Great Greek weekend!

Today was Delta Zeta's annual Jell-O Tug of War and my sisters and I had a fantastic time. :) We raised a lot of money for the Delaware Speech and Hearing Center and spent happy hours sliding through gelatin after our fellow Greeks finished their tug-of-war competition.

There were quite a few fraternity men and sorority women there (and some unaffiliated folks, of course)! Everyone was having a great time and was very supportive of the cause and the tug. It made me think, as I often do, of how awesome the Greek community is at Ohio Wesleyan. I have gained so much from Delta Zeta and from my leadership roles here, but also have gained so many friendships and connections from the overall group o' Greeks. The other men and women in the community have been a great support network for the last two and a half years of my life--valuing service, scholarship, friendship and community along with my sisters and I.

I know that the Greek community has problems. I know we have a bad image--we haze, we stereotype, we judge, we drink, we discriminate, we dirty rush, we are too selective. Some of us really don't live up to our ritual, to the standards our founders set up. And that's a shame. I feel that I am fortunate to be in a chapter full of strong women who believe in our creed and our aims: "...to unite its members in the bonds of sincere and lasting friendship, to stimulate one another in the pursuit of knowledge, to promote the moral and social culture of its members, and to develop plans for guidance and unity in action; objects worthy of the highest aim and purpose of associated effort."

Sometimes our organizations get lost in peer pressure and image, or even our own stereotypes. It's true. I know hazing and misuse of alcohol are rampant at some bigger schools and that turns a lot of people away. I'm sure it happens here too, just not on a huge scale. We hold each other accountable and we have our founders and ritual to keep us on task. We try so hard to keep the fraternity and sorority experience enriching for everyone in the system.

I think all of us at OWU in the Greek system, need to count ourselves so lucky that we have good people, dedicated alums, and a supportive faculty on our side. I love our Greek community and I would not change my memories in DZ for anything. Thanks to everyone for being such a great group of people and making today such a big success!