Imagine this. It’s freshmen year. You decided to approach the greek life section of the club fair and you’re instantly warped into the sorority and fraternity recruitment tactics. Pamphlets and socials are being thrown at you. Big, bright smiles and matching t-shirts at every table. Not to mention the large wooden greek letters sitting right in front of their tables. You are bombarded with phrases like, “We are a family here!” and, “You’ll feel like one of us in no time,” which act as an enticement to get you to sign up.
These are some of the few experiences at a recruitment event that might make interested students feel overwhelmed with greek life. Or, at the very least nervous to join. Her Campus Hofstra is here to help you make your own decision to join greek life with a few pointers.
What are the different types of Sororities and Fraternities?
Most students know the socials and the (pre)professional organizations, but there are also service organizations and honor societies. Each organization is governed by one council. The council, which each greek organization is categorized, depends on the type of organization the fraternity or sorority is classified as. At Hofstra and many other schools, there are four councils that the greek organizations are governed by.
College Panhellenic Council (CPH) is the governing body for sororities at Hofstra University. This council serves the sororities which are social-based organizations.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) is the governing body for fraternities at Hofstra University. This council acts the same as the CPH council but for the fraternities.
Multicultural Fraternity and Sorority Council (MFSC) is the governing body for culturally based fraternities and sororities at Hofstra University.
Professional Fraternity Council (PFC) is a convening body for the professional/coed/special interest fraternities and sororities at Hofstra University. This also includes honors societies and service-based organizations.
From here, it gets hard to choose which fraternities and sororities would be the best fit for you. But, it also depends on how well you get along with the people in the organization and if you see yourself getting something out of it long-term. Sometimes it matters which type of organization you join contingent on what your best interest and reasoning are.
What are the Pros of joining?
Everyone will say “family” or “friends” when it comes to these organizations which are entirely true. Most of these organizations will place a large emphasis on sisterhood or brotherhood because it’s why most were founded.
You can make a lot of connections too; not just friends. With professional-based organizations, networking is a major takeaway for the members. While you might not get along with all the members, you will find friendships pretty quickly that last a lifetime.
Campus and community involvement is also a driving force behind the organizations, especially the service organizations. Greek organizations do a lot of fundraising and philanthropy throughout the year because they are affiliated with non-profits or local organizations they give back to. You would also get a chance to volunteer and build relationships within the community around your university.
If you choose to, later on, the organization can offer leadership opportunities and leadership skills. Running for any type of position in the organization can be a great way to build up your resume or get more involved with the organization.
What are the Cons of joining?
Money is always a consideration when it comes to greek life. Paying dues is a bit hefty in price when you first join. Sororities and fraternities also require semesterly dues to remain active members. The price will depend on the organization, but you would still have to pay to remain in the sorority or fraternity.
With the greek organizations throwing events regularly, as a member you will be required to go to most of the events. There are a certain amount of credits per semester you need to fulfill if you join, so it is a time commitment. If you have a busy schedule or work a part-time job, joining a greek organization might be adding too much to your to-do list.
As a disclaimer as well, even after pledging, rushing and joining you might not connect to anyone in the organization on a friendship level. It is helpful to know someone that is already in that organization or have a friend join you in the pledging process. It sounds redundant when the point is to make friends, but you might find out after everything that the organization didn’t live up to your assumptions or expectations.
Now that you have read some pros and cons about greek life, it is up to you to weigh them when considering joining a sorority or fraternity in the future. It does end up being about the objectives and takeaways you want from the organization you rush into, but now you have a few general points to consider outside of the matching t-shirts and smiling faces the recruitment tables are filled with.