<p>I hate to be ultra stereotypical about the Greek system in general, or social life and mores surrounding Greek life, but since I'm attending Cornell next year, I'm constantly reminded of the fact that Greek life is indeed very prominent at Cornell. I've always rather despised Greek life and the crazy and wild partying image it suggests, and I just recently read this article ( <a href="https://cornellsun.com/section/opinion/content/2008/11/24/greek-life-grad-student-compares-cornell-his-alma-mater-u-chicago%5B/url%5D">https://cornellsun.com/section/opinion/content/2008/11/24/greek-life-grad-student-compares-cornell-his-alma-mater-u-chicago</a> ) about a graduate student comparing Greek life at UChicago and at Cornell. The article positively frightens me. It depicts Cornell's social life as little more than as a Greek hierachy in which one must climb to be "in" socially. I admit, I'm not much of a partier and I don't plan on partying much in college. It honestly worries me that so many Cornellians are. And also I recognize that Greek houses don't just party and that wild parties are not only held by the Greek system. Call me traditional, as you may, but I find amusement and camaraderie in other ways. Do I have a reason to be concerned? Is someone like me, quite anti-Greek & frankly vocal about it, going to run into trouble at Cornell? I feel that even without any responses that the answer is yes.</p>
<p>i’m not at cornell yet so this is just my impression:
from what i’ve seen/heard…
i think that if you are vocally anti-greek then yeah, you might run into a few problems.
if, however, you just dont think greek is for you and you’d rather not be involved in it, but are willing to be friends with people who are in frats/sororities and check out a few parties once in a while, then its quite possible to be socially happy and not join a sorority. </p>
<p>also, from what i’ve heard, it seems like its much easier to not go greek as a girl than a guy. it seems like frats are much more of a big deal. </p>
<p>then again, my friends brother loves cornell and has a great social life and isnt in a frat. he’s not opposed to frat parties and stuff though, (he just didnt like the idea of being part of a frat) so that could be different as it sounds like youre completely opposed to the scene? </p>
<p>again, take this with a grain of salt, i have no firsthand experience…</p>
<p>greek is less than 50% = yes you’ll survive just fine. in fact if you dont join, you’ll be part of the majority</p>
<p>I have a great social life and I am not in a frat.</p>
<p>I have friends who are greek and who aren’t and my life is just fine like that.</p>
<p>If you are going around campus trashing everyone who happens to be greek then you may end up with some enemies, but keep to yourself and have fun the way you want to, and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>And don’t pigeonhole yourself so early. Go to some parties, maybe you won’t like them, but how do you know you won’t? It shouldn’t worry you that so many Cornellians party. You may try to discriminate against people who like to party, or people who drink occasionally, but you will get to know many really nice and really awesome people who do both of those things, and you will be thrown off the moral high horse. </p>
<p>Also, if you are don’t care about necessarily being “in” socially or being “the popular kid” then you shouldn’t even feel pressured to join a sorority. This isn’t high school, you will find people to talk to even if you aren’t the social butterfly at the top rung of the social ladder.</p>
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<p>Nope. There will be plenty of other people at Cornell who you will be able to share your disdain for the Greek system with.</p>
<p>I haven’t decided whether I’m going Greek or not. I’ll probably rush, and if I find one I like, then cool, but I’m not gonna feel pressured to join one just for the sake of being in a frat. I think it would be fun, and a nice thing, but I’m not willing to live with a bunch of total ******s and utterly humiliate myself to get in.</p>
<p>I’m curious, how exactly are people “vocal” about being anti greek?</p>
<p>You should really rethink being so vocally against the Greek system. Deciding not to join a house is completely legitimate and understandable, but it frankly very rude and disrespectful to publicly insult an activity that students take part in and enjoy just because it isn’t for you. How would you feel if students who don’t enjoy your activities went around denigrating your club and social circle? I think there’s a double standard that needs to be resolved - a student who made fun of one of the nerdier or less cool clubs would (rightfully) be considered snobbish and offensive, but being puclicly against the greek system is somehow less frowned upon.</p>
<p>A lot of the parties Greek houses hold actually break some laws, such as underage drinking. Nerdy clubs don’t really break any laws. I think that may be one reason.</p>
<p>There are also tons of house parties by non-greeks and coop houses by non-greeks and school activities where underage drinking (of non-greeks) is involved and they don’t get the rap like greeks do.</p>
<p>And a prank or a hack by a nerdy club does break laws (public endangerment, trespassing, theft, defamation of property, the list goes on).</p>
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I’m curious, how exactly are people “vocal” about being anti greek?
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<p>I’m assuming being “vocally anti-greek” would mean being actively and openly against the greek system and anyone who participates in greek life by voicing his/her opinion and not associating with anyone involved in this social scene…as opposed to a person who simply doesnt want to actively participating in the greek scene, or would like to participate casually but not be locked into it, yet is still capable of having friends who are involved and not discriminating against others who participate in greek life. </p>
<p>and Z, I agree with you in that I have no idea whether I’ll be going Greek or not, but I am open to the idea. I just don’t know whether or not it is for me, and I’m really glad that Cornell practices Spring Rush instead of Fall, since that gives me a chance to make friends and explore my options on campus instead of being forced to choose right away. It completely depends on how I feel about greek life once I’m on campus, what types of friends I make, whether I find a sorority that I think would be fun and a fit for me, etc.</p>
<p>Come on, the real reason the Greek system gets a bad rap for partying is because it is so prominent on campus. I’m guessing the other clubs and organizations that hold wild parties don’t really get as much attention or blame because they’re not as connected (a.k.a. in a system) and are more sparse than Greek parties. I was somewhat kidding about the breaking the law, by the way.</p>
<p>So it should get a bad rap because many students participate?
I would highly suggest keeping an open mind and not digging yourself into a hole and making enemies until you can experience and understand the system. I know this is frequently said, but plenty of people who never planned on pledging (and would never seem like a Greek type) end up finding a house they fit into and love. Plenty of frats don’t throw huge parties and don’t really have mixers. And even if you decide its not for you, you don’t want to alienate yourself from potential friends who do participate.</p>
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<p>I wouldn’t characterize it as insulting, rather constructive criticism of some pretty egregious and unhealthy behavior that the Greek system so oft embodies. And it seems like many Greek alumni “publicly insult” students whenever they ascertain the need to start rebuilding a house. How many Greek houses have been ‘publicly insulted’ by their alumni boards in the past year alone?</p>
<p>There is a healthy tension between Greeks and independents on campus, and frankly, it helps the Greek system out a lot. I also think there is a much healthier relationship at Cornell than there is at Princeton with the eating clubs or at Dartmouth with the Greek system.</p>
<p>Yes, and the quick-to-berate attitude of the independents that propagates through Cornell literature and the Sun also discourages many students who otherwise might have liked going greek, perpetuates many not-necessarily-true negative stereotypes, and purposely creates a rift of supposed moral superiority.</p>
<p>Just because a lot of people enjoy the Greek system does not mean it is rude to criticize it. If a person feels a certain way about a ‘culture’ others follow they have the right to voice their opinion as long as they’re ready for the other side’s retort. And with the issue of Greek life I feel like a person would have a lot of valid points to stand their ground. Higher education like Cornell is supposed to make us critics of the status quo and I would hope that right not be interfered with just because the Greek system is something ‘a lot of people take part in and enjoy’. In fact, that’s even more of a reason for people to be vocally against it.</p>
<p>The Greek system does not control Cornell’s social life. You’ll definitely be fine.</p>
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<p>Cry me a river. Show me a person who might have enjoyed being a member of a Greek house but didn’t seriously consider rushing. Even I rushed and gave serious consideration to a bid. </p>
<p>From a house that has since disgraced itself. Glad that I’m not associated with that.</p>
<p>But as I said earlier, the chorus of critics of the Greek system (both internally and externally) seriously helps the Greek systems cause. Without it, there would be much more rotten in the state of Cornell Greekdom.</p>
<p>You will have plenty of social options outside of the Greek system, especially if you are a girl. You are by no means in trouble. There are over 375 student groups on campus outside of the greek system and it is easy to meet people in a club, in classes, or in your dorm. There are always activities going on from speakers to performances and services projects that do not involve drinking. I know plenty of girls who do not go greek and live in apartments with greek girls etc. There are many many girls that do great with out being in a sorority. Only a little over 30 percent of the student body does go Greek. It is fine to be anti-greek, you will have many people that share the opinion with you. I personally found it to be a great way to make very close friends, but I also chose to be active outside of the greek system. I remain friends with many people from freshman year that did not go greek or joined other houses too, and there is no divide aside from the fact that some social events are closed. </p>
<p>The only advice I will give, is to not assume people are bad/egotistical/etc if they are in a greek house or like to party. I know plenty of non-greeks who party just as much as your average greek person, and plenty of greek people that barely drink at all (there are even some dry houses, services houses, etc). There is also a large contingency of very smart leaders on campus that take part in a very diverse set of activities on campus and are also involved in the greek system. </p>
<p>All in all, it is a good way to meet people but isn’t for everyone. I will admit there are some aspects of the greek system that are unappealing, but in some of the houses the negative stereotype is much more true than others. With over 40 fraternities, and 11(?) sororities, each house has many differences and does not necessarily fit the negative stereotype. </p>
<p>As a freshman coming to Cornell, the best thing you can do to ensure a great 4 years is to keep an open mind. Even if you decide to write off the greek system, do not necessarily write off people that participate in it or have different beliefs. Many of these people have done great things on campus and are great people as well.</p>
<p>This is one of the times the size of Cornell works to everyone’s advantage. Let’s assume half the kids go Greek. That’s 6500 kids in the Greek system … there must be a place for you. That also means there are 6500 kids still living in dorms and apartments … and instead focused on frat activities for their social life focused in other areas. Somewhere in those 6500 non-Greek are 25 folks who will become some of your best buds.</p>
<p>It’s fine to express disapproval of underage drinking if you don’t believe in breaking laws. I can understand your concerns, especially because I used to be somewhat against underage drinking as well, though perhaps not as vocal as you seem to be. (I personally don’t find underage drinking a moral failure anymore because I believe the law itself is rather flawed, but that’s a whole other matter.) </p>
<p>However, I do sincerely think it would be beneficial to you not to be so openly judgmental; you might otherwise drive away many potentially interesting people you could meet and learn from. The whole point of college, besides academics, is to expose yourself to a whole variety of ideas and beliefs with which you are not accustomed. I would seriously encourage you to look deeper and explore the many different facets of campus life. </p>
<p>That said, even though Greek life is made out to play a huge role in campus life at Cornell, it is also very easy to avoid. For instance, I spent my weekends studying with my friends my entire freshman year. The student body at Cornell is large enough that you most likely won’t have trouble finding a group of friends who don’t want to drink either. </p>
<p>By the way:
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<p>When I left high school I found that, to my surprise, even the nerdiest, most studious, most well-behaved of students will occasionally enjoy a drink or two. Similarly, not all frequent party-goers are the unintellectual irresponsible idiots they are often painted to be. In short, I’ve found that participation in underage drinking is generally a poor predictor of a person’s character.</p>