nice article

[Cheque10]

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.