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Facts
Why should I pledge a Greek Organization?
Why should I pledge a Greek Organization?
Joining a Greek Organization opens doors for students that never existed for them before. Ask any Greek on campus what they have learned from their time in their fraternity or sorority and you will hear things like leadership skills, budgeting, organization skills, philanthropy, initiative, social awareness, moral and personal values, and much more. If you're not convinced yet check out a few of the facts below (as reported by the North-American Interfraternity Conference).
What can Greek Life offer you?
The fraternity and sorority community offers a variety of leadership opportunites to prepare students for future careers. Members are eligible for elected or appointed positions and committee participation within the chapter. Each chapter is self-governing and relies on the special talents of its members for successful management. Members may choose to become involved in the leadership of one of the governing councils or the Order of Omega Greek Honor Society. Conferences hosted on campus, regionally and nationally, provide members with further opportunites to explore the realm of leadership.
Academic achievement is a value of the campus fraternity and sorority community. Members are encouraged to strive for scholarly excellence through incentive programs, study partners, workshops and study hours, and national recognition. Members are rewarded for their academic achievements through chapter events and by membership in the Order of Omega Greek Honor Society. Each fraternity and sorority maintains internal academic standards that all members are expected to achieve.
The fraternity and sorority community is committed to participating in community service and philanthropic efforts. Many organizations have a specific service or philanthropy, such as domestic violence prevention, Pediatric AIDS, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, and Adopt-a-Highway. As a fraternity or sorority member, you will have the opportunity to support the local and campus community by being involved in volunteer activities such as reading to children, chaperoning junior high dances, organizaing a formal for a local senior care facility, serving in a soup kitchen, sponsoring a blood drive, or doing a clean-up at a local park.
It is important to find a netwrok of friends and allies to provide the support needed to be successful. As an undergraduate, the fraternity/sorority experience provides opportunities to meet students from other campus chapters. Members are encouraged to participate in other campus life programs and to join other student organizations. Intramural sports and special campus events provide even more opportunities to meet students, faculty and staff from various agencies and departments. The chapter also provides opportunities for members to meet brothers and sisters from chapters at other campuses, usually through a regional or national leadership conference. The fraternity and sorority experience is not limited to the college years, as it continues through adulthood. Alumni/ae associations are available across the country and the potential for career connections are endless. Alumni/ae and national volunteers provide advice and guidance for the chapter and its members as well as serve on house and alumni/ae corporations.
Fraternity and sorority members may be found in all parts of campus life: Student Government Association, Intramural Sports, Resident Assistants, Honor Societies, Student Businesses, house councils and area governments, as student staff in many offices and departments, varsity sports and throughout the students organizations found on campus. Fraternity and sorority members play an important role in many of the events and initiatives on the campus, either through their chapter or through involvement with other associations.
The result of fraternity and sorority membership: a bond that transcends time and space- a friendship that lasts a life time. A fundamental principle of every fraternity and sorority chapter is friendship: a brotherhood or sisterhood that one shares through the good times and provides support during the difficult challenges that come with being a college student. The fraternity and sorority chapter provides opportunities for members to periodically assemble and renew those bonds of friendship: Homecoming, Alumni weekends, newsletters, a chapter web page, and athletic events. Many national chapters have alumni chapters in major urban areas, where alumni/ae from various chapters can continue to create new bonds of friendship.
Greek Organizations are the largest not for profit student landlords! They own and manage $3 Billion in student housing and provide homes for 250,000 students in 8,000 facilities.
Facts about Greek Life at SUNY Geneseo
The following facts were compiled by Wendi Kinney after the 2004-2005 academic year:
© 2006 Inter Greek
Council - IGC
State University of New York at Geneseo
Originally created by Stephanie Brown & Maintained by Tim Szczerba and Ryan
Lang '07
Redesigned by Sunny Lecce '08
