■irsday, November 15, 2001
HIND T
What Aggies think about the Texas A&M Greek System
By Meredith Henslee
THE BATTALION
. com
itanding outside in 100-degree weather in Sunday best, being
;ed over by potential “brothers” and “sisters,” making idle conver-
>n about nothing of importance ... this is what many students think
fraternity or sorority rush. Yet, each semester, thousands of A&M
students continue to join Greek organizations.
Although it is not for everyone, many students find that the
benefits of membership in a Greek organization far outweigh
the disadvantages.
Melissa Williams, president of Kappa Alpha Theta and a sen
ior management information systems major, explained why she
went through rush in the first place.
“I wanted to get to know lots of girls, but also I knew that I want
ed to be involved [on campus] and it was a good starting point,”
Williams said. “I knew that being involved with a sorority would
lead to other avenues.”
Williams decided to become a member of Theta during
recruitment in 1998.
“I felt at home with Theta,” Williams said. “I was most like the girls
here, so I was able to fit in and not feel awkward.”
Some women enter into Greek life and then realize it is
not the place for them, or that they do not have the time
required to make the most of the benefits Greek involvement
has to offer.
Megan Oatman, a senior speech communications major,
explained why it was necessary for her to go inactive in her chapter.
“They (sororities) are really time consuming if you want to gain
the benefits from them that they are designed to bring,” Oatman
said. “I wasn’t able to give that much of my time, so it was best
for me to go inactive.”
Even though she declared an inactive status in her sorority, she
? spoke very highly of the advantages of joining.
“It was instant family, great community involvement, good con
nections and great networking,” Oatman said. “The women in my
sorority really impacted my life.”
* Involvement with a fraternity on campus is designed to
^ provide many of the same benefits for men at A&M as
sororities do for women.
John Stewart, president of the Interfratemity Council and a
junior geography major, said there is an advantage in network
ing through a fraternity after graduation.
“There are so many men in the business world in every
field that have been involved with a fraternity,” Stewart
said. “That gives you common ground — he knows what
you’re about.”
Despite the positive aspects of fraternity
membership, there are those men who find
involvement in other groups a better investment
of their time.
Paxton Kelso, president of the Singing Cadets
and a junior marketing major, said, “I didn’t
rush because Singing Cadets is my fraternity. If
-M- you want to get anything out of an organization.
you need to sell out to it,” Kelso said.
Josh Jones, a junior speech communications major, shares the
same sentiments as Kelso.
“I partially didn’t want to join a fraternity because there are so
many things you can get involved in on campus,” Jones said. “And
I don’t think they are necessary in order to network after graduation.
There are other organizations you can be involved in that could be
more beneficial for that.”
Greek life on campus has a diverse reputation among its members
and among those not involved in the Greek system.
“I feel that we are classy, reputable young ladies,” Williams said of
Theta. “We’re a very strong chapter, and I know that our national head
quarters thinks extremely highly of our particular chapter.”
Cathy Craddock, a senior journalism major, never wanted to go
through rush, even before she began college.
“None of my friends wanted to [rush], either,” Craddock said.
However, not being involved does not give her a bad impression of
those who choose to become members of fraternities and sororities.
“Although I don’t know many people in them, I think that some
times they get a bad wrap on campus,” Craddock said. “I think they are
good social organizations and a good way to meet people.
Kyle Easley, former member of the Corps of Cadets and a senior
psychology major, said he believes sororities have a better reputation
on campus than fraternities.
“I know a lot of ol’ Ags see fraternity life as more acceptable
for girls than for guys because A&M began as a military-type
school,” Easley said.
With the addition of women to the University came sororities,
something that Easley said was probably more expected than the addi
tion of fraternities.
“For guys it’s just different, because there only used to be the
Corps,” Easley said.
Stereotypes also keep many students away.
“I know that there are those who think a typical woman in a soror
ity loves to party, never study and is never worried about her grades,”
Williams said. “But that just shows a lack of understanding of what
we’re really all about.”
Jones said that he can see where some of the stereotypes come from.
“To some extent,” Jones said, “Greeks seem exclusive on campus;
few seem to branch out much.”
John Paul Holt, member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and a junior
marketing major , rushed his sophomore year instead of his freshman
year because of the stereotypes.
“I heard a lot of negative things about fraternities my fresh
man year,” Holt said. “But when I actually got to know the guys,
I realized that they had more to offer me than any other group on
campus I could join.”
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