The Privilege Argument
If you read my last post, then you know that I owe you a blog dedicated to the privileged reputation that greek life exudes. Well, I keep my promises, so here goes.
For those people not involved in greek life, I understand how greeks may come off as privileged and spoiled. For starters, joining greek life alone costs a pretty penny. According to to USA today, “the average new sorority member will pay 1,280 dollars a semester, and the average new fraternity member will pay 605 dollars a semester” (Nykiel). This means that being a part of a greek community for the entirety of a college career would cost around 10,000 dollars.
I don’t know about you, but in my book that’s a lot of money.
Many people can’t afford to join an organization that costs this much, which also adds to the exclusivity that greek life is infamous for. Some might argue that this doesn’t matter though, because you can get a scholarship for dues. The truth of the matter is that, on average, 3 scholarships are given out per organization each year (Nykiel). This leaves very little wiggle room for those that want to join greek life but don’t have the money.
The dues are only the beginning though. If you type in “recruitment video” on youtube, your results will show dozens of ridiculous videos of girls dancing around, throwing glitter, wearing next to nothing, and repping their sorority. The most notable of these videos is the University of Miami Delta Gamma video.
http://www.elle.com/culture/news/a33128/delta-gamma-recruitment-video/
In this lovely video, the girls are jumping off yachts into the ocean. The background music is some prissy, in your face, you wish you were me, pop. Every single girl is wearing a designer bikini that shows more than any bikini ever should. Not even one scene of the video shows the Delta Gamma sorority house, the UM campus, or any other academic visuals. The focal point of the video is the fact that all of these girls are on yachts, on the ocean, wearing designer bikinis, and partying hard.
Even though this is the recruitment video that has gotten the most press, it is not the first of its kind. It may be the worst, hence getting the most press, but it may have been that way because of pressure from other sororities.
As I mentioned earlier, the youtube search shows dozens of these videos. The Delta Gamma video is not the only video of its kind. Every single one of these videos is riddled with the same type of tone — pretty girls in designer clothes being prissy. UM Delta Gamma was just trying to keep up with the Jones’ and make their video the best. As greek recruitment goes, the sorority with the most popular reputation and best video gets the best pledges. In other words, in Delta Gamma’s eyes, they did a fantastic job on their rush video, and portrayed themselves in the best light for recruitment. This light is that white privilege is good, and being spoiled and privileged is the best way to get rushees.
This idea has come directly from the concept of greek life, and rushing the best type of person. Evidently, in members’ of greek life opinions, the best rushee is one that is spoiled and privileged.
Furthermore, look at the parties that greek members choose to throw. They throw parties with themes like Kanye Western, MLK’s block party, and Taco Tuesday. At each of these mixers, greek members are encouraged to wear culturally insensitive apparel, making fun of different ethnic groups (Escobar).
Now, white privilege can be seen in other facets of the college experience as well. Take the recent incident with Mizzou, for instance. For some reason, people decided that it was acceptable to draw swastikas on campus, and refer to people by the n word. Why, after years of working for civil rights, has this type of thing become relevant on college campuses?
Could it be that the the enormity of white privilege shown through sorority videos or fraternity party themes has started to trickle down? If people feel that it is acceptable or even cool to post videos of being spoiled and privileged, then where does it end? The media has made these videos out to be hot and necessary to prove that you’re a worthy sorority.
In my opinion, in terms of privilege, greek life is incredibly detrimental to the college experience. It seems as though greek life has opened a door to white privilege being acceptable or even inspiring on college campuses. It is absolutely not acceptable to use privilege as a way to garner attention or make it seem inspiring.
Nykiel: http://college.usatoday.com/2014/11/17/how-much-does-it-really-cost-to-go-greek/
