The Life of being Greek and the social aspects of being a minority
Background
Throughout the course of the fall semester, I declared that my topic for this project would be on the life of being apart of a Fraternity and the social aspects of being a minority within. My freshman year at the University of Minnesota started off rocky and slow. And I do not mean academically. I did not play a sport, I did not have any extracurricular, and I was not part of any clubs of such. So, at first my college experience was quite bland and unfulfilling. Even though joining a fraternity and going Greek was an option, I did not join a fraternity until October where rush week, an event where freshmen try to woo each house they have an interest in was over. The reason why I waited so long was because I did not believe I was going to go down that route. I was never the perfect cookie cutter “frat” boy and I did not know much about being in a fraternity at first. A lot has changed in the first month of the experience while being at school and making the decision to pursue in trying to join a fraternity was one of the best decisions of my life.
Recruitment
As mentioned before, missing rushing week was an obstacle in my path because I did not know how or whom I could turn to for advice. Turns out that my friend Ben who is one of my best friends roommate was in a fraternity and asked me to come check out the house, the gentlemen, and to come to an event they were holding. For that spectacular offer I could not resist and I accepted and went with him to the event. Going to the house and seeing it first hand, it was an enormous house beautifully preserved for being as old as the house was when it was established in 1916. It was quite the experience going into the house and instantly got caught in a serenading event where the whole house goes around to the sororities and sing for them. Not knowing anyone there it was definitely overwhelming thinking everyone is thinking, “Who is this kid and why is he here?” However, I chatted with some of the members and got to know them and found that they are genuine gentlemen and that they welcomed me with open arms.
Getting Accepted
After serenading with them all of the members and guests went back to the house and had a formal meeting. During that meeting the guests got to introduce themselves and tell them a little bit about their backgrounds. A few days after the meeting I receive a invitation to hang out with the freshman members of the fraternity to play some softball and to get to know all the fine gentlemen that I could be potentially spending the rest of my college experience with. To be frank, softball is not my favorite sport; it is actually a sport I dislike a lot because I am the least experienced with it. However, we had a good laugh, I had a few slip ups in the outfield and ended up having a fun time. A couple days go by and I get a text message from Ben asking if I was in the residence hall and I told him, “Yes I am in your room.” I was growing with curiosity to find out what was the reason he asked if I was in the hall. He shows up a few minutes later with a member who was chair of recruitment. He hands me a “bid” card resembling an invitation to become a member of the fraternity and I accepted right on the spot. That is my journey leading up to joining Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Interviewing Members
Before I made my decision that I was going to make this big of a commitment towards this I had to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into. I interviewed my friend Ben Spillum. I asked him what was the fraternity like and if I would fit in with the guys there. He told me,
“SigEp is one of the top fraternities on campus, and we are one of the largest manpower chapters. Fitting in with the guys is not hard because we treat every member in the house with the same respect. You will get along with all of the freshmen. We have the best for sure.”
I took his word and it turned out that his word was right and I loved meeting all the guys in the house.
Not only did I interview Ben but also I interviewed a sophomore because he was one of the other minorities in the chapter. Baldy is Latino and I asked him how life in the fraternity was as a minority? He responded,
“I am not going to sugar coat it to you—being a different race than the majority will bring stereotypes and jokes. However, they will all love you and you are a great addition to the house.”
I respected him a lot more after that conversation and it gave me confidence that I would have a good transition into the chapter. So far, I believe I do have the respect, love and brother relationship with all chapter members.
New Member Orientation
One of the most inspirational and helpful events that helped me develop and learn more about my Fraternity was EDGE, a high-energy overnight program that offers SigEp’s newest members the type of outside-the-classroom education that is hard to find at most colleges and universities. During this program, I was able to meet all new SigEps from my region.
Porphura Ball
Another important event that we have held and I thought that was important was our fall philanthropy—the Porphura Ball. This event raised more than $10,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters. The Porphura Ball’s mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported, one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.
Minority Life in Fraternity Life
An important topic that came to mind while working on this project was race and being a part of a minority group. I was the only minority in the when I joined the Fraternity. There are a few older members who are Latino and one African American, but being the only minority in the freshman class made me feel a little bit out of place at first. Then I realized I could also use that as an advantage instead of a disadvantage. There is a difference between trying to be something that you are not to try to fit in and embracing your difference.
I embrace the fact that I am different and have been able to build strong relationships with all of the brothers of the fraternity.
Observations
Some observations that I have made going around all the fraternities on campus is that the majority of members are white, and I have no problem with that fact. It makes me feel better about myself that I can be different and unique.
At the end of the day, SigEp is an elite group of men and we are all bound together as brothers. As corny and obvious as that statement is, we take it seriously because we care about each other. Now, as brothers, we do pick on each other from time to time and social interactions do bring up stereotypes, but they are all in good fun. My philosophy is to not take anything to heart and approach everything with a humble attitude … and a sense of humor.
There are definitely pros and cons to joining a fraternity. This was one of the biggest commitments I have made during college.
Cons
Starting off with cons, joining a fraternity is a huge time commitment and takes a lot out of your week with all the events that are taken place. Balancing out academics, extracurricular, and studying is definitely a challenge. Although this is a con it does teach you how to be better at time management. Another con is that with school going on as well, making decisions on whether to attend an event or stay back and hold yourself accountable to study is another con.
Pros
There are a lot of pros with joining a fraternity and going Greek. I was instantly able to find a stable group of guys that I would be a friend with for life and especially for the next four years. Being apart of this organization is very helpful in networking and building connections to help me in the future when applying for jobs. Being apart of this has taught me how to be a more balanced man and have helped me reevaluate my values to become a more mature young man.
Conclusion
I realized that if I embraced my difference it would help me socially tremendously with conversation and it would make it easier to communicate with people if they are unsure if they can approach me on certain topics. I excelled personally on the topic of race and being apart of a minority in class and I was very comfortable on that topic because of all that I have learned throughout my life.
Bibliography
Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Second Annual Porphura Ball — Nov 6, 2015 — EZregister. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from http://ezregister.com/events/15142/
Sigma Phi Epsilon Homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from http://www.sigep.org/?referrer=https://www.google.com/
What are the Benefits of Joining a Fraternity or Sorority? (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from http://www.bestvalueschools.com/faq/what-are-the-benefits- of-joining-a-fraternity-or-sorority/
Social Fraternities and Sororities — History, Characteristics of Fraternities and Sororities, Reforms and Renewal. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2429/Social-Fraternities- Sororities.html
Adams, Maurianne. “Memoirs of a Gay Fraternity Member.” Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology on Racism, Sexism, Anti-Semitism, Heterosexism Classism, and Ableism. New York: Routledge, 2000. 299–301. Print.
