Before I begin I must admit that I didn't do my research properly before coming to Cornell. As a result I had no idea how big the Greek community here was until I actually got here. When I say "Greek" I don't mean "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" Greek, I mean sorority/fraternity Greek. Cornell is kind of an anomaly when it comes to this.
In no other Ivy does the Greek system play such a pivotal role in college life (at least to my knowledge. I don't make it my business to nose around in other colleges since I have enough to think about here...PRELIMS!). Last time I checked at least 30% of Cornellians were Greek-affiliated. That's 1/3rd of all Cornell students were in a sorority or a fraternity. In any school that's a pretty hefty percentage. You can't walk around anywhere on campus without seeing frat letters printed on a sweatshirt or sorority letters printed on a tote bag. It is EVERYWHERE! Monday morning conversations usually go something like this
Girl 1: Oh my God! I had so much fun on Saturday.
Girl 2: Where did you go? Delta Chi or Chi Psi?
Girl 1: Both! It was great.
Girl 2: Oh I was at Delta Chi but I didn't see you.
Girl 1: That's because it was crammed!
Girl 2: I know!
Girl 1: Haha.
*pause*
Girl 2: Did you finish the problem set?
What the above conversation (which I actually overheard a while back) demonstrates is a typical Cornellians ability to incorporate aspects of Greek life (parties etc.) within normal student life (problem sets...ewwwww). Honestly, we do it quite well. But going back to that 30% Greek statistic, just because those people are the ones going Greek it doesn't mean that they are the only ones involved in Greek life. Here GDIs are just as involved when it comes to parties and chillin' with the Greeks. For the untrained a GDI is code for God Damned Independent, someone who does not have Greek letters (not in a frat or a sorority). To be honest this is *Ithaca* and there's not much else to do, so we party it up Greek style. Being as isolated as we are probably plays a role in how important the frats and sororities on this campus are to student life. But for the most part we don't complain.
Granted many have just accepted that the frats and sororities essentially run this university. Looking at the Student Assembly many of it's members are Greek and many of the important/big name organizations are headed by or are in part run by Greeks. Some of the biggest benefactors of Cornell are Greek alums. While sometimes this can be a pain in the butt since Greeks of course tend to want to advance the Greek agenda, we have to remember once again that 30% of the students on this campus are Greek and therefore whatever happens in the student government etc. will affect them as a group the most. Does this mean we ignore the rest? No, duh, even though 30% is a big number 70% is still bigger (I can do math. WOOT!) For those 70% it is still important for their voices to be heard and we should not deny them that right, nor are there any plans to do so. Some have decided that the time for a war on Greek life is at hand (for reasons to be discussed later when I have found the right words with which to articulate them) but honestly folks, Cornell would not be Cornell without Greek life. To take that away would undo the fabric of Cornell society. Where would we be then?
But for now (and hopefully for a while yet) Cornell University in sunny Ithaca, New York* will continue to see Greek.
*Ithaca is only sunny for 2-3 months a year...we have not reached those months. I shall weep (and trudge through knee-high snow) until we do.
Allie,
ReplyDeleteI was speaking to an the Cornell admissions officer for the West Coast, and she told me something that intrigued me. She said the reason that so many of the big donor/active alumni are Greek is not a reflection on the Greek system but rather that those were the students were involved on campus, and therefore have an emotional connection to the university. If you look at Glee Club/Chorus alumni, you'll notice most of them were not greek (in the '90s, Seal and Serpent was simultaneously the GC and ROTC house, weird...). Yet GC/Chorus alumni are some of the most actively involved alumni this university has. In general, if students have an emotional connection to the university while they are here and are involved on campus in a way that forces them to make an investment (whether it be monetary, emotional, or other) then those students are more likely to be active alumni.
The other thing that I want to mention that Greek like does not have to play any role in your life if you don't want it to. I have plenty of friends (both musical and others) who want nothing to do with Greek life and still have a great time here at Cornell. It only "runs" the social scene at Cornell because it provides options for students. Students who are just looking for something to do will go to Greek things while students actively looking for something else will veer away from it. Also, the Greek system provides many more people with leadership opportunity, so natural leaders will gravitate toward greek life because it will give them a chance to shine. Type A's in the Greek system are still type A's outside of it, which is why so many students leaders on campus, including the SA, is greek. I don't think the Greek system needs to be vilified though. The other 70% of students aren't ignored per se, we just tend to group that 30% into one large chunk while subdividing the the main 70% into little chunks. There are definitely merits and pitfalls to going Greek, as there are to joining any other type of organization. I'm not Greek myself, but I have seen what it does to different people, some positive and some negative. The change shouldn't start by trying to reform the Greek system, but rather how we perceive it. If we keep on thinking that it's the big thing on campus, then we will let be just that, but if people realize that there are innumerable other opportunities here at Cornell then the Greek system won't "run" Cornell as so many people erroneously claim.
Love,
DK
I understand and agree with what you are saying my personal Adam Levine. When I use the phrase "Greeks run Cornell" I am simply pointing out how people feel about it here. But again you are right in stating that the Greek community attracts natural leaders who then shine outside of Greek life. But at the same time, Greek life is still an essential part of this university.
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