Greek Life at The Capstone

The Greek system at the University of Alabama is said to be one of the most elite organizations in the country. Each year incoming students have the chance to get involved in the Greek system by pledging a certain fraternity or sorority. While “going Greek” can benefit a student through its contributions to charities and providing a fully loaded social life, being involved in fraternities and sororities can also be a heavy financial burden as well as being time consuming. The Greek system is popular around universities because it allows students to meet their peers and find friends with similar interests. Social activities, philanthropy, the rush system, and school spirit all play a role in making up the Greek organizations at the University of Alabama.

The most widely known aspect of the Greek system is the social side. Most every weekend a student can find a party being hosted by one of the Greek organizations on campus. While some of these events are open to the public, others are meant only for the members of that particular fraternity or sorority. These parties are normally held at a fraternity house or at a local business. Bands are typically provided for music and entertainment. They allow the students to dance and have a good time. This type of social event, commonly referred to as “band party”, provides ways of meeting new people by bringing everyone together on the dance floor. There are other social events besides parties in the Greek system, such as intramural sports or study groups. Many of the houses on campus have their own club teams for intramural sports ranging anywhere from football and softball teams to soccer teams and even rock climbing teams. Study groups are a big help in college because it allows students interact with people in the same class or with people pursuing the same major. Through band parties, intramural sports, and study groups, fraternities and sororities provide many social opportunities.

The Greek system is devoted to giving back to local and national philanthropies. Every fraternity and sorority at the University of Alabama has at least one charity that it contributes to regularly. Some of these charities include United Way, St. Jude’s Children Hospital, and Stand against Domestic Violence. The Greek organizations hold fundraisers in the form of parties, competitions, athletic events, and cook outs to raise money for their charities. Most of these fundraisers will include a band, food, and some scheduled competitive activities with prizes to the winner. There are also events where students get sponsored by businesses for a challenge that they will have to endure. A walk-athon is a popular sponsored event where money is given for every mile that a member walks. By contributing to charities all across the country, fraternities and sororities give back to the community through their fundraising and service.

The rush system is how Greek organizations choose their new members for the following term. The process is long and it differs between fraternities and sororities. For example, fraternities choose their members by holding events throughout the year and inviting people to come and socialize with the brothers. Through this process, current fraternity members can judge which incoming students are the best fit for that particular brotherhood. Sororities, on the other hand, have a whole week of rush where girls visit all the houses and attend many events held by sisters of the organizations. Then at the end of the week, an event called Bid Day is held where girls receive an envelope enclosing their bids of which house they are now members. The rush process is a system set up to help students figure out if they want to join the Greek system or not. Many students come into the process with a different expectation of what fraternities and sororities are about. The rush system helps solve this problem.

The Greek system is passionate about showing school spirit at the University of Alabama. Members of fraternities and sororities attend sporting events in large groups to show their support. The most popular sporting event with Greeks here at the university is football. Members dress up in their Sunday best to go support the Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny stadium. One of the main school spirit activities at Alabama is homecoming week, which fraternities and sororities are heavily involved. Competitions are held throughout the entire week to promote school spirit such as paint the town red, lawn decorations, roll tide run, and many more. By fraternities and sororities getting involved in these activities, it encourages other organizations to become involved as well. The Greek system does its part to boost the school spirit at the University.

At the University of Alabama, the Greek system involves social events, philanthropies, recruitment processes, and school spirit. While many find brotherhoods and sisterhoods within the system, others find that “going Greek” is not for them. Regardless if one is against the system or for it, one cannot deny that the Greek system is an old tradition at the University of Alabama that will be around for centuries to come.