Hazing, puking, random hook-ups, huge house parties: Is that all it means to be Greek here on our Big Ten campus, where students take pride in working hard and partying even harder?
At the Overture Center several months ago, my sorority held a sisterhood"" event by attending a Madhatters concert at the signature venue on State Street. This talented male acapella troupe catered not only to my sorority, but to the greater public as well. During intermission, the crowd cleared out to rush to the bathrooms, only to be greeted by the pleasant surprise of vomiting sorority girls taking their own ""intermission"" from fall formal.
Unsure of what to do, we left the bathroom in search of somewhere else to relieve ourselves. As we left, we overheard an abundance of comments from the Madison community expressing disgust at these sorority girls. This is no surprise, as they had simply come to enjoy a show on a Friday night with friends and family in the downtown we students know and love.
As a member of a UW-Madison sorority who was wearing her letters, I suddenly felt a surge of embarrassment for the symbols that I normally wear with pride. I wanted to apologize for these girls, and to defend the Greek system as a whole. I wanted to tell these adults about the many hours we spend dedicated to our chapters - of the many opportunities we take advantage of, the friends we make, the hours of community service we dedicate to the Madison community each week. All that was lost in this terrible display of what it means to be Greek in Madison.
I wanted to flail my arms and defend the internships that I have been given access to through alumni, and flaunt pictures of the many life-long friends I have made. I wanted to scream about the hours I had just spent earlier that day at Glendale Elementary School, reading with young Madison students who are years behind the average reading level. Instead, I could only attempt to disguise my letters and protect my own dignity. I scurried back to the concert hall with rage and repulsion, unsure of what to do next.
A month or so later, at our house's weekly informational meeting called ""chapter,"" two representatives from a sorority I know and love came to speak to my chapter. In what can be described as a lackluster, heartless apology, a gloomy member of this sorority's executive board read a note to the room off of her blackberry, apologizing for some ""un-Greek"" acts that their members had committed, sharing words of their clearly artificial remorse for their wrongdoings.
Seriously, reading an apology message off your phone?! At least try to pretend to actually care about what you have been sent to say. And maybe add some eye contact into the mix, anything to take responsibility for your organization's actions and add at least a hint of sincerity.
I always say that, besides coming to UW-Madison, joining a sorority was the best decision I have made. Aside from the frequent stereotypes sororities receive on campus, they provide a community among the tens of thousands of students that surround this campus. On a daily basis, sororities provide opportunities for bettering not only our own lives, but also the lives of others at UW-Madison. On weekends, there are events that allow us to meet even more members of the Greek system.
For many, being Greek provides displaced students a welcoming place to live. The people we meet, the experiences we have and the memories we create are all in the name of being Greek. There is nothing more hurtful to me or any other respectable member of a sorority than to have the entire system torn down by a few poor representatives.
When members of UW-Madison sororities are on campus, regardless of whether or not they are wearing letters, they represent more than just their chapter. They represent an entire organization with a long running, respectable history.
When a typical UW-Madison student wears their Wisconsin red outside of the Madison community, they wear it with a great deal of pride and respect for the campus they represent. Those engaged in Greek life on campus have a responsibility to represent all of us positively - doing well by others and most of all, having fun while maintaining this image.
We, as students, take pride in our university and the vast array of opportunities it provides us. One of these unique opportunities is Greek life, and anyone who puts on their letters must uphold Greek pride in the same way they do UW-Madison's.
Roz Koff is a freshman majoring in journalism and women's studies. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
