Given the past events in recent years, the ones that I quickly see come up more than a few times:
1. Greeks are sheep and can't think for themselves, therefore they join. Joiners are followers.
2. Greeks are racist.
3. Greek life contributes nothing positive to the campus culture. It is a antiquated institution that breeds racism, sexism and homophobia; it upholds everything that America is against. (
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/why-frate...d-be-abolished)
At least an alumni stood up for Greek life. See:
http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/0...-fraternities/
4. Greek life is synonymous with patriarchy, white people and Wall Street.
As someone who attended a university his freshmen year with a horrid Greek culture reputation I still was interested in joining since I saw value in such groups. I did my research on the fraternities that were on campus and was well aware of the excessive drinking and possible debauchery that would await me if I did rush and were offered a bid. I knew enough that when you put a bunch of young men between the ages of 17-22, things will get messy. It's sort of expected - though you wish it never happens - and when it does happen word spreads quickly and reputations are diminished, and rightfully so. I then transferred to a university whose Greek culture was the opposite of my first university. Many of the Greeks held student government positions and Greek life was not seen in a negative light, but mostly indifference. If you joined then you joined. If not then no one thought less of you.
In high school I didn't want to join a fraternity, but that changed - not by pressure of fellow peers - but by paying respect to the positives of fraternity & sorority, and just figuring and making judgments based on my research. I am not the one to believe that certain institutions are present "just because." It is there for a reason, and that reason may be tarnished as years go by, but it's still there - alive. I later concluded that Greek life is unique to college life (it's practically an "All-American" experience ... Greek life is foreign to the rest of the world besides the Philippines) after I dug into the history and I was slowly pulled to the "pro" side instead of staying in the "anti-" side. Many of the fraternity men I came into contact with were fine young lads whose personalities range from the jock, the lovable chubby guy, to the leader to the guy-next-door. Once in Greek life, if you get involved, it's a "mini-real-world" set up, at least in my experience, and that's a good thing. The entire rush process is a "mini-real-world" scenario. My chapter's new adviser came up to me and said, "I was reading your Facebook profile - seeing your likes in various topics - and you don't come across as a 'fraternity type.'" (Till this day I have little understand of what a 'fraternity type' is.) I guess he thought this way because I liked many things that the average college student may not have any interest in. I just shrugged my shoulders and said I found value & goodness in joining. Granted, my academics and personal interests (and philosophy towards education) fall closely in line with those that you typically attribute to students attending a top-ranked liberal arts school or private, say any of the Ivy League members.
Bottom line: Greek life is probably the most maligned aspect in the college experience, some of it is deserved, but for the most part it is a misunderstood institution. Would I suggest to my future children to think about joining? Yes. I won't force them, but I will put a good word in for Greek life based on my experiences and the people I've met & formed friendships with.
