Hello, World!

Photo by Greg Ma

It’s 5:00pm on a Thursday afternoon and 28th street (aka the “Greek Row”) is noticeably quieter than previous years. 


While a few red cups still litter the gutters along the street, the college party pandemonium that typically ensues during the first couple weeks of school here at USC is unmistakably subdued. Perhaps we can point our fingers to last spring, when the Kappa Sigma fraternity was set ablaze with controversy over a rooftop sex scandal and an inappropriate email. As a consequence of these events and the unwanted media attention it caused, USC has placed the entire Greek community on a social probation and will continue to monitor the happenings of every fraternity and sorority on campus.

But the issue is much bigger than one fraternity chapter of one college campus. The social probation that has hit USC is the result of a culmination of negative buzz words often associated with sororities and fraternities—pledging, hazing, and alcohol—to name a few.

Maybe because I am a currently college student I have become more aware of the situation, but it seems as if more and more horror stories about the dangers of Greek life are beginning to surface in national news headlines. We are hearing about people who have died as a result of hazing, people who have been sent to the hospital as the result of alcohol poisoning, and people who have been peer pressured into awful situations as the result of the culture that surrounds the Greek community.

Though the most notable actions of fraternities and sororities as of late have generally been met with negative connotation, there are many other innocuous practices that can only be found within the distinct culture of sorority and fraternity life. Many of these traditions, which include lavaliering and pinning, have a deep-seated history and symbolism that I feel warrant more attention from the general public. Greek life definitely goes beyond just the infamous parties and mixers; the system really cultivates a loyalty that runs deeper than ordinary friendships.

While I am not a member of the larger councils of Panhellenic and IFC that dominate the Greek row, I am a member of a Greek organization and I am interested in learning more about the logic and reasoning that drive the whole operation; I want to take a closer look at both the positives and negatives that continue to perpetuate the Greek system. What motivates a student to rush for a fraternity or sorority? What rationalizations make it okay for an older active to demand certain tasks from a younger pledge? What leads a campus like USC, where the students excel above average academically, to foster one of the most reputable Greek life systems in the country? 


Participating in the events of fraternity and sorority life is nothing new—it is a process that remains firmly rooted in its origins, a lifestyle that attracts the attention of millions of young adults, and a system that somehow continues to persist year after year.


More and more blogs are beginning to dedicate themselves to the topic of college Greek life, shedding light on the processes of recruitment, pledging and even activeship. Some of the most notable blogs I came across lately include:

• WebGreek, which is dedicated to bringing the online community newsworthy information and fresh perspectives on controversial topics associated with going Greek.
• The Fraternity Advisor, a Dear Abby-esque blog aimed at providing advice to fraternity and sorority leaders.
• Greekopedia, an encyclopedia-based blog defining anything and everything pertaining to Greek life.

There must be a method to the madness of Greek life, and over the course of the next 15 weeks, I am determined to find out just that.