Molly Deaton
Staff Writer
mmdeaton@valdosta.edu

The concept of Greek life sounds very strange to some students on the Valdosta State campus, and sororities and fraternities are sometimes brushed off and thought to have no significance to the campus at all. However, Greek organizations have many purposes  that go beyond socials and fraternity parties; so do not write them off just yet.
Each sorority has philanthropy that they do a lot of work with and for each year that benefits people in need; whether it is the Susan G. Komen organization that aids in the fight against breast cancer, the Ronald McDonald House which houses parents when their child is in the hospital for an extended period of time, or the Make-A-Wish Foundation which grants wishes to terminally ill children.
These are just three of five phenomenal organizations that the sororities on campus are a part of. There are many events held each semester to raise money and to benefit theses foundations further. Fraternities as well hold many charity events each for year for the philanthropy of their choice and really make people want to come out and participate in a fun way which in turn helps another person.
Greek life is certainly not for everyone but for the people that have joined a sorority or fraternity, they are generally glad that they did because of all the opportunities that arise for them. One of the opportunities is meeting new people a lot through socials, activities on campus, and just from going through recruitment at all.
Freshman and new Kappa Delta, Brooke Hamilton says she joined a sorority because she wanted “to be involved with something on campus and also to make lifelong friends.” She also says that she is very glad that she went through recruitment and pledged a sorority.
Some people feel that being in a sorority or fraternity is “paying for your friends.” Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but this really could not be farther from the truth. Dues are paid each month for the sole purpose of activities for the chapter to participate in, and in most of the cases, students meet other students and become friends so maybe that is where the idea of paying for friends came from.
Many people rushed simply to meet people because they might have not known anyone coming to this university. This is a very valid reason to go through recruitment, and it is nearly impossible to not accomplish the goal that you set for yourself.  Even if the individual decides that going Greek is really not for them, they have met a new circle of friends that they did not have before and would not have met if it had not been for recruitment.
Some people choose to join a Greek organization to become more involved on campus and maybe make changes that they see need to be made. Every student on campus has a voice and the ability to make changes on campus; however, being involved in a sorority or fraternity really gives an outlet to make that change and makes it easier to happen.
There are many ways that students can get involved on campus and one of the biggest and most influential ways really is to join a fraternity or sorority because it opens up new things that someone usually would not try to be a part of. Such as, Relay for Life. Many students participated in that last year who had not previously participated in high school because they were joining up with their Greek organization and in some cases, that organization would join up with another sorority or fraternity to make it a more exciting event.
Overall, Greek life is very beneficial to students on campus who decide to participate and get involved with it. As stated earlier, Greek life is most definitely not for everyone which is good because different interests is what makes our campus here at VSU a diverse and interesting one.

Molly Deaton is a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority.