Story Highlights

• Greek Life Before “TrueLies”
• Top Five Ways to a Fulfilling Greek Experience
• Video and Podcast of “The Future of Greek Life”

Since my beginning of “TrueLies”, I have tried to portray a positive side of Greek life, greatly incorporating our accomplishments and breaking the stereotypes. In my short time researching Greek life, I was curious to see if we were always dealing with controversy and chaos. So, my quest began.

I searched the last three years of articles in the Mustang Daily, Cal Poly’s student run newspaper, to see if Greek life was portrayed in a positive light before 2007. I started in 2007 since it is significant with my involvement at Cal Poly.  Sadly before 2008, only one article is printed,  “Fraternities and sororities clean up area around campus.” Woo-hoo. The whole article is about how Greek life wants to prove to the community that they mean some good. It probably helped somewhat, but seriously. The start of 2008 was fine till rush started in the fall. Fraternity sandwich boards were seen as lewd and overly sexual, and the incident with Carson Starkey was the only thing concerning anything Greek there after.

So what can we do about this? Panhellinic has done everything to promote a healthy and safe environment for Greek life. So, here is my question. Why the hell aren’t we complying with these simple parameters? I don’t think we are doing enough to prove to the San Luis Obispo community that we deserve to be treated with respect.

You Better Listen Up!

In order to push Greek life along, here are some tips for not only Cal Poly’s Greek community but any other schools who choose to listen.

The Five Ways to a Fulfilling Greek Experience

1.     Each house is stereotyped for something. So, don’t be the stereotype! We have this secret power to positively influence our peers by helping and being involved with everything. So why not take advantage of the abundance of opportunities that we have and show our school who we really are.

2.     Tanning and hydrogen peroxide. The movie depicted sorority girl is always tan and blonde. Don’t be that (unless you are naturally). BE YOURSELF. Your house picked you because of who you are, not what you could be.

3.     Go to events. By being a part of Greek life, you get invited to great events, philanthropies, and socials. Putting your face out there (from a journalist point of view) gets your name out there. Opportunity awaits.

4.     Don’t be selective. This is the perfect time of your life to meet everyone. Greek life is a family, so take in everyone as a whole. Don’t think of your sorority or fraternity as the best or the hottest. We are in this together so treat everyone like your brothers and sisters.

5.     Be apart of something huge. Join the executive board of your house. Helping out is a great way to feel completely involved. It also looks good on a resume later on.

Since I can’t attend Cal Poly forever and my Greek experience will end, I greatly encourage future generations of Greek members to give your all to your house and school. Wear each letter with pride and make sure to be involved. With every mistake comes the experience to learn and mature. Learn from your wrongs and you will know how to do right.

I am not sure that we will see significant change within a year, but I do not doubt my peers. I greatly rely on younger generations to pull us out of our slump. Sorry, for the burden. Until we can prove that we are in fact here to make Cal Poly a brighter place and give a positive influence, who knows where we will be in a year or ten.

With the conclusion to my persuasive post, I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Margaret Mead. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Here is the link to my podcast interview with the Delta Sigma Phi up and coming president, Andre Huaman.