With 37% of the total undergraduate population participating in a fraternity or sorority, Greek life at Stevens has proven itself to be one of the most prevalent extracurricular activities on campus. With 10 fraternities, 5 sororities, and 5 cultural Greek organizations, there are a variety of organizations where prospective new members may be able to find their new brothers or sisters. While freshmen must wait until their spring semester before they can begin the process of joining a fraternity or sorority, members of Greek organizations may find the benefits of new friendships, networking connections, leadership opportunities, and the chance to get involved in philanthropy and service.
For women at Stevens, there is the option to join a sorority. Sorority recruitment is a formal process that takes place a few days before the spring semester begins. Potential new members (PNMs) are broken into groups and go through the recruitment events together. The first day is “Round Robin,” where each group meets each chapter to ask questions and get to know them. The next day is centered around philanthropy, so groups will get to learn about the causes that each chapter fundraises for. Finally, preference parties are held by each chapter to hold a special ceremony for women they would like to have a last chance to get to know before they extend bids for new members to join.
For men at Stevens that would like to join a fraternity, there is a different process to join an organization. Throughout the fall semester and the beginning of the spring semester, fraternities hold events that anybody may attend, such as dodgeball tournaments, wing eating contests, or backyard barbecues. Prospective members can go to events to get to know the brothers of fraternities they are interested in joining. After a prospective fraternity member has gotten to know the brothers of the fraternity well enough, the brothers of the organization will vote on who they would like to extend bids to.
Exceptions to these processes are Cultural Greek Organizations. These are organizations that center their experiences on sharing a common culture. Daniel Lee, current President of the Asian-interest fraternity Nu Alpha Phi shared his experience joining a Cultural Greek Organization: “As an Asian-American, who joined an Asian-interest fraternity, I was introduced to many men who shared similar backgrounds to me. They understood the highs and lows of my upbringing and offered me new outlooks and experiences in life. I could connect on deeper levels with the Brothers of my fraternity.” For those who are unsure of whether they would like to join a cultural organization or a social organization, Lee advised, “Join the organization that you genuinely like to be with, and reciprocates it with you. These are the people you’ll be calling Brothers or Sisters for the rest of your life. Be in good company, regardless of what others say about it.”
For freshmen who are considering joining a Greek organization this spring, it may be overwhelming to assess how joining an organization will affect your college experience. While joining a Greek organization may provide a place to forge new friendships and develop connections to upperclassmen, the significant increase in responsibilities so soon into college may make some apprehensive. When Saurin Badlani of Kappa Sigma decided to join in his freshman year, he took the added responsibilities as an opportunity to grow, explaining, “My first semester I was going home most weekends, partly because I lived so close, but also because I didn’t have much to do. School-wise, first semester seemed like a breeze. The second semester during rushing, the initiation process had me required to stay at school and get more done. It was really fun, but it is a lot of time that you should want to put in and enjoy doing.” While joining a Greek organization is an added responsibility where your brothers or sisters will be counting on you to follow through in order to help the organization run as smoothly as possible, the experience of being in a Greek organization is a unique chance to make lifelong friendships and connections you may have otherwise not have had.
Be First to Comment