Rage

This is the stereotype of all Greeks: Frat boys, keggers, sex. Zero ethics. Maybe a little studying in between, but probably not. Eat, sleep rage.


Wrong.


The greatest barrier to the fraternal movement, without doubt, are the stereotypes it has not just on this campus, but on every campus in the U.S. This stereotype, created both by the media and past and present fraternities, is one that most if not all non-Greeks have of greek life.


Think about it, when you hear comments or conversations about greek life by non-greeks, what is the general mood or conclusion? That greek life is BAD! I was one of these people. I came into college with I HATE GREEK LIFE pretty much tatooed on my forehead.


In fighting the stereotype and promoting the fraternal movement, it really is difficult to come to some sort of solution. Both media and past stereotypes are powerful things, so how do we go about combating them? This is a common struggle I face everyday, as I see many people on this campus everyday who would make great Greeks (and specifically, great FIJIs). Unfortunately, stereotypical greek life is the only thing that matters to the majority of these people.


I think our President, Gordon Gee, touches on many of the great things greek life can do for a young student at a university, especially at a university as large as our own.

So, with the two major barriers to the fraternal movement (media and historical stereotypes), how to we fight them and represent the greek community in a positive light? I think the step has to be collaboration (and consequently, controversy with civility). While FIJI does great things for this university and demonstrates a great example of greek life and its impact on a student's life, this issue is one that cannot be solved by one man or one fraternity. In order to tackle the barriers to the fraternal movement, we must lead other fraternities and sororities in a collaborative effort in transforming the image of greek life at Ohio State.

Secondly, once we establish this struggle as a collaborative effort, we must commit to changing the image of Ohio State fraternities and sororities. It will take a great deal of commitment and years of effort to make a real impact. There will surely be a lot of frustration and turmoil in the process, but as the saying goes, "Anything worth having is worth fighting for." Or something like that. 

I leave you with a few statistics that also demonstrate the positive impact of greek life on an individual.

   63 percent of the U.S. President's cabinet since 1900 have been Greek. 

   Of the nation's 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity men. 

   85% of the Fortune 500 executives belong to a fraternity. 

   40 of 47 U.S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were fraternity men. 

   76% of all Congressmen and Senators belong to a fraternity. 

   Every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825 have been members of a fraternity. 

   A U.S. Government study shows that over 70% of all those who join a fraternity/sororitiy graduate, while under 50% of all non-fraternity/sorority persons graduate. 

   Over 85% of the student leaders on some 730 campuses are involved in the Greek community.

   1st Female Senator was Greek 

   1st Female Astronaut was Greek 

   All of the Apollo 11 Astronauts are Greek

   Over $7 million is raised each year by Greeks nationally 

   850,000 hours are volunteered by greeks annually

   The Greek system is the largest network of volunteers in the US, with members donating over 10   million hours of volunteer service each year