Shervin Shaikh
Staff Writer
The Greek System is overlooked by many students at UCSB. They may say that they can just go to Del Playa and party, why would they ever need to join a fraternity or a sorority? However, they overlook a lot of benefits of the Greek system. Going Greek can give you the opportunity to expand your social life, jump into leadership positions, fill your networking appetite and discover many close friends for life.
If you think partying at UCSB is over the top, once you go Greek everything changes. Greeks are known to provide the main party scene at many other schools, so in order to live up to and go beyond that standard here, Greek throw parties on weekends and weekdays. Themed Gathering, or TG as they call it, usually occur on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and offer an opportunity to party and socialize.
My favorite part of being Greek are the date parties and date trips. When do I have the time to set up trip with my friends to go to Vegas or Havasu? Being a part of the Greek system easily gives me the opportunity to go on trips like these with almost no hassle. I have never been bored since joining the Greek system. Some people struggled to find things to do their very first quarter at UCSB but I quickly found a close group of friends and was presented with events left and right after joining a fraternity.
Social events are not the only benefit from joining the Greek system. There is also an abundance of leadership opportunities that a non-Greek can’t take advantage of. They give students the opportunity to learn the basics of planning, organizing and working toward a certain goal. Finding leadership positions at a large school can be hard because not many know where to start looking. The Greek system gives students an opportunity to hold leadership positions on a smaller scale and then network with guys or girls in their house to hold larger leadership positions later on.
Networking is a huge bonus when it comes to joining the Greek system; it allows for opportunities that you would have never thought about or discovered on your own. For example, when I first joined my fraternity I started off as our public affairs chair, working on small projects. Then I was introduced and encouraged by a brother to run for Associated Students Legislative Council alongside him and now I hold a large leadership position. This was all because of the friends I’ve made through the Greek system. Not only are there networking abilities at school but also beyond school as there are alumni everywhere who are able to refer internships and jobs to current students in the same fraternity they were.
These reasons may seem enticing but it’s not the parties, the leadership opportunities or networking perks that make Greek life a great choice; it’s the life-long friendships that you’ll make, the best friends that you can never replace and the moments that let you say that these are my brothers or sisters that make Greek life worth it. Many of the friends I have made from joining a fraternity will be the best men at my wedding, the men at my first baby shower and the men mourning me at my funeral. I have friends and then I have my fraternity brothers. They are my brothers because through the good times and bad times, we all stick together. We are inseparable.
If these reasons have not convinced you that the Greek system can be a bonus in your life, then going Greek may not be for you. But I believe going Greek adds another piece to the pie of the college experience; a bonus many people should take advantage of.