Greek Life

As this blog is slowly coming to an end, we have gone over all of the important topics about greek life these past three months. We have talked about a lot of different opportunities in joining Greek life. It has been great being able to explain the different aspects that I can share as I am personally involved in Greek life at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. It can be challenging to explain all parts of Greek life because there is so much more involved when you are a part of an organization.

My goal during this time was to show the outside world the positive meanings of Greek life and that it is not what the media makes it out to be. I joined Greek life in the Fall of 2018, as a first-semester freshman. It was amazing being able to find my home on campus and have a group of friends that I could call my sisters. I was able to go to them whenever I needed a friend or just to hang out.

Joining a Greek organization is much more than just the social events there are amazing causes behind our philanthropies and who they are as a Greek whole. Delta Zeta philanthropy supports the Starkey Hearing foundations as our large volunteer opportunity and then we have many others that are local to Whitewater such as Fairhaven, Make a wish and many others.

I am glad that I have been able to share the amazing opportunities that Greek life can share within a community, especially our small community here within Whitewater. Please feel free to ask any question about anything Greek-related that I might be able to clear up.

If you have been following this blog, by now you know that we have been talking about Greek life. Greek life contains organizations that are built on brotherhoods and sisterhoods. Greek life was first founded in 1776. Greek life has created bonds that are everlasting and networking opportunities that people are forever grateful.

After doing extensive research about the top rated school that holds high standards for Greek Life, it became clear that the University of Alabama was the number one school. University of Alabama is the home to elephants and their mascot is Big Al. If you are a fan of football or love to follow larger schools you will know of this school that this located in Birmingham Alabama.

As a Tiktok addict, I was a part of the group of tik tok that was on “RushTok”. I was a part of that group which consisted of the Alabama women who were going through recruitment to join their home away from home. Alabama has been a dream school of mine since I was younger because I knew I always wanted to be apart of Greek life as I do not have sisters of my own.

The University of Alabama is well known for their sports and their Greek row as they have thousands involved. Whereas the Unvierstiy of Wisconsin Whitewater is a smaller campus and has less involvement because of our numbers and Greek life not being as large in the midwest.

As national sorority member of Delta Zeta, it is also located on the Unoiversirtt of Alabmas campus which means I am able to go meet more sisters and connect with others. As a member of a sorority of fraternity that is national and found on many different campuses, there will be networking opportunities, and meeting people who are in the same organization.

Greek life has many different brackets that it can be broken down into. Last week we talked about the top fraternities, this week we will be talking about the top sororities. Here at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. We have three national sororities on our campus, Delta Zeta, Sigma Sigma Sigma, and Alpha Gamma Delta. Then we have one sorority that is local to Whitewater, Alpha Sigma.

Difference between National and Local sororities

National sororities can be summarized as a sorority that has been founded in one place but is all over the United States. As a member of a national sorority, there are so many connections that can be made because of the networking of meeting other sisters who can help after graduation get a job or become a friend. Other positives of being in a national sorority would be having the sisterhood bonds and the national corporation that backs up and helps run and manage during our time as members.

Local sororities on the other hand are exactly what the name is local, they are only found on one campus. As an example, we have one local sorority on campus, Alpha Sigma. Just as a national sorority there are positives and negatives. Positives would include; making connections with the alumnae that are local to that school and always having a bond with the university and the sisters a part of that particular greek life.

Greek life always will have its pros and cons. As a member, it will always be something that I remember of my college experience because of the joy it brought me during my college years. I got other testimonies from others who agree that it has brought them so many leadership opportunities, and friends they may not have met before.

Rankings at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater

According to the Greek life rankings.

1. Alpha Gamma Delta
2. Delta Zeta
3. Sigma Sigma Sigma
4. Alpha Sigma

On the University of Wisconsin Whitewater campus, we have multiple fraternities, national and multicultural. As a student on campus and being in Greek life it has opened my eyes to who serves the community that surrounds them the best. Greek life tends to be a staple at many schools in the southern states as it is an organization you can find a home in and a place to belong. After doing research with the campus as this applies to us as we are all students attending this campus. It can be hard to rank the fraterntiies in order as every fraternity is amazing in their own way.

Rankings from top to bottom:

1st: Delta Chi

2nd: Alpha SIgma Phi

3rd: Phi Delta Theta

4th: Lambda Chi Alpha

5th: Tau Kappa Epsilion

After reviewing the rankings of the survey that has been done it was evident with the list of rankings that is mentioned above. There are over 1500 fraterines that exists with in the Greek community. Greek life is a unity within the organizations. As a Greek community we are all tied together and have am everlasting bond that makes us connected. I am grateful for the organizations that we have on campus, and being able to have amazing bortherhoods that are always there to support our fundraisers, and philanthropies.

When you are a part of a community life greek life, there are many connections that are made when joining a fraternity or sorority. As Greek life can be seen across many campuses, there tend to be many who travel together when planning a spring break trip. Spring break is the most common time of the year that college kids will travel together to make memories. Greek unity is something that is widely known on the University of Wisconsin Whitewater campus. Greek communities tend to travel together and make a trip that is a memorable time between all those who go to school together. The top place after taking a survey tend to be Florida as it is a place that can be traveled to by car with others for a cheaper vacation. Greek life has many connections and with that being said those who become close during this time take vacations together because we are all in college and want to make memories. As a personal college student traveling with the greek community makes everlasting memories because we are able to get to know everyone better when you are staying with them for an extended amount of time.

Panhellenic Council is a term used by Greek life that is in control over the Greek sororities on campuses. There are two different councils the National Panhellenic Council and then just the Panhellenic Council. As a national council, they make bylaws that rule over all councils to ensure that there is a common sense of leadership. There are many facts that can be confusing when trying to understand Greek organizations and how they run. Panhellenic Council is one of the main parts like glue that hold all of the pieces together. It is important to know the rules or bylaws as we call them that has to be followed strictly as it is what those who serve on the executive board are sworn to. As a personal story, I am on the Panhellenic Council exectuoive board on the University of Wisocnsin Whitewater campus. I am one of the Co-Recruitment chairs who run recutitment in the fall and spring. It is important that within our position we are staying connected with the chapters recutiyment chairs to stay informed before the formal recruitment that happens in fall. As most may not know the difference besides the obvious difference between men and women organizations. It can be scary when joining a sorority and not know who to go to and what the rules are, that is why soririties have the process their first semester that they go through new member education and learn about the values they hold as a sorority women and the bylaws that they will soon need to know once they are initiated. Panhellenic Council holds the power, and can be related to an administrator of a school enforcing the rules that are given to them to ensure the safety of the kids.

Greek life falls into two branches, one of the branches in sororities which I covered last week. This week we will be talking about fraternities in which men and women can both reside. Primarily fraternities tend to be mostly men such as Lambda Chi Alpha. Similar to sororities, fraternities also have philanthropy that they donate their time and money they have worked to raise for those who are not fortunate enough. Each fraternity man takes an oath when they are initiated into the brotherhood which they had to follow the values that uphold their fraternity standards. Greek life has unity within the brotherhoods and sisterhoods across all campuses, specifically for the University of Wisconsin Whitewater Greek life has a bond like no other. For example, fraternities and sororities do socials to get to know one another and create a bond to help their fundraisers and philanthropy events when they are put on. As I mentioned last week Greek life tends to get a bad reputation especially fraternities because of the inappropriate actions that are correlated with events. Fraternities have to follow bylaws just as other greek organizations, they make a promise to follow these rules as brothers to uphold the standards and true meaning of being in the specific brotherhood. A breakdown of being in a brotherhood means attending chapter every Sunday night and participating in the events and holding a position if you choose to do so. Holding a position with a fraternity can create a large number of connections. Holding a position in most organizations can create leadership experience and show potential companies of employment that you know how to manage time.

Sorority life can be a scary term to so many. As a member of a sorority on the University of Wisconsin Whitewater campus since the Fall of 2018, there have been many connections that I have been able to make and become involved with the campus. The term sorority is an organization that is dedicated to women who are initiated into a sisterhood. There are hundreds of different sorority from National to Local to multicultural. We currently have three National sororities, one local, and four multicultural sororities on our campus. When joining a sorority it is important to know what one is signing up for. Each sorority has one or multiple philanthropy they dedicate themself to. As a member of the national sorority Delta Zeta, we donate the time and money we have raised to Starkey Hearing Foundation, which helps those who can not afford hearing aids, therefore; we provide that. As a personal connection and senior, our sorority has been able to pledge to give five million dollars in five years to Starkey as a national sorority around the United States. Sorority life may seem scary from the way the media portrays typically the negative aspects surrounding greek life as a whole. Sorority life is not for everyone, but for those who want a sisterhood and help the surrounding communities and those who suffer to afford their medical bills for hearing aids.

Greek Life may seem overwhelming or confusing, that is why I am here to help explain what it truly represents. Greek life stems from two different categories one for the men the Interfraternial Council and the National Panhellenic Council for women. These two categories are important because they are the start of Greek Life and who controls/oversees the bylaws (like federal laws) for the fraternities or sororities under them. The greek alphabet defines the different names within the brothers and sisters of Greek unity within universities. Greek life may be misconstrued with the rumors that may spread for the good or bad that can be offered. I am a senior on the University of Wisconsin Whitewater campus and a member of Delta Zeta Sorority, and an executive board member for the National Panhellenic Council as well. I am excited to share the positive and negative experiences that I have had personally with my time in Greek Life. I can not wait for next week when we can talk more about the meaning behind joining Greek life and what it can do for someone.

Hello, my name is Payton. I am passionate about writing, and Greek life.

I am a member of Greek life on the University of Wisconsin Whitewater campus. I created this website to keep track of the memories I’ve made in my years of attending undergrad and the leadership experiences I have been able to excel in.