campus club, the bonds you build through the ever-building, shared, sacred traditions will hold more meaning than any other bond you can build through a regular old club.
