As the Greek system becomes more prevalent at Tufts, fraternities and sororities are becoming a powerful social force on campus. While these organizations can impact campus positively with their resources and energy, they also tend to propagate an exclusionary culture while simultaneously pressuring people to join. Twenty four percent of the undergraduate population was affiliated with a fraternity or sorority as of 2014. This number continues to grow each year. Next year, Tufts will welcome an additional sorority to campus in order to accommodate the growing desire of students to participate in Greek life. The influx of affiliated students only increases the Greek life pressure, as many students start to see it as one of the main social outlets available on campus.
This mindset is dangerous, however, considering the socially and financially exclusive nature of the system. While sororities guarantee a bid to at least one of the four houses for every girl who completes the rush process, many girls still feel excluded because they are not guaranteed an invite back to their top choices. Fraternities do not guarantee bids at all. The first day of sorority rush is structured such that girls have four 45-minute periods to meet the members of each sorority, and by the end of the night, the sororities decide whether or not to invite these girls back to their next rush event. The short period of time set aside to meet people coupled with the unprecedented number of girls seeking bids leads to a hypercompetitive, high-pressure environment that is oftentimes predicated upon snap judgments. Extending the rush process or restructuring it in order to guarantee each participant more time with the current members could easily mitigate this issue and reduce the pressure to look and act a certain way.
The pressure of joining Greek life is not purely social; it is a financial problem as well. Fraternities and sororities demand recurring, substantial payments from their members in order to participate. While these costs are not unjustified and are used for legitimate causes such as upkeep of the houses, they still present a significant barrier to many students who want to join. The scholarships offered are often grossly inadequate for students whose families are genuinely unable or unwilling to pay for their participation in Greek life.
Because of the exclusive nature of the rush process, the rift between Greek and non-Greek students can easily be deepened. For those unaffiliated, participating in social or philanthropic events with the Greek community can often be an awkward exercise. And those who are participants in Greek life are not necessarily motivated to reach outside of their system to make connections.
While Greek life is not inherently a bad thing, its rise in prevalence should be regulated more effectively in order to prevent the formation of division between students within and outside of the system. In its current state, it perpetuates isolationism, which is not in the best interest of a diverse and united Tufts campus.
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