Greek 4 Four Years vs. Greek 4 Life

[KappaKittyCat]

1) Is there a such thing as Greeks 4 Four Years and Greeks 4 Life?

In my opinion, once a woman takes those vows, she is a Greek woman for the rest of her life. What she chooses to do with this is up to her. Yes, it is sad when women leave their affiliation behind. That's why it's extremely important that national fraternities and their local chapters and alumnae associations do all they can to keep recent graduates involved.

2) Has anyone else had a conversation like the previously mentioned whether it is someone in their own house or a different one?

I work for my school's Alumni and Development Office, calling alumni. When I ask about their Greek affiliation, half of the alumni I speak to use the past-tense verb. When I call them on this, most of them say, "Oh, that was just something I did in college." I shake my head and regret that their collegiate experience meant so little to them that they do not feel motivated to give back and reap the rewards of being Greek 4 Life.

3) Can you decifer between those who are 4 years and those for life?

Usually, but sometimes I'm surprised. I just spoke with a sister last week who spent the eight years between her graduation and the present attending grad school, getting married, having children, and establishing herself in her career. It turns out that the current president of our local Alumnae Association was a close friend of hers; they pledged together. She regrets that she disappeared from the face of the Kappa earth, but now that she's got her life in order, she very much wishes to rejoin her sisters.

Kappa has two types of Alumnae Associations. Mainly there are the sort that you would expect, which meet once a month and do typical things. In the big cities, ones with large grad schools, we also have groups called Night Owls, which are for the more transitory young alumnae. They do things like go out clubbing and for dinner and such. It's a good way to keep young alumnae involved without demanding too much of a time commitment.

Our chapter is fortunate in that we have an incredibly active local Alumnae Association. We would not still be here if it were not for them. They win awards at Convention every other year and are held up nationally as the paragon of advisory boards. That they teach well by example is obvious because nearly all of our past officers have gone on to be advisors to a chapter near them.

4) Would you consider yourself a 4 year or Lifetimer and by what standards?

I am a Lifer, without question. That's one of the big things that got me into Kappa in the first place: the knowledge that wherever I go, forever, I will have sisters. Kappa's definitely the biggest part of my life right now, and I can't see just giving it up like that because I've graduated. I'd like to be a field representative and go to grad school where there is a Kappa chapter so that I can continue to be involved.

On a small liberal arts campus such as mine, there is a high level of anti-Greek sentiment. GLO's are seen as eliteist and discriminatory and not the sort of thing that a progressive, open, liberal-mined student would even consider. It's especially sour amongst the women, as our fraternities are housed and our sororities are not on this residential campus. The men can explain away their affiliation by saying, "It's for the housing and the food." The women are seen as buying friends. In order to keep our heads above water, we must stress the long-term benefits of affiliation: networking, connections, etc. This is the only way that we will get women to Rush in the first place. Get them to a few Rush parties and they're ours; they see the four-year benefits as well as the lifetime ones.

An interesting variation of this theme is that of our current chapter president. This sister of mine is an incredibly smart, forward-thinking, and ambitious woman who wants to go into politics. She knew when she came to school that she would join a GLO, as it would help her in her future. She investigated the national organizations and found Kappa's to be the best suited to her needs, so she rushed Kappa. She didn't care about the collegiate benefits, the sisterhood, at all. Last week we held our Senior Fireside and she had to say goodbye to some of the women with whom she has been the closest. This sister actually cried as, in that moment, she came to the realization that the love of Kappa had crept up on and enveloped her when she wasn't even looking. As irrelevant as sisterhood had seemed to her, it is now the strongest force in her life. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.