Photo courtesy of Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Let’s be honest: Over the past 10 years, the phrase “Greek life” has been associated with a bad taste in our mouths. Gut reactions tend to draw our image of “Greek life” toward hazing and exclusivity. It’s not without merit: in the past seven years, there have been eight Greek life organizations removed from Hofstra’s campus. Hofstra reports that five of the eight were for disciplinary action. None of these organizations were pre-professional fraternities.
Fraternities and sororities trace back a few centuries; they were initially a place for students to discuss events and material outside of the curriculum. Preprofessional fraternities were designed with the same mindset with the added concept of a professional focus. Organizations on our own campus like Zeta Phi Eta (a fraternity in the communication arts and sciences) and Alpha Kappa Psi (a fraternity of business) were nationally founded in the late 1800s and early 1900s, spanning over a century of knowledge and values. Members were inducted into these organizations in a similar manner to honor societies, giving membership to individuals based on merit.
These organizations have constantly updated their membership policies in order to become more inclusive, irrespective of attributes like race and gender. Alumni of these organizations have reached the top of their respective fields. That’s what brings value to the organizations as a concept: a shared influx of knowledge from the best and brightest.
It’s also important to realize that not everyone starts with the same network or privilege. Plenty of students work jobs during school or are first-generation students with no background in the field they’re entering. As college students, there’s no shame in initially being ignorant about how professional careers work; it’s why we have organizations to help us. Most preprofessional fraternities have a new member orientation process to teach students how to highlight skills and personality. Preprofessional fraternities help fill that gap through education processes and alumni networks.
The concept of the new member education process for Greek organizations is often frowned on as assimilative behavior or hazing, which I wholeheartedly disagree with when it comes to professional fraternities. How could we expect students with no prior experience to conduct themselves properly in certain professional settings? Sure, we have career fairs and seminars on campus where we can learn textbook definitions of interaction, but informing someone doesn’t engrain concepts into memory, experiences do.
Furthermore, many professional relationships also stem from passive interactions. Mentorship from current students to new students helps bridge this gap. “Big and little” pairings aren’t just cute captions for Instagram posts; they allow seasoned members of an organization to guide new members in the learning process. Positions within an organization aren’t titles used to impose hierarchy; they’re a commitment to the organization and the members they serve.
Preprofessional fraternities were designed with an inherent purpose: to help students grow into the best professional versions of themselves. Participation in these organizations isn’t just a resume builder – it’s a method for growth.
“Greek life is bad” is such a common blanket statement for students. Yes, it’s important to have a sense of responsibility for the culture the organizations are creating. This means holding those organizations accountable for their actions: good and bad.
Preprofessional fraternities are good for our campus community as organized professional environments outside of class. There’s value in its selectivity based on merit, while also making sure the selectivity isn’t exclusionary of the individual’s identity. There’s value in the service of these fraternities to the campus through their community work. Most importantly, preprofessional organizations enhance our understanding of our careers and ourselves. Some things can’t be taught in a classroom.
