Greek Involvement

            Positive and Negative Effects of Greek Involvement.
             As a recent initiate of a Greek organization I have become interested in the affects that the organization will have on my life, both personal and study wise. Initially I believed that becoming a member of a fraternity or sorority would have no affect on my performance in school or work. I admit that I have had trouble managing my time since I pledged and I have spent less time on homework and other school projects. But because of my involvement in an organization consisting of more than thirty female students I have had plenty of opportunities to get help and to learn from every one of them. Yet, I have also had many distractions and had less time to get things completed. I know that I am only one of numerous students who choose to join a Greek organization and are affected by it. In all of the studies I have encountered, those students involved in Greek organizations had lower grade point averages and dedicated more time to outside activities. Being involved in a Greek organization hinders students" ability to dedicate their time and energy to their studies while encouraging involvement in other activities.
             The negative influences of Greek involvement are more published than the positive affects. In a survey conducted by two colleagues and me, it was discovered that members of fraternities and sororities are very aware of the negative influences of Greek life. The main reasons of negative influence reported were parties, Greek interference, distractions within their sorority or fraternity, outside involvement, and other things going on such as functions, mixers, and fundraisers. Meredith, a nineteen year old female who is a member of a sorority, said that being in a sorority has had a positive and negative influence on her study habits. She said that she "[puts] off doing homework to do sorority work." Yet she added that even though she has less time to spend on her homework because of other responsibilities her grade point average has gone up since she joined a Greek organization.