nice article
 

Hey all. This was an e-mail sent to me by one of my sisters, and it was pretty touching. I'm gonna go ahead and assume it was an article in a school paper or something. It's a great reminder of what we're all Greek for. Enjoy!




That's the reason I joined a fraternity. I figured I
wouldn't make
>any
>friends
>on my own so I'd better buy them. I pay for the
privilege of
>friendship.
>
>What I can't figure out is why my room and board at
the fraternity
>was only $3,240 for the school year. Dorm rates next
year are
>$3,640. Our double occupancy rooms are bigger than
the dorms.
>Our room rates also include extended cable. If I'm
paying for my
>friends, why am I not paying as much as a person
living in a dorm?
>
>Is this what you were looking for?
>
>It is a commonly held stereotype that members of the
greek
>system buy their friends.
>
>There are social, pledge and initiation fees the
first year that push
>your total living expenses as a freshman over that of
someone
>living in the dorms. There are also in-house
scholarships, paid
>offices and payment plans that reduce that cost back
below that of
>living in the dorms.
>
>I didn't join a fraternity because I feared I
wouldn't fit in. I
>joined
>because I thought the guys there would be loyal
friends for life.
>On March 27, I received a reminder of that fact.
>
>It was the last day of spring break. I was sitting
around with five
>friends in our Panama City Beach (Fla.) hotel room.
We were
>sitting around talking, waiting to go out for the
evening. We
>were supposed to be talking about the week, women,
the trip home or
>what club we would be going to.
>
>Instead we were talking about another friend of ours
who was
>back in Nebraska.
>
>In March 1996, a brother in my fraternity came up to
me at 8 a.m.
>the Thursday before spring break. I had heard his
little sister
>had passed away the night before. He walked into my
room and told
>me when the funeral was so I could spread the word
among the
>fraternity members.
>
>I asked him how he was holding up, and he broke down
crying. I
>hugged him for 10 minutes, not knowing what to say. I
told him
>how sorry I was and that I would see him at the
funeral.
>
>I didn't know his sister; I didn't even know he had a
sister
>before that morning. But I felt an instant connection
to the pain he
>was going through and I felt devastated. The funeral
was on
>Saturday.
>My fraternity brothers took off work, delayed spring
break trips,
>put off going home and even came back from out of
town to be
>there in support.
>
>When we arrived, the church was packed. There were
five seats
>reserved in the pews for myself and four of the other
officers.
>The other 30 or 40 of my brothers watched the funeral
on a
>television in another building, without sound.
>
>We weren't there to hear the funeral service. We
weren't there to
>speak. We were there to support our brother. That
support came
>in the form of simply being there for him.
>
>We saw our friend for a total of only 30 seconds that
day. In
>those 30 seconds, he walked out of the church, looked
over at all of
>us standing in the grass and said to his mother,
"That's my
>fraternity."
>
>That brother had a difficult time with the death of
his sister.
>The next time we saw our friend he made it obvious
how much our
>support that day meant to him. When I think of that
day I
>think of tragedy and pain, but most of all, I think
of support.
>
>Brotherhood and the fraternity experience are
concepts without
>definition. When someone comes up to me and asks me
to explain
>what brotherhood is, I can't. It is something
different to all
>members.
>
>Friendships are formed and tightened in every aspect
of our lives.
>A simple conversation over dinner can make a
friendship stronger.
>Fraternities and sororities add another dimension to
a friendship.
>
>Members of the greek system are there for a common
purpose -
>to add their abilities and skills to the
organization. This common
>purpose and the shared experiences bond members
together
>tighter than in a normal situation. You work and live
with these
>same members, and it only increases the bonds that
you feel.
>
>Just two weeks ago the women of Gamma Phi Beta
Sorority
>buried a sister and friend, Laura Cockson. These
women have
>been each other's support for the last two weeks. Not
only have
>they given a shoulder to each other but also to the
Cockson family.
>
>The grief that all of these family members feel is
eased ever so
>slightly by the knowledge that so many people knew
and loved their
>daughter.
>
>The goal of this article is not to convert all
members of this
>campus to greeks. The truth is that being greek is
not for
>everyone. It takes a lot of time, dedication,
personal sacrifice
>and selflessness. The unity and friendship that
results from this
>conscious time sacrifice has been enormous.
>
>I could not imagine surviving and excelling the way I
have over
>the last five years without my fraternity brothers.
People in the
>dorms may have friendships that match or even exceed
the ones I
>have described above.
>
>If you believe that greeks pay for their friends, I
won't
>disagree with you.
>
>We pay with time, sacrifice and ourselves.

That is so True in the Greek World!

That was discussed this weekend at Our Leadership Meeting that We hold twice a year at our Chapter by Alums who take time and spend money to do it.

It is a Labor of Love for our Brothers.

Our Moderator for the weekend has seen in his words:

Been to weddings , Birthings, done wills, done divorces of the ones he stood with,etc.

But He was down to the Pitt to be with his Brothers to try and help the new Young men coming into our Bond!

Is this what Greek Life is about A resounding Yes!

Who do you know in the dorm that may if ever come back for you?:confused:

This is what being is when you join a Group of PEOPLE, But people that you meet and come to love and depend on!

They are not just people you know, they are your Family!

I can call on a Brother for many reasons, and I am not the only one! In the time of need who do you turn to?

what an inspiring article.. recently a greek on campus, a phi kappa sigma brother by the name of Jim, passed away..it was amazing to see the response not only his fraternity but the entire campus gave to his family. i feel as though being greek gives us all this special bond.. there is famous quote, though i don't know who it's by. it goes: "those who aren't greek can't understand it; and those who are can't explain it"
so true.
Best wishes to all who read this in whatever it is you're doing.
:)

Terrific!
 

It is wonderful to finally see some positive Greek articles in the media.

True. I can remember last fall (I think it was) when 2 ATO new members died in a car wreck, and the whole greek community came together for them. It was inspiring to see everyone put ther BS aside and be supportive. The whole greek community wore blue and yellow ribbons for the week to remember the brothers. I still have my ribbons, actually here at work on my builleten board, as a reminder of what we as greeks are capable of when we come together.

Nice article. When we talk about PR and how to better our image, this is the stuff we need to keep constantly before others eyes. Good work.

wow...
 

That was am extremly touching artical. thank you for posting that.. i really like the last line. it would be perfect on a t-shirt.
"If you believe that greeks pay for their friends, I won't disagree with you. We pay with time, sacrifice and ourselves."
Ashes

This is the stereotype I want associated with fraternities..

Thank you for posting that. It was very moving. Ashes, it WOULD make a great t-shirt!

That was a great article. :) More of these need to be posted.

I must agree with everyone - that is a wonderful article. It made me cry, reminding me of my brother's death two years ago. I don't know how I would have made it through without the support and love of my Sigma Kappa sisters. I wish every university newspaper could print that article.