Are Greeks just Greek to you?

Missouri Southern’s Greek community is gearing up for its 2007 spring recruitment. Greeks conducting their rush this month want you to come check them out!

Students not already involved in other clubs, work, more than 12 hours or with a significant other need not read on, right?

Here are the questions that you find yourself typically asking when it comes to participation. Are you getting paid to be there? Are you getting a grade to be there? Will my significant other like the idea? Could I be sleeping during that time?

Well then not important, right?

This is the part of the column where you are “surprised,” with the clichéd response to that question: “WRONG.” The author secretly laughs at your tremendous upset (and his/her immense cleverness) and the reader is determined to find out how such a persuasive thread of reasoning could possibly lead to an alternative conclusion, so you read on. Well, let’s stop pretending.

Like other clichés you might be used to, you could roll your eyes, sigh and find something more interesting to read, right? Overused bits in publications are about as annoying as the last song by the Spice Girls. There are probably a lot of reasons you could stop reading, though. Greeks at Missouri Southern aren’t the majority–heck you may have never met one. They account for something like 2 percent of the students at Southern, don’t they? If you do know anything about Greeks, you likely know something about how they always claim to be “so unique,” as student organizations. The question often raised is two-fold, if they can’t explain it in terms that fit into your work schedule, it’s probably not worth your time or money, right?

In a realm where the truth meets the myth, Greeks really are definitely a different group of students. They do, in fact compose less than five percent of the student body. They do, in fact, commit a significant portion of their time to their respective organization. They often pay significant fees to be a member.

What is it? What could possess 100 students to do something like that? Rich boys and girls? The staggering majority of Greeks have jobs. Drunks? Absolutely no money from the fraternity or sorority is spent on alcohol or alcoholic paraphernalia. The University, as well as the national offices of the Greek organizations, oversees their spending.

In that realm that was mentioned, Greeks get really tired of hearing those scenarios as answers for why they do what they do. If they could roll their eyes and find something else to read or listen to I’m sure they would. However, they can’t. Greek organizations are about one thing really that they truly can’t do without: You.

Greek organizations don’t ask that you have a particular major, they aren’t centered on your religious beliefs or political views, and your hobbies are of little relevance to your potential membership.

Well, what DO they ask? If you are even remotely interested in the answer of that question, then you can do one of two things or you can do both. You can take the direct and personal investigative way, by visiting their open recruitment events in this week and next with no risk of financial or physical commitment, or you can do a little research online at their national websites and read The Chart. This column will be a source of information regarding all Greeks, their activities, and more about what kind of things they bring to the “pride” of Southern.