Graphic by Dani Ramirez
Written by Timothy Walker
What does it mean to be in Greek life?
Not the media-perverted things, but things by which members come to realize as deeply meaningful in their lives?
Two years ago, I wrote a class paper about why Greek life is detrimental to Higher-Ed.
Today I present a paper on why I was wrong.
The CI View employed their Editor in Chief (me) to listen to current Greek life and what they have come to value within their organizations.
After sharing some questions and dialogue with President Judy Kim and Vice President Cameron Garcia with Zeta Pi Omega, President Enzo Laraneta and Vice President Keiran Jasano with Beta Gamma Nu, President Elizabeth Kaladjian and Vice President Gabby Ornelas with Alpha Delta Psi and Social Media Chair Karen Martinez with Sigma Omega Nu, I think I have an answer to that first question.
“Can you share some of the history of your fraternity, and what parts of that history are most meaningful to you?”
Zeta took this opportunity to introduce their mission statement, to support women and children, which has guided their role for the span of more than 20 years through a lot of philanthropies on and off campus. Kim continued saying that alumni frequently return to connect and tether together what Garcia calls a “homogeneous entity,” where their mission statement is brought about through “the people we interact with on a daily basis. … Our goal is to have women set up not just to do these things now, but continue contributing to making the world a better place for not just women and children, but everybody.”
Beta highlighted their fraternity’s establishment in 1997, having their “little histories among campus, but nationally” still “growing, expanding, and writing it as we go.” Laraneta also shared how the Greek words for their organization “looks like the letters BRN,” which were intentional by their founding fathers who “tried to join predominantly white organizations at USC, and they were excluded. So they created their own, Latino-based, originally.” Hence their name and colors of brown and cream.
Alpha shared their recent nomination “for the most philanthropic organization out of all Greek life” which is really important to Kaladjian because of their emphasis “around women and children, and that we are achieving our goal of helping out the community both inside CI and outside as well.” They also wished to share their involvement in their big tradition of Denim Day, responsible for “raising awareness for sexual assault witnesses,” Kaladjian added this has been a yearly event since they were established in 2017.
Sigma’s representative Martinez, explained how their history began with “eight Latina women on campus whose names are Zulema Gonzalez, Landy Germano, Yesenia Jaramillo, Lina Medina, Nadia Quinonez, Nancy Reese, Cristina De Sanchez, and Zahrae Sahara.” The impact of just eight women coming together because “they needed a community, and they felt excluded in their university” resonated most with Martinez.
The Greek history of our campus organizations are marble statues preserved by legacy and respect for the principles of lineages before.The are living Bloodlines of CI.
In what ways does your fraternity support its members, both academically and personally?
Zeta: Kim said that in the previous year she had “held an academic chair,” responsible for acting as “a baseline or point of contact for anytime” their group needed support, as they ensure “there’s a girl in our chapter focused on … how everybody is doing,” including school, homework, and overall academic life. Garcia added on the emphasis of grade point average requirements, attendance, and the existence of a social chair whose responsibility revolves “the more sociable aspects of sisterhood,” making sure the principles of academic and socialness remain intertwined in importance.”
Beta: “We try to uplift men,” which means “professionalism, manners, image, and just how to be a supportive person in life…there’s time to socialize and have Greek life, but ultimately… there’s no point in being in Greek life if you can’t graduate!” said Laraneta. Jasano also shared how “having these people become gentlemen” is the goal but also to “understand how to function in college where this is a totally alien environment.”
Alpha: Ornelas said that “ALFA offers academic support by organizing weekly study sessions with each other to ensure that we stay on top of our coursework” which ensures understanding the importance of maintaining academics. Kaladjian emphasized their study hours saying, “We do homework together and study together two times a week,” and outside of that, “The number one most important thing when it comes to maintaining our personal standpoints for our members is that outside of the sorority we are all actually friends.”
Sigma: “My group supports us by always having check-ins with our academics. And they always say if you need someone to talk to just talk to us, we can help you, plan a schedule or we can help you like ease off the stress that comes with the sorority … never be afraid to reach out to one another because you never know what they might be feeling” said Martinez.
Each organization approaches support in their own similar ways but together they reveal a shared truth. Greek life is not just about socializing, it is about supporting one another’s academic, professional and personal growth through the means of a made family. A lot more encouraging if you ask me.
Are there any past projects you are proud of? Any to look forward to?
Zeta: Kim responded saying “Post-Covid, Greek life involvement has just been low, … so Greek life isn’t just a club or organization, it’s a self-sustaining community, … and past presidents have done a wonderful job of keeping that excitement, keeping that flow of, how do we keep this chapter alive.” Garcia added “What we’ve done with this organization in the last year is more abstract.” Considering the heightened “digital internet type of lifestyle that felt very comfortable and convenient, since COVID,” they look to value the “excitement to come to a social space and actually want to be there physically,” shifting the temptations of conveniences to “instill in our girls that it’s not necessarily always about convenience and there is value in bonds, … spending time together, and camaraderie and really trying to get people back present in reality.”
Beta: “Something that we started probably about a year or two ago is we started helping out with the blood drive that comes to campus. … Every year we do a pie BG event where you guys get to pie us in the face for a few bucks and that money goes to either breast cancer awareness or just other charities” said Laraneta. Jasano added, “We try to stay really focused and collaborate with the campus groups, … We had the Games Club, we had Chemistry Club, Karaoke Club, Volleyball Club.” They also mentioned “something called like a Greek Games. And so ideally what it would be is between all of the Greek orgs we would have kind of like competitions and hopefully, if students are interested, we would be able to involve them and make it a campus-wide event that happens either once a semester or every year.”
Alpha: Kaladjian excitedly shared: “We recently got a partnership with the brand, St. Jane’s Black Ice Teas, and we’re really proud of this because it’s a way for us to increase our organization’s visibility and outreach.” Ornelas added “Every year we raise awareness for breast cancer since we are an organization based around women and children. And breast cancer affects many different people in many different ways. … We raise awareness for people who suffer from breast cancer in general. … And along with that, I would also like to say a current project we’re working on, is another partnership as well that we recently got feedback from, which is August, a feminine hygiene brand.”
Sigma: Martinez responded “Well recently we had an ice cream social with Zetas on Monday, and I’m really proud of it because this position is new to me and planning it wasn’t hard but it was definitely a lot of, like, thinking about everyone’s schedules, and since we’re in school I understand that It’s a lot. So I’m really proud that we were able to meet up outside of campus too, and everyone showed up, and they just had a good time. We went to Tifa Chocolate and Gelato onLos Posa.”
Whether it’s blood drives, partnerships with national brands or small social gatherings, each project showcases how Greek organizations continue to find new ways to weave themselves into the fabric of campus life.
What’s something you wish people knew about your group?
Zeta: “We’re kind of nerds. I do think that’s something a lot of us wish people knew. We went to the Santa Barbara Museum recently as a little fun thing we all did together. And we all were just like, this is just it” Said Garcia. Kim added that something people may not think about is “keeping in touch with yourself as a woman, your femininity like it’s hard academically to kind of focus on yourself and your growth.” Garcia also said “And not even just find time for yourself, but to feel like it’s worth it,” which she explains as “one of the things that the sorority provides that you don’t really know about until you’re experiencing it.”
Beta: “Obviously, before people come to college, and even while they’re in college, they see movies. They see movies, and they see social media about fraternities and other Greek orgs, and they have this prejudice, in a way, or a stigma that we’re going to be a certain way, or that there’s nothing respectable about it. But I think that’s a mistake. If people got to actually know us, or know what our organization is about, they’d see that there’s a lot more to it. A lot of professionalism, a lot of networking, pretty big on family like it’s one of our pillars. … Just because you’re not a part of the orbit doesn’t mean you can’t associate with us.”
Alpha: “Although we are a small group of women, we are very close-knit and welcoming. And we would love for anyone interested in joining to give us an opportunity and see how we enhance our community and this sorority.” said Ornelas. Kaladjian added, “I wish people were more aware that we are not just a group of girls who reside on a superficial relationship through the organization. The organization is very important to us, but since one of our pillars are sisterhood, we really like to embody that through our own personal relationships as well outside of the sorority.”
Sigma: “I wish people knew that the stereotypes you see on TV or movies, especially like old movies, it’s not like that at all. It is a very safe community. I genuinely trust all of my sorority sisters, and they have built that trust for all of us,” said Martinez. She continued assuring “It’s not exclusive. Everyone is welcome and everyone is so nice to each other. It’s Latina interests but anyone can join.”
The answers here show how much the organizations want to be understood for their depth. Beyond the surface-level stereotypes, they carry values of trust, intellectual curiosity and genuine friendship.
Greek life is traditionally gendered, but more students are identifying outside the male/female binary. In this context, how is inclusivity approached by your org?
Zeta: “We think inclusivity as a whole is incredibly important. … For us specifically, a lot of the tradition for Greek life, like you were saying, is to focus on that sisterhood and that femininity. We look at it as a perspective of if that is what an individual is really looking for and that’s what they’re hoping to get out of experience is get in touch with a more feminine side of themselves, whatever that may be,” said Garcia. “It’s more about: Are we the right space to provide exactly what we’re looking for? So if you’re in a case where you don’t want to fully commit to putting yourself in a certain label or organization, but you want to participate sometimes. We would love for people to feel comfortable doing those things as well,” Kim concluded.
Beta: “So, I mean, we are a fraternity, right? I mean, we are a group of guys. But that doesn’t mean we restrict people based on their gender assigned at birth. As an adult and as another man, it’s really not our place to judge you on the choices that you make or the decisions you make, yeah, your life choices. Yeah, I mean, and even now to this day, we’ve had trans men within BG, not at this chapter specifically, but in other chapters. alumni and active, so we’ve been doing it for a while,” said Laraneta. “We have had gay brothers, we’ve had non-binary as well as transsexual brothers, so it really isn’t something that It’s just really a non-issue…One of the main things that really, truly matters to us the most is if you are somebody who aligns with our core ideals, our beliefs and if you can be a gentleman of Beta Gamma Nu.” Jasano added.
Alpha: “We’re open to all members and would love for anybody to come and join our sorority,” Kaladjian shared. Ornelas continues on to say “Alpha Delta Psi does not necessarily pinpoint anybody in particular. We are open to everyone joining and we’ll always welcome you with open arms. … We are a very diverse and unique group of girls, which really shows that, like, our friendship doesn’t have any boundaries or standards. It is a very diverse and unique group of girls.”
Sigma: “Anyone can join really, as long as you just talk to every sorority sister, like get to know everyone, go to see and respect everyone with kindness and respect,” said Martinez.
Inclusivity is not a side note but an evolving commitment. Each organization acknowledges the tension of Greek life’s traditional structures while also striving to build a home for anyone who shares their values.
How would you define being a Sister/Gentleman?
Zeta: Garcia states “My thoughts on what it means is that it’s very much open to interpretation. … It’s unique to the individual. For some people, that might really be more focused on emotional experience, … social experience, … individual experience, how they present themselves, it’s really such a broad spectrum. I think for me, the most broad way that I can define it that differentiates it from masculinity is that its validity in being afraid and insecure and that being okay, whereas masculinity I see as validity in being strong and being certain and being confident. It’s like either end of the spectrum where you’re feeling your most confident, … and you too need safety and vulnerability,” Kim adds on, “I think when you’re a student and you don’t really think about or who you are as an individual. And for me, I was born female gender. You kind of don’t really think about being a girl in an academic setting. You think about how do I survive this space with, for example, if you’re in a STEM class full of male students, how do I gain that respect without seeming like a girl who’s seeking some kind of like more attention or more like effort or more like just contribution or something and then having to be looked down on because of just my gender or the way I present myself. …Femininity is having those that align with the same experience that I do and the same kind of uprising and childhood that I do… It’s the validity to be vulnerable.”
Beta: “For me speaking personally,” Laraneta started, “I think it means to be someone that you can rely on, someone you can depend on. Not that someone who’s feminine can’t be depended on, but I think that’s something we really try to focus on teaching young men: … being someone you can depend on, being someone who’s there for you. And gentleman comes with etiquette. It comes with manners, it comes with support, being able to give back to your community. … What we focus on is etiquette, we focus on manners, we focus on offering our support to people, and just being that rock.” Jasano continued on saying, “being a man, you do have to be able to function, you have to be able to figure out what’s going on and handle it to kind of like resolve problems before they start, but also to deal with the daily, monotony of life,” and extended upon their pillars emphasizing “pride in culture, brotherhood in arms and its respect for life. So it’s not just pride like we’re cocky. It’s being confident and proud of what we are and who we are, and if you’re something different, be proud of that.”
Alpha: “Being a sister,” said Kaladjian, “is being a person who is there for not only my sisters, but everybody else. Being able to help everybody in a time of need when they need special help, or just being there for anybody in general, and being that sister for anybody who might be feeling left out or anything like that, or might just need someone to talk to.” Ornelas expanded by saying, “sisterhood means to me, as a person with no sisters in my actual family, … comes down to the bottom line of being there for each other, for me. I heard you mention the test last week. How’d that go? Checking in, making sure that we’re there for each other, even if it’s not a super big deal. If someone’s not having a personal crisis, that we’re still present in each other’s lives and not only connecting with each other on a sorority level, but deeper than that.”
Sigma: “I feel like being part of a sisterhood and defining it would be making sure that everyone is okay like in a sense of like we live in the world where things can get risky. … My definition personally is knowing that you have their back. You understand the experiences they’re going through and you don’t dismiss them because I know and there’s times where people dismiss those types of experiences, … always making sure that they’re safe and they’re okay,” said Martinez.
Though their language differs, the underlying theme of their words calcifies through the prioritization of shared experiences. To be labeled as either is to be seen and recognized by another as respectable, supportive and ever-present for the community.
Any final thoughts to share?
Garcia said, “If you have ever even a little bit thought about Greek life, then you should do it. And they’re all really cool people, and it’s just been a really great experience. Networking, it’s just really fun. It’s really cool to just like, I don’t know, feel like, it’s like a silly way to say it, but it’s like you feel like you’re on a TV show or something. I can’t go anywhere without knowing somebody. Don’t knock until you try it, right?”
Kim said, “I look back in college, in undergrad, my experience is so much different than my dad, who went to college, he was a commuter. And so I put myself in the position to live on campus. I put myself in the position to be so involved because when I look back, his experience is a lot more different than mine. And his was just academic focused, academic based, stressed. And I can say that looking back, I had friends, sisters, experiences. We did things together like as just, you know, day to day life, but also through the chapter. So those are things that when I look back at least I’ll have photos to recognize and have memories to retell and I think that’s what I was looking for.”
Laraneta said, “You’re paying to be here. Make your time worth it. Get involved. Find a family. Grow your career. Set yourself up properly. Take care of your grades. And have fun while doing it.”
Jasano said, “I think, if not through us, at the very least, speak to people, meet people on campus, tell somebody they have a cool outfit. Ask those guys playing baseball on the field if you can throw their baseball with them, but try to keep yourself busy on the campus and don’t join the crowd that’s always really quiet. And you might not be having, or you might be missing out on fun that you don’t know about.”
Ornelas said, “Make sure you guys sign up for formal recruitment happening October 1st, 3rd and 4th!”
Kaladjian said, “Don’t forget to be kind to yourself and be kind to others. And following that, just like Gabby said, don’t forget to sign up for formal recruitment. And with so much love, Alpha Delta Psi.”
Martinez said, “Something about being in Sigma Omega Nu is that it gets you out of your comfort zone. And doing this interview has given me the opportunity to practice interviews, practicing expressing whenever someone asks a question on the spot … organizing your words freely, without having to like think about it. you already just know how to express it.I was given this chance to experience this and I’m very grateful.”
To be in Greek life is to cherish the student experience on campus by ensuring connections through social events, philanthropy and everyday acts of care. Our brothers and sisters of CI are familial not just to one another, but to the wider needs of our community.
Two years ago, I believed Greek life to be detrimental to higher education. But in hearing these voices, I’ve realized its truer form: a network of support, tradition and belonging that challenges the stereotypes and offers something more human. In an age of social anxiety, polarizing media and political fracture, it warms the heart to know we have families of faces on campus here that are present, resilient and committed to one another’s wellbeing.
